If Frederick Douglass rightfully asked the question, "What to the slave was the Fourth of July?", then contemporary African Americans might similarly ask what this day means to them against the backdrop of mass incarceration, racial segregation, mass unemployment, mass poverty, and a COVID-19 pandemic that has disproportionately scarred the entire Black community.

What does it mean to you? Comment on this post with your thoughts and read the full article here.

Kymberly Keeton is tired. 
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“I’m one of the go-to people for black history now in Austin. I get phone calls all the time: ‘We want you to talk about the history of blackness,'" Keeton says. "But even I get tired of telling the same story over and over and over. Even I get tired.”

Read/listen to the full conversation with KUT here.

​Fourteen police departments big and small are working under reform agreements with the U.S. Department of Justice. The agreements known as consent decrees force police officials and mayors to put reforms in place by a set deadline. The deals often are overseen and monitored by a federal judge or another third party. Here are some of the city police departments across the U.S. with consent decrees or negotiating decrees.

"We haven't done enough to address these issues and that's why they keep occurring. That's on us as a society," said Austin NAACP President Nelson Linder. Read Linder's thoughts here and see how you can support racial justice.

The president of the Austin NAACP spoke with KVUE on Saturday to discuss the ongoing protests that call for justice for the deaths of George Floyd and Michael Ramos. Hear what he had to say here.

After the death of George Floyd earlier this week, four Minneapolis police officers have been fired for their involvement. Floyd repeatedly pleaded for his life, as an officer held him down with his knees. Only a few days later, a white woman called the police on a black man who was bird-watching in Central Park. These are only the stories that have hit the news, and they are stories that have been told a hundred times over.

When will we all stand up and say enough is enough?

We all play a role, but we may not know what to do to help. Read here to discover 75 things anyone, and everyone, should do to demand racial justice.

On May 26th at 6:00pm, the NAACP Austin branch meeting will be going virtual in order to keep everyone safe. The dial-in number is (646) 376-3266, and the meeting ID is 928-8086.

We hope to "see" you there!

Judge Jan Soifer has restored the injunction previously issued against the city and its Council members forbidding them from ignoring or violating protest rights of citizens who object to a change in zoning regulations at or near their properties. Read more here.

Ahmaud Arbery had gone for a run. The former high school football speedster often jogged through the neighborhoods southwest of Brunswick, but, on February 23, he was viewed as a threat, a thief. Someone in Satilla Shores called 911 to say "a black male running down the street" -- Arbery -- might be responsible for a rash of burglaries. Within minutes, three blasts erupted from Travis McMichael's shotgun, and Arbery was dead in the street.

It's been more than 10 weeks since the shooting. Learn more about updates in the case here.

Millions of kids are feeling the stress of uncertainty right now, especially in low-income communities. Founder and CEO of Harlem Children's Zone, Geoffrey Canada, says the impact will stretch far beyond the next few months. Hear what Canada has to say here.