MARTIN LUTHER KING III

Nearly one week after a gunman killed three Black people in New Town, National civil rights leader Al Sharpton, the family of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and the Anti-Defamation League announced plans Monday to bring a hate crime summit to Jacksonville.

Thousands have gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in the nation’s capital to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech.

Sixty years ago, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. issued his resounding call for racial harmony that set off decades of push and pull toward progress.

The CEO of the King Center in Atlanta says she hopes to spur progress during this year's observances of Martin Luther King Jr. Day by helping more Americans personalize the struggle for racial equity and harmony.

Lawmakers erupted in cheers after Vice President Kamala Harris announced the confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.

Voting legislation that is a cornerstone of the Democratic agenda and a top priority for civil rights leaders is on track for defeat.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s eldest son has condemned the inaction of federal lawmakers on voting rights.

Martin Luther King III came to Arizona with harsh words for Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, whose refusal to change filibuster rules makes voting rights legislation unlikely to pass in the Senate.

The man who fatally shot Ahmaud Arbery took the witness stand to tell jurors he pulled the trigger fearing for his own life.

A defense attorney in the murder trial over Ahmaud Arbery's death is likening a large courthouse rally and other actions supporting the slain Black man's family to a “public lynching” of the white defendants.

Thousands of voting rights advocates are rallying across the country Saturday to call for sweeping protections against a further erosion of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The conviction of ex-cop Derek Chauvin for murdering George Floyd nearly a year ago allowed many Black Americans across Minnesota and the nation to exhale pent-up anxiety and inhale a sense of hope.

(AP Photo/Ben Gray)ATLANTA – Critics of Georgia's new Republican-backed election law issued fresh calls Monday to boycott some of the state’s largest businesses for not speaking out more forcefully against the law, a day after advocacy organizations filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging it. The new election law was signed Thursday by Republican Gov. It also bans people from handing out food or water to voters waiting in line and allows the Republican-controlled State Election Board to remove and replace county election officials. “Georgia’s Election Integrity Act that I signed into law expands early voting and secures our vote-by-mail system to protect the integrity of our elections,” Kemp said in a recent tweet. But he said he does not support provisions that remove him as the chair of the State Election Board and replaces him with an appointee of the state legislature.

Geoff Duncan left the room as Senate Republicans approved a bill to block early voting for all but the GOP's most reliable voting bloc. This is what amounts to dissent as Republican lawmakers push a wave of legislation through statehouses across the nation to make voting more difficult. Instead of being a day of celebration, he said, there was a sense that the civil rights movement was sliding backward because of the Republican voting proposals. During Monday's Senate vote, several Republicans who represent competitive metro Atlanta districts didn’t vote, including Sen. Brian Strickland. He had tried to amend the bill in committee to remove provisions scrapping no-excuse absentee voting but was unable to muster enough support.

The Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee marks the 56th anniversary of Bloody Sunday — the day on March 7, 1965, that civil rights marchers were brutally beaten by law enforcement officers on Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge. Vivian, and attorney Bruce Boynton were the late civil rights leaders honored on Sunday. Footage of the beatings helped galvanize support for passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Let the people vote.”Lowery, a charismatic and fiery preacher, is often considered the dean of the civil rights veterans and led the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Organizers acknowledged the fallen civil rights leaders and planned to lay wreaths at the bridge in their honor.

FILE - Cicely Tyson arrives at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 20, 2009, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)LOS ANGELES – Reaction to the death of Tony and Emmy-winning actor Cicely Tyson at 96. Thank you Cicely Tyson. Cicely Tyson just published her memoir this week!! "I’m sad to hear the news that we lost our dear Cicely Tyson, the sweetest person I’ve ever met.

ATLANTA – Democrat Raphael Warnock won one of Georgia’s two Senate runoffs Wednesday, becoming the first Black senator in his state’s history and putting the Senate majority within the party's reach. Warnock, 51, acknowledged his improbable victory in a message to supporters early Wednesday, citing his family’s experience with poverty. Trump's claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election, while meritless, resonated with Republican voters in Georgia. AP VoteCast found that 6 in 10 Georgia voters say Senate party control was the most important factor in their vote. “I feel like for the Republican candidates to still stand there with Trump and campaign with Trump feels pretty rotten.

WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden is facing increasing pressure to expand the racial and ideological diversity in his choices for Cabinet and other top jobs. Of the nine major picks Biden has made so far, only two — Secretary of State choice Antony Blinken and chief of staff Ron Klain — are white men. Today’s Senate is more bare-knuckled and hyper-partisan than when Biden was vice president, including GOP senators eyeing their own 2024 White House runs. During his decades in the Senate and even while serving as Obama's vice president, Biden relied on a small group of close advisers who were largely white. King said he hoped Biden would appoint an African American to one of the “big four” posts, especially attorney general.

WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden is facing increasing pressure to expand the racial and ideological diversity in his choices for Cabinet and other top jobs. Of the nine major picks Biden has made so far, only two — Secretary of State choice Antony Blinken and chief of staff Ron Klain — are white men. Today’s Senate is more bare-knuckled and hyper-partisan than when Biden was vice president, including GOP senators eyeing their own 2024 White House runs. During his decades in the Senate and even while serving as Obama's vice president, Biden relied on a small group of close advisers who were largely white. King said he hoped Biden would appoint an African American to one of the “big four” posts, especially attorney general.

During a contentious campaign against Trump, Biden made explicit appeals for the support of Black voters. Black voters powered Biden's successful campaign, particularly in critical states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia. Nine in 10 Black voters nationwide supported him, according to AP VoteCast, an expansive survey of more than 110,000 voters across the country. White voters, who made up roughly three-quarters of the electorate, were more likely to support Trump, 55% vs. 43% for Biden. In 2016, a coalition composed largely of white voters powered Trump’s win over then-challenger Hillary Clinton.

Biden voters overwhelming say they want the federal government to prioritize limiting the spread of the virus, even if that means further damage to the economy. About half of Trump voters also called the economy and jobs the top issue facing the nation, while only 1 in 10 Biden voters named it most important. On race and justice issues, Biden voters almost universally said racism is a serious problem in U.S. society and in policing. But only a slim majority of Trump voters, who are overwhelming white, called racism a serious problem. Results in high-turnout counties underscore that trend: Republican-leaning places became more Republican and Democratic areas more Democratic.

Biden voters overwhelming say they want the federal government to prioritize limiting the spread of the virus, even if that means further damage to the economy. About half of Trump voters also called the economy and jobs the top issue facing the nation, while only 1 in 10 Biden voters named it most important. On race and justice issues, Biden voters almost universally said racism is a serious problem in U.S. society and in policing. But only a slim majority of Trump voters, who are overwhelming white, called racism a serious problem. Results in high-turnout counties underscore that trend: Republican-leaning places became more Republican and Democratic areas more Democratic.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)NEW YORK Within President Donald Trumps campaign, some privately feared the worst heading into the national conventions. Republicans largely ignored the pandemic while attacking Joe Biden as a senile lifetime politician controlled by his partys far-left wing and incapable of protecting suburban voters from mobs of protesters. America doesnt feel like one country with all the chaos and division, former Democratic presidential contender Pete Buttigieg said in an interview. The hands of the clock are going backwards.Meanwhile, the candidates are unleashing dramatically different campaigns upon voters as they navigate the pandemic.

President Donald Trump speaks with state and local leaders about Hurricane Laura at the Orange County Emergency Operations Center, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020, in Orange, Texas. President Donald Trump is essentially asking voters to judge him based on pre-pandemic America. Still, both sides expect the election, which Biden has led for virtually the entire cycle, to tighten entering the nine-week sprint to Nov. 3. Reflecting concerns about potential Trump momentum, Biden plans to resume in-person campaigning in the coming days, albeit with smaller, socially distanced crowds. The hands of the clock are going backwards.___2020 Watch runs every Monday and provides a look at the week ahead in the 2020 election.

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)WASHINGTON Tears streamed down Brooke Morelands face as she watched tens of thousands gather on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to decry systemic racism and demand racial justice in the wake of several police killings of Black Americans. Im going to do all that I can to encourage, promote, to mobilize and whats at stake is the future of our nation, our planet. Im going to hold these elected officials that are in office now accountable and Im going to vote in November and hold those same people accountable. That was clear as the Movement for Black Lives also marked its own historic event Friday a virtual Black National Convention that featured several speakers discussing pressing issues such as climate change, economic empowerment and the need for electoral justice. I do think voting and recognizing what an election should be is a way to kind of exercise that muscle.

I hope you hear us, Trump, the leader of the popular local band TOB shouted Thursday night near the site of Trump's speech. One protester held up a sign, Nightmare on Pennsylvania Avenue the street where the White House is located. Paul later tweeted that he had been attacked by a crazed mob a block from the White House. Lafayette Park, a traditional site of demonstrations across from the White House, was sealed off and there were some street closures. A longtime D.C. signature sound, Go-Go music emerged last year as a battle anthem for activists fighting fast-moving gentrification in the nations capital.

As peaceful protests turned to arson and theft, naysayers of the Black Lives Matter movement issued calls for law and order.The Rev. Theres a white system and a black system -- the black system aint doing so well.No justice, no peace! he proclaimed. Some participants headed toward Black Lives Matter Plaza, right outside of the White House, which was renamed from Pennsylvania Avenue during protests in June. Chants of Black lives matter and No justice, no peace echoed through downtown Salt Lake City Friday morning, as about 200 people marched from the state Capitol to Washington Square Park for Utahs March on Washington. Kat Stafford and Ashraf Khalil reported from Washington, and journalists from across the AP contributed to this report.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech. Sixty-five years later (after Tills murder), we still struggle for justice demilitarizing the police, dismantling mass incarceration, and declaring as determinately as we can that Black lives matter, King said. As peaceful protests turned to arson and theft, naysayers of the Black Lives Matter movement issued calls for law and order.The Rev. Theres a white system and a black system -- the black system aint doing so well.No justice, no peace! he proclaimed. Some participants headed toward Black Lives Matter Plaza, right outside of the White House, which was renamed from Pennsylvania Avenue during protests in June.

Black Lives Matter activists are holding a virtual Black National Convention Friday, Aug. 28, to adopt a political agenda calling for slavery reparations, universal basic income, environmental justice and legislation that entirely re-imagines criminal justice reforms. Anyone who is watching, who is both enraged or looking for action, will find a space" in the Black National Convention, Byrd said. The Black National Convention was originally planned to take place in-person in Detroit, the nations Blackest major city. Fridays convention is expected to be the largest gathering of Black activists and artists, albeit virtual, since the historic 1972 National Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana, which concluded with the introduction of a national Black agenda. The Black National Convention broadcast begins after the D.C. march has concluded.

In late July, with local infection numbers rising, Bowser ordered that anyone traveling or returning to Washington from a virus hot spot must self-quarantine for 14 days. Bowser, when asked on July 30 about the potential conflict, said government officials had been in contact with march organizers and that Washington would not be relaxing its virus rules for participants. The NAACP, one of several partners in this year's commemoration, last week launched a website for a virtual March on Washington. The site will livestream the Washington march, in addition to other programming leading up to and after the event. The Movement for Black Lives, a coalition of more than 150 Black-led organizations that make up the broader Black Lives Matter movement, will hold its virtual Black National Convention later in the evening.

ATLANTA Civil rights icon, activist and U.S. Rep. John Lewis died at the age of 80 on Friday night after a six-month battle with cancer. As a teenager, he joined the civil rights movement after being recruited by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A mural honoring Lewis was on display in his congressional district in Atlanta, Georgia, and many came to the mural to pray, show their respects and mourn Lewis. The world mourned the death of Lewis, the last living civil rights icon of the Big Six with King during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s. He was the kind of civil rights activist that didnt just speak against injustice, he risked his life to fight against injustice.