Since 2019, October has been recognized as Hoodoo Heritage Month. We break down what that means and how to celebrate it. By Kay Wicker, The Griot.com It started deep in the American South with wild herbs, healing roots, whispered prayers, African spirituality, Indigenous practices, Christianity, and more, all mixing with the determination to survive. We’re, of course, talking about Hoodoo, the centuries-old Black American spiritual tradition born of enslavement and passed down through generations as a means of healing, protection, resistance, and the preservation of ancestral knowledge. And it’s especially on our minds this time of year. October is Hoodoo Heritage Month, a...

Birmingham is set to have its fewest homicides in 75 years as Mayor Randall Woodfin credits community violence intervention efforts.  by Haniyah P. The Griot.com Black mayors across the country are delivering the change their communities need. From Mayor Brandon Scott in Baltimore to Mayor Brandon Johnson in Chicago, local Black leaders have helped drive down violence and homicides. Among them is Birmingham, Alabama’s Mayor Randall Woodfin, who is making real investments into keeping residents safe and, in turn, seeing the results of these efforts.  Under Woodfin’s leadership, Birmingham is reportedly on track to end the year with its fewest homicides since 1951.  “Birmingham is on track...

From pioneering medical treatments to innovations in space exploration and climate science, these Black scientists helped change the world. Their achievements deserve a lasting place in the history of science. Courtesy of TheGriot.com George Washington Carver with students in his laboratory at Tuskegee Institute. Undated photograph.Credit: Bettmann / Getty Contributor Black Scientists have helped advance medicine, technology, mathematics, and our understanding of the universe. Yet their contributions have not always received the same recognition as those of their peers. Some developed technologies we use in everyday life. Others helped scientists better understand the human body, Earth’s climate, and the far reaches of space. Their...

by Donald Eng FILE PHOTO — A voting sign outside Charter Oak International Academy in West Hartford on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. Credit: Doug Hardy / CTNewsJunkie Tens of thousands of Connecticut voters cast their ballot on the first day of early voting, according to numbers from Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas’ office. Unofficial tallies show 42,241 voters showed up in person at polling locations Monday. Officials cautioned though that those numbers could be subject to change as not all towns report on the same schedule and totals could change as verification continues. The state conducts regular audits throughout the early...