The poet, author, educator and public speaker Nikki Giovanni has died at 81.

Raoul Peck's “Silver Dollar Road” chronicles the story of the Reels family in North Carolina.

Composer Ned Rorem has died at 99.

From an imprisoned Ukranian journalist to a high school activist in Florida, PEN America paid tribute Monday night to democracy and free expression and warned about the dangers faced in the U.S. and abroad.

The poet, activist and educator Sonia Sanchez is this year’s winner of the Edward MacDowell Medal, a lifetime achievement honor started in 1960 and previously given to Robert Frost, Toni Morrison and Stephen Sondheim among others.

Sidney Poitier made history — on the screen and off.

An anthology of the late Norman Mailer’s writing that Random House allegedly had scheduled for his centennial in 2023, but backed off from, will be released by a publisher that has taken on such discarded works as Woody Allen’s memoir “Apropos of Nothing” and a Philip Roth biography written by Blake Bailey.

France has inducted U.S.-born entertainer, anti-Nazi spy and civil rights activist Josephine Baker into the Pantheon.

A Black woman will, for the first time, join other luminaries interred in France’s Pantheon.

Sandra Cisneros feels like she’s finally replied to a long overdue letter with her new book, “Martita, I Remember You.”.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is an NBA legend, but the man known for his trademark skyhook shot has also devoted his life advocating for equality and social justice.

The mayor of Mississippi’s capital city and a state senator are apologizing for shootings by city and state law enforcement officers 51 years ago at a historically Black college.

More than 60 years after his death, Richard Wright is again a bestselling author.

LeVar Burton has found another way to share his love of reading.

Amherst is on a path toward providing reparations to Black residents for past injustices following the town council's adoption of a resolution calling for the community to become an anti-racist town. President Joe Biden has even expressed support for creating a federal commission to study Black reparations, a proposal that's languished for decades in Congress. Anderson and other Black residents are taking part in virtual conversations this spring to talk about what reparations should look like. Can you put a price tag on trauma?”Miller and Andrews, meanwhile, have looked to Evanston, Illinois as a potential model, inviting a leading alderman from that community to speak with Amherst's Black residents next month. Driver believes the town’s higher education institutions — UMass Amherst, Amherst College and Hampshire College — should be part of the solution because of the role they've played in the town's racial divide.

Creighton coach Greg McDermott shouts during the first half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Villanova, Wednesday, March 3, 2021, in Villanova, Pa. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)OMAHA, Neb. – Five Creighton basketball players explained in a short pregame video Saturday why they were hurt by coach Greg McDermott's remarks in his locker room talk following a loss last weekend. AdCreighton players hadn't commented publicly about McDermott's remarks until five Black players spoke in the pregame video at CHI Health Center. Let's start the conversation.”The video ended in silence with all the Creighton players locked arm in arm on the court. “A lot of guys in that locker room were hurting from it, and I was hurting from what he said," Zegarowski said.

NEW YORK – With Election Day approaching and the pandemic ongoing, Oprah Winfrey is setting aside her usual book club recommendations and instead citing seven personal favorites, ranging from James Baldwin's landmark essays in “The Fire Next Time” to Mary Oliver's poetry collection “Devotions.”Winfrey is calling her choices “The Books That Help Me Through," works she values for “their ability to comfort, inspire, and enlighten.”"It’s a mix of fiction, poetry, non-fiction and spirituality, books I know and trust and revisit time and again,” she said in a statement Monday. Winfrey had planned a new choice every two months; her previous selection, Isabel Wilkerson's “Caste,” was announced in early August. Winfrey spokesperson Chelsea Hettrick said the seven books announced Monday would serve as “a bridge between selections,” and that no firm timeline had been set for future choices. “This year has brought such unprecedented change overall. We will re-evaluate in the coming weeks the selection plan and timing for the remainder of 2020,” she said.

NEW YORK – The Walt Disney Co. will make a follow-up to the 2019 live-action “The Lion King,” with Barry Jenkins, the director of the Oscar-winning “Moonlight” and the James Baldwin adaptation “If Beale Street Could Talk,” set to direct. The new “Lion King” grossed more than $1.6 billion worldwide, so a sequel was perhaps always likely. Less expected was a “Lion King” with Jenkins directing. The film, Disney said, will explore the mythology of “The Lion King,” including Mufasa's origin story. Disney didn't announce any further plot details or casting on the new “Lion King” project, which was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.

NEW YORK – Filmmaker Ava DuVernay will be honored next month by MacDowell, which is presenting its inaugural Marian MacDowell Arts Advocacy Award to her media company and arts collective ARRAY. The award is named for the co-founder of MacDowell, the century-old artist residency in Peterborough, New Hampshire, where James Baldwin, Leonard Bernstein and many others have been visiting fellows. DuVernay, known for such acclaimed movies as “Selma” and “13th," founded ARRAY in 2012 as a way of amplifying the work of women and people of color. “I am touched that our narrative change collective ARRAY, which is built upon a mission to articulate and amplify stories from the widest range of art makers, is being honored in Ms. MacDowell’s name,” DuVernay said in a statement Sunday. Actress and former chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, Jane Alexander, will present the award.

It’s time for some people to go to jail.” - Queen Latifah, recording artist and actor, in an interview with The Associated Press. Ask yourself ‘Why so long for Breonna Taylor?’” - Stevie Wonder, in a video message. “My heart is broken for the family of Breonna Taylor. once again we’re left with nothing that they try to make seem as something” - Ella Mai, recording artist, via Twitter. “Brett Hankison is indicted for shooting into the apartment NEXT to Breonna Taylor & not for KILLING HER.

NEW YORK As nationwide protests against racism and police violence continue, readers are seeking out books old and new on race and criminal justice. Robin Diangelo's White Fragility," Michelle Alexander's "The New Jim Crow" and Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy were among the works high on the bestseller lists Tuesday of Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com. Popular books also included James Baldwin's classic The Fire Next Time, published more than 50 years ago, and a board book for children from National Book Award winner Ibram X. Kendi, Antiracist Baby, that comes out next week. Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me, winner of the National Book Award in 2015, is an open letter to the author's son that centers on the murder of an old friend by police. Angie Thomas' The Hate U Give is a popular young adult novel, adapted into a feature film of the same name, about a young girl who sees her best friend killed at the hands of police.

Black lives matter. At the same time, companies must consider whether it makes sense for them to weigh in, especially on an issue as sensitive as race. Media giant ViacomCBS tweeted Black Lives Matter. Expressing solidarity with the Black Lives Movement is the right message, but everyone is jumping in on that bandwagon, said Allen Adamson, co-founder and managing partner of Metaforce a marketing and product consultancy. Each of these black lives matter.