By C. Nicole Mason
The 2000s were a mixed bag for African-American women. From Venus and Serena Williams to Condoleezza Rice to Michelle Obama to Don Imus’ infamous nappygate, the 2000s will go down as the decade of both opportunity and setbacks for black women. This decade retrospective looks at the top ten events that shaped how we view black women in society, our communities, and in pop culture.

By C. Nicole Mason
As the old adage goes, you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Over the last several weeks, President Obama seems to have gotten himself caught between a rock and a hard place with black legislators and advocacy groups.

By Khalil Gibran Muhammad
Everywhere I turn these days I keep seeing or hearing the words, “No More Excuses.” From black self-help book titles to black pundits on CNN, these three words have become the mantra of post-racialism in the Age of President Obama. Whether intended or not, the mantra fuels the belief that because of individual black achievements, we have finally reached the promised land of a color-blind, equal-opportunity America.

By The Editors
Thursday, November 19, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions conducted a hearing on the nomination of Jacqueline A. Berrien, Associate Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund to be the new Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

By The Editors
Tom Perez, President Obama’s choice as Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division — the Administration’s point man on civil rights enforcement—formally took office November 13, amid a palpable sense of celebration among civil rights advocates.

By The Editors
On Friday, President Obama  signed a measure once again extending benefits to the long-term unemployed—even as it became likely that  still another extension may be necessary next spring.

By George E. Curry
Like knowing where you were the moment John F. Kennedy was assassinated, the defining question for this generation is: Where were you and what were you doing when you learned that Barack Obama had been elected president?

By The Editors

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Congress Extends Hate Crimes Law Protections to Gay Men and Lesbians; Obama Expected to Sign the Measure

Declaring that “we must stand against crimes that are meant not only to break bones, but to break spirits—not only to inflict harm, but to instill fear,” President Obama has signed historic legislation expanding federal hate [...]

By Doug Miller
Former Massachusetts legislator Edward Brooke III, a Republican and the first African American elected by popular vote to the U.S. Senate, was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal on October 28, becoming only the 150th American citizen to receive the award since George Washington.

By The Editors
President Obama is widely expected to sign historic legislation expanding federal hate crime laws to cover attacks against gay men and lesbians.