Sculpture in Queensbridge Park made of plywood used during BLM protests

Not only were last summer’s Black Lives Matters protests a pivotal moment in the fight for racial justice, the movement has also helped Tanda Francis grow and evolve as an artist.

BTW bar on Long Island welcomes LGBTQ clientele

A bar called BTW in Nassau County serves as a safe space that aims to be a judgment-free place for everyone to interact.

Lakeville school district sued over 'Black Lives Matter' posters

A group of Lakeville families have filed a discrimination lawsuit against the school district alleging officials allowed "Black Lives Matter" posters in schools, but did not allow "All Lives Matter" posters. 

After a virtual 2020, Camp Helen Keller successfully returns in-person

Camp Helen Keller at LIU Post was virtual last summer due to COVID. But this summer, about three dozen children are attending in person.

Doing good deeds in his late wife's memory | House of Good Deeds

Married couple Leon Feingold and Yuanyuan Wang founded House of Good Deeds in January 2017, a little more than a month after Wang was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She died just months after the organization was up and running.

National Night Out events brings cops and community together, briefly

All around the country, National Night Out events give communities an opportunity to get to know their local police officers not just as cops but as fellow citizens.

Transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard makes history at Olympics

Although Laurel Hubbard wasn't able to complete a lift for a chance to go for gold, she's been an Olympic pioneer for transgender athletes.

Diversifying the City Council in New York

New Yorkers citywide used ranked choice voting for the first time in the June primaries.  Ranking the top five candidates instead of just one has been credited with helping get more women and minorities elected to public office.

NHL prospect comes out as gay

Luke Prokop, a 19-year-old Canadian who was a second-round pick in the 2020 draft last fall, posted a message to Twitter on Monday.

1st female sailor completes Navy special warfare training

For the first time, a female sailor has successfully completed the grueling 37-week training course to become a Naval Special Warfare combatant-craft crewman. Those are the boat operators that transport Navy SEALs and conduct their own missions at sea.

Museum of Chinese in America reopens with anti-Asian racism exhibit

The museum dedicated to telling Chinese American history is reopening to the public with an exhibit on Asian Americans and racism that it curated partially during the pandemic and a surge of anti-Asian bias incidents around the country.

Group asks public to help change offensive name of moth

Bug experts want to change the common name of the gypsy moth because it's considered an ethnic slur and they're asking the public to help them.

President Biden to give speech on voting rights in Philadelphia Tuesday

President Joe Biden will be visiting Philadelphia next week to 'deliver remarks on actions to protect the sacred, constitutional right to vote,' according to a White House press release issued Friday.

The future American LGBTQ+ Museum finds a home in Manhattan

The New-York Historical Society has featured a number of LGBTQ+ exhibits, making it a natural fit to host a separate museum devoted entirely to the history and stories.

Supreme Court limits reach of Voting Rights Act

Justice Samuel Alito wrote that evidence that a law suppresses minority votes is not, by itself, enough to prove a violation under the Voting Rights Act.

July 4, Juneteenth and the meaning of national holidays

We set our calendars around national holidays — from December 25 for Christmas to July 4 for Independence Day, and, starting this year, June 19 for Juneteenth. But national holidays, even for the country's founding, didn't start until the United States was nearly 100 years old.