Blue Hill Ave. redesign receives mixed reviews
A bus drives the 28 route on Blue Hill Avenue in Dorchester. A city plan, announced Feb. 28, would create a center-running bus lane on Blue Hill Avenue between Mattapan Square and Warren Street, a transit corridor that serves more than 37,000 riders daily.

Cruz development continues Roxbury legacy with new affordable housing
The finished product, the Michael E. Haynes Arms building, just off Warren Street, includes 55 new units of housing, ranging from studio to three-bedroom apartments, with 46 of those units designated as affordable.

The lasting impact of one iconic photo
Nearby, a news reporter was on site. Stanley Forman, a photojournalist who had asked to cover the demonstration, had been photographing the mob. He noticed a Black man — Landsmark, dressed in a three-piece suit — in the vicinity and had a hunch the situation would escalate.

Mass. hospitals first to reach health equity standards
Massachusetts took a step toward greater health equity last week, with all hospitals in the state achieving a national standard of access to care, addressing social needs that impact health and tracking disparity data for people of color. It is the first state in the country to reach the benchmark.

Prospective betterment process sparks dispute at Harvard Commons
More than 50 single-family homes, laid out along curving lanes named for state Sen. Royal Bolling and the Snowden family near the intersection of American Legion Highway and Morton Street, make up the development, which opened around the turn of the millennium.

Embrace Boston reveals ‘Harm Report’
As Boston’s Reparations Task Force begins its research to identify the damage done by centuries of systemic racism in Boston, Embrace Boston has released its “Harm Report: Connecting the Past to the Present State of Black Boston.

“The report could really make a...
“The report could really make a difference in our son’s future if they just follow the recommendations.”.

IN THE NEWS
Phillip Martin, multi-awardwinning journalist and senior investigative reporter for the GBH News Center for Investigative Reporting, will be inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

The steep price of school underfunding
But when I read The Adequacy and Fairness of State School Finance Systems, a report from the Albert Shanker Institute, and saw that Black children are 3.5 times more likely than white children to be in chronically underfunded school districts, well, I can feel that number.

Fight for the freedom to learn
Florida officials, led by Gov. Ron DeSantis, howled. They claimed the course “lacks educational value” and violated state laws against teaching about race and racism. The College Board initially caved to Florida’s demands and said the course would be heavily redacted, then said it wouldn’t.

Old North Church pulls back sanctuary veil on ties to slavery
In the front left corner of the hushed sanctuary in Old North Church sits a box pew lined in plush red velvet, as it might have looked centuries ago.

Focusing on financial health: Chart the path toward your next milestone
When was the last time you looked at your bank account balance? According to a recent study, over 60 percent of Americans check their balance at least once week. This is a habit, if practiced the right way, can you put on the path to achieving your financial goals.

Civic leaders say Wu ignoring community input
Since the city’s announcement last summer that a women’s professional soccer team would lease White Stadium, park advocates and activists in neighborhoods surrounding Franklin Park have struggled to keep up with the breakneck pace of project review meetings.

ID barriers persist for former prisoners
The 51-year-old, whose birth name is Jeffrey Hilton, left prison after 33 years excited to start his new life. He moved to a halfway house in Boston.

Bringing white men into DEI discussions
The business mogul has had an illustrious career as a public relations and marketing professional, including founding her own firm, Colette Phillips Communications.

New study shows value of chief diversity officers
A new research study reveals that the role of chief diversity officers is a major corporate asset in helping boost finances and strengthen the functioning of workplace organizations.

Welcome to Banner Business, our new section covering Black business interests
The Banner is expanding to include a business section, and we couldn’t be more excited. In 1965, when the Banner first hit the stands, the goal was to provide compelling and useful content to Black readers, including coverage of economic and business development focused on our community.

RCC’s 50th Anniversary celebrations conclude with Golden Jubilee Gala
Roxbury Community College (RCC) made a big announcement at the Golden Jubilee Gala held at the Omni Seaport Boston Hotel on February 24. The RCC Foundation (RCCF) exceeded its $6M goal for fundraising during its 50th anniversary year by raising $6.3M!.

Highlights from the Gala
Photos by Phuong Tang, Roxbury Community College and Binita Patel, Binita Patel Photography..

Caitlin Clark makes Division One college basketball history
Iowa sharpshooter Caitlin Clark is now the top scorer in Division One college basketball history — women and men — breaking the 54-year-old record of 3,667 points over three seasons at Louisiana State University (1967-1970) by the late Pete Maravich.

High school and college basketball roundup
New Mission beat Rockport 55-49 before losing to Westport 74-39 in the second round of play. City champs Boston Latin Academy, South Boston, Snowden, Cash, Boston United, EMK, and Madison Park all suffered first-round losses in the MIAA post-season competition.

Celtics run up the score on top teams
The Green turned in strong offensive performance against Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and the Mavericks on their way to a lopsided 138-110 triumph. But that was just a preview to the franchise’s record-setting 140-88 beat-down the Celts laid on the Warriors before a national viewing audience on Sunday.

LaToya M. Hobbs carves out time, literally and figuratively
In the age of ever-present Google calendar invites, iPhone reminders and overbooked day-planners, LaToya M. Hobbs’ impressive woodcut print series “Carving Out Time” is more relatable than ever.

A musical journey with Audra McDonald
McDonald stepped up to the microphone in a sculpted turquoise sheath, and instead of speaking, began with a song —“I Am What I Am” from “La Cage aux Folles.” Her voice, face and body expressed the fierce affirmation of its lyrics, a brave declaration of self-worth.

AAMARP exhibit honors program’s founder
Before finding its home in Jamaica Plain about two decades ago, the African American Master Artists-in-Residency Program was housed in a factory building on Leon Street and later moved to a space on Huntington Avenue.

Bay State Banner Art Gallery roundtable hosted at MFA ‘City Talks’ draws standing room only crowd
The roundtable, presented by the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the Bay State Banner, featured six of New England’s leading Black visual artists who have been spotlighted in the Banner’s [Virtual] Art Gallery series: Robert Freeman, Ekua Holmes, Paul Goodnight, Shea Justice, James Perry and Robert Stull.