Across the city, the BPHC is holding free clinics, offering residents the opportunity to get a flu or COVID shot in response to an “extreme uptick” in cases, said Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, the city’s public health commissioner.

In his career spanning a half century, Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint treated many patients, from adults and children in private practice to public housing tenants in the country’s first community health center. But to improve the mental health of African Americans, the prominent psychiatrist believed his country needed ongoing treatment too — for the mental illness afflicting all who live in the United States, racism.

Black buying power in America is expected to surge to $1.98 trillion in 2025, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth. Strategically leveraged, that economic clout can wield enormous power over companies that are bending the knee to Trump’s mischaracterization of DEI.

A new online tool launched by the state Feb. 14 lets veterans estimate how much they can receive in financial benefits.

For the past four years, La Parada Dominican Kitchen in Egleston Square has been dishing up mofongo, chofan — a Dominican fried rice — and bucketfuls of beans. Now, the restaurant is preparing to start serving wine and beer, as well as an expanded menu, after being awarded a liquor license, part of 225 new permits allocated under legislation passed by the State House.

Success is self-reinforcing at the Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School in Cambridge. Principal Sherley Bretous said, “If I knew what the secret sauce was” then “I would give it to the whole world for free.

Roberta Cleopatra Flack was born on February 10, 1937, in Black Mountain, North Carolina, to parents Laron Flack, a U.S. Veterans Administration draftsman, and Irene Flack, a church organist.

The young ladies of the John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science and the young men of the Dr. Albert D. Holland High School of Technology reign as city basketball champions of the Boston Public Schools following impressive victories in playoff competition.

When Jeff Lahens joined the team of 9Tailors to help with marketing in 2017, he never would have imagined that he would become the CEO years later.

A cluster of shimmering silver poles evokes the stand of trees where ancestors and living family members meet in “The Grove,” on stage at the Calderwood Pavilion of the Boston Center for the Arts through March 9 in a world premiere production by the Huntington Theater Company.

Look what's happening in Boston and beyond.

The power of Dorothy Height’s words, “I want to be remembered as one who tried,” strikes at the heart of Boston’s Black legacy. We are here because of all the ancestors who tried, those whose triumphs were blocked, those who persisted and those who succeeded.

Each year when the calendar flips to February, we as a nation train our collective focus on the stories of Black people in American history, highlighting some of the myriad achievements, accomplishments and contributions we’ve made, indispensable fibers woven into the great tapestry that is the United States

As we enter this Black History Month, we find ourselves in a moment of sharp contrast. In the morning, we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his “I Have a Dream” speech — a call for racial equity and unity. By midafternoon, President Trump has already reversed as much racial progress as possible within his first hours back in office, making it clear where his priorities lie.

Frederick Douglas is dead.  In 2017, President Donald J. Trump didn’t appear to know this fact. However, in 2025, he may still not know.

My father, Bob Hayden, served many roles in our community: president of Boston’s NAACP, executive director of METCO, a regular columnist for the Bay State Banner, assistant superintendent of Boston Public Schools, a professor of African American studies at several Boston area universities and colleges, author of several books about Black excellence, and the preeminent expert on Black history in Boston and beyond.

I have always been curious about African American history because when I was growing up, the inquisitive kid that I was, there was no mention in my textbooks that we as a people individually or collectively contributed to anything.

“Black Power” is often reduced to a set of easily recognizable figures — Malcolm X, the Black Panther Party, or the speeches of Kwame Ture. However, its ideological breadth stretches beyond these familiar icons.

What will historians say a century from now about this moment in Black history? Looking back, will they see the first quarter of the 21st century as a pivotal moment of retrenchment, comparable to the imposition of Jim Crow after the promises of the post-Civil War era of Reconstruction?

My mother once said to me that history is the skeleton inside a living country. It made sense to me that if we haven’t formed a clear understanding of what happened and why, how are we to make good decisions going forward?

When people introduce me as a “Black leader,” I gently correct them: I am a leader who happens to be Black. This isn’t just a matter of semantics; it’s about how we frame leadership in America.

What real power do we have at this moment? At a minimum, we have the power of thought, the power of our wallets and the power of our collective action.

As we celebrate Black History Month, we honor the rich, diverse and powerful stories that have shaped and continue to shape our culture, history and future. At ROXFILM, we revel in the strength, resilience and creativity of our ROXFILM family and beyond as they continue to amplify voices that have been overlooked or underrepresented.

As I reflect on Black History Month 2025, I’m reminded why my late husband, Roland, and I wrote “Still I Rise: A Cartoon History of African Americans,” followed by our updated edition “Still I Rise: A Graphic History of African Americans.”

This Black History Month, the Banner is teaming up with WriteBoston’s Teens In Print program, highlighting young voices of color. Each week, we will feature the work of three new students, who will deliver their perspectives on Black History and what it means to them.