June Bacon-Bercey was America’s first female broadcast meteorologist, breaking many gender and racial barriers. She didn’t just forecast the weather — she changed the forecast for what women and minorities could achieve in science, broadcasting and beyond.

Civic leaders, pastors, and people from around Central Florida came together early Monday to celebrate and honor the legacies of Arthur "Pappy" Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Through a city grant, the project aims to determine the Line Street Cemetery’s boundaries in Melbourne.

Donald Trump’s campaign has nourished a fusion of hard-right politics and theology to energize evangelical Christians in swing states.

Vice President Kamala Harris has announced a series of proposals designed to give Black men more economic opportunities as she works to energize a key voting bloc that has Democrats concerned about a lack of enthusiasm.

A Florida task force gave final approval to recommend St. Augustine as the top site for a new museum of Black history, but this might not be the end for Eatonville as the potential site.

American Airlines is putting employees on leave after they were involved in an incident in which several Black passengers were removed from a flight earlier this year.

A medal richly deserved but long denied to an African American combat medic wounded on Omaha Beach in the D-Day landings has been tenderly laid on the hallowed sands where he saved lives and shed blood.

Three Black men are suing American Airlines, claiming they were discriminated against when ordered to leave a plane in January.

President Joe Biden’s administration is again delaying a sweeping plan to ban menthol cigarettes.

On Thursday, News 6 joined dozens of others aboard the Parramore Historic Bus Tour, courtesy of Orlando’s Downtown Development Board.

As members of a historic African-American Fraternity gather to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., they are also getting results for their community and empowering young people through scholastic recognition.

A growing number of Black Americans see the struggle of Palestinians reflected in their own struggles for racial equality and civil rights.

Jill Biden has hosted a White House listening session with about 60 female faith leaders, community leaders and others.

Some of the nation’s most influential Black leaders say many of the threats to democratic institutions in the U.S. appear to be aimed squarely at their community, including efforts to make voting more difficult, censor lessons around race and weaken social safeguards such as affirmative action.

The wide empty spaces in pews between parishioners at a Sunday service at Zion Baptist Church in South Carolina’s capital highlight a post-pandemic reality common among many Black Protestant churches across the nation.

Americans have long had an intense conversation about what race and ethnicity says about who they are.

The organization that created a high school African American studies program rejected by Florida says it’s still waiting for specifics from the state about how the course violates state law.

News 6 is honoring and celebrating influential and impactful Black leaders all month - including the contributions made by 79-year-old Deloris McMillon of Osceola County.

While its overall tenor remains the same, its most controversial elements have been stripped from required instruction and are now optional topics for a required student project section, according to a News 6 analysis of the frameworks.

The official curriculum for a new Advanced Placement course on African American studies released Wednesday downplays some components that had drawn criticism from conservatives including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said the class would be banned in his state.

Saying that an African-American studies course “lacks educational value,” Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is defending its rejection of the curriculum, while Black religious leaders and elected officials are pledging to “fight like hell” against the decision.

The pioneering Black performer Josephine Baker — who left the United States to find global fame in Paris in the 1920s — was Dior’s muse for an old school spring couture collection of archetypal classicism.

On Friday, the Florida Department of Education released a statement that it was rejecting the coursework for a new advanced placement class still in its pilot phase.

For the first time in two years, community and faith leaders gathered in person for the celebration of Orlando's first Black elected official.

California law enforcement searched teenagers whom officers perceived to be Black youths between 15 and 17 years old at nearly six times the rate of teens believed to be white during vehicle and pedestrian stops in 2021.

Marine Gen. Michael Langley took over as the top U.S. commander for Africa Tuesday, heading U.S. military operations on a continent with some of the most active and dangerous insurgent groups and a relatively small Pentagon footprint.

The Marine Corps has its first African American four-star general.

An Oakland woman has spent nearly 20 years advocating for restoration of the town’s historic African American cemetery, which town officials said was used in the 1800s before being closed in the mid-1900s.

A project to redevelop a school for African American students is moving forward, but residents of the East Altamonte community said it’s not moving fast enough.

America’s hiring boom of the past year has narrowed racial disparities in unemployment.

The history of racial violence in the U.S. is the backdrop as President Joe Biden signs the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act into law.

Despite having 1,485 registered voters, only 493 people cast a ballot in the election.

Americans are starkly divided by race on the importance of President Joe Biden’s promise to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court.

This year's theme for Black History Month is a focus on the importance of health and wellness within African American communities.

Dr. Cassann Blake, Head of Breast Cancer Oncology at Cleveland Clinic Florida discusses the importance of Black voices in the medical field.

News 6 meteorologist Candace Campos explains that higher pollen counts are expected by the end of this week in Central Florida as the breeze and warmer weather picks up.

A threat was made against Dr. Phillips High School Monday morning, prompting school officials to evacuate the building while deputies investigated.

Afrofuturism will be highlighted at Carnegie Hall, placing a spotlight on the movement as the bastion of New York City music and culture takes another step toward normalcy.

The University of Alabama is reconsidering its decision last week to retain the name of a one-time governor who led the Ku Klux Klan on a campus building while adding the name of the school’s first Black student.

Two Tampa legislators took steps forward last month in continuing their effort to find and save destroyed African American cemeteries throughout the Tampa Bay area, according to a report from WTSP-TV.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says the criticism he received over a comment made about African American voters is outrageous and offensive.

Sidney Poitier, who played roles of such dignity and intelligence that he transformed how Black people were portrayed on screen, becoming along the way the first Black actor to win an Oscar for best lead performance and the first to be a top box-office draw, has died.

A judge has approved a series of motions that cleared the names of Lake County's Groveland Four, a group of young African American men wrongfully convicted of rape in 1949.

Ingrid Burton Nathan is the first African American student to integrate schools in Seminole County.

When New York City voters this week chose Eric Adams as the city’s next mayor and Alvin Bragg as the Manhattan district attorney, they elevated two Black men into two of the city’s most powerful elected offices.

Black couple who escaped slavery in the U.S. state of Georgia and fled to Britain to campaign for abolition have been honored with a historic marker on their home in London.

The Wells'Built Museum of African American History and Culture hosted a Juneteenth celebration Friday.

A group of mostly African American historians met outside of Orlando City Hall on Thursday to recognize May 20 as Florida’s Emancipation Day.

The Democratic-led House has passed legislation to constrain a president’s power to limit entry to the U.S. The vote Wednesday was a response to former President Donald Trump’s travel ban covering five Muslim-majority countries.

FILE - In this March 17, 2021 photo, President Joe Biden speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. Biden intends to nominate three African American prosecutors to run the U.S. attorneys offices in New York, including the first Black man to run the Southern District of New York. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden is expected to nominate three prosecutors to run the U.S. attorney’s offices in New York state, including the first Black man to run the Southern District of New York in Manhattan and the first Black woman to head the Western District in Buffalo. Ross, a longtime federal prosecutor, is expected to run the office in the Buffalo-based Western District. Brooklyn federal prosecutors have been examining the state’s handling of COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes in a probe that drew public attention after a top aide to New York Gov.

Florida – The American Meteorological Society’s Broadcaster of the Year Award has been renamed to honor the late June Bacon-Bercey, a pioneering African American woman in the field of meteorology. The AMS recently changed the name of the Broadcaster of the Year Award to the June Bacon-Bercey Award for Broadcast Meteorology. The path she paved began in the 50s when Bacon-Bercey was the first African American woman to earn a bachelor’s in meteorology. She was the first woman and first African American woman to do so. In an effort to continue Bacon-Bercey’s legacy the AMS is hopeful that the award deemed “The June Bacon-Bercey Award for Broadcast Meteorology” will encourage a more diverse nomination pool for the AMS Broadcast Award.

MARION COUNTY, Fla. – Some pastors in Marion County started a partnership with a local NAACP chapter and the county’s health department to make COVID-19 vaccines more accessible to minorities in the area. Lizzie Lennon is a former nurse practitioner and the health chair of the NAACP in Marion County. Letting them know we have a list of people that couldn’t get into Publix or the original health department registration,” Stockton said. AdThe race to get an appointment online is a common complaint for seniors in Marion County. For more information on how you can get on the waiting list, contact Greater New Hope Church at (352) 687-1130 or the Marion County chapter of NAACP at (352) 351-4560.

Most people know about the Tuskegee Airmen and Buffalo Soldiers, but very few are aware of the Montford Point Marines. “Nobody really knew about Montford Point other than that was a Marine training station,” he said. It was just being built.”Foreman was among the first 1,000 men to graduate from Montford Point. “Montford Point was the...I’d say the jumping-off point for black Marines,” he said. Approximately 20,000 African American soldiers received basic training at Montford Point between 1942 and 1949.

AdAs time goes on, Simmonds expects to see more Black and Latinx residents who are willing to roll up their sleeves. “At the end of the day, each day that you wait is playing Russian roulette... so please make the responsible decision, the best, responsible decision for yourself and your family and get vaccinated,” Simmonds said. While only health care professionals and those 65 and older can get inoculated now, Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said eligibility could expand in the near future. Since efforts began late last year, Orange County has vaccinated 7.89% of its overall population and 45.7% of its elderly residents. On Monday, a new set of appointments became available at the Orange County Convention Center, which is now performing 3,000 shots per day.

People walk to the entrance of the National Museum of African American Music, Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A new museum two decades in the making is telling the interconnected story of Black musical genres through the lens of American history. Even as Nashville has long celebrated its role in the history of music, the new museum fills a gap by telling an important and often overlooked story about the roots of American popular music, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B and hip-hop. “Most music museums deal with a label, a genre or an artist,” said H. Beecher Hicks III, the museum’s president and CEO. She noted that the museum put gospel music in context with how it inspired social change, especially during the civil rights era.

United States Ambassador to the United Nations nominee Linda Thomas-Greenfield testifies during for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in Washington. Johnson asked her why she had said the United States is not in a new Cold War with China. “This speech is cheerleading for the Chinese Communist Party” and makes no mention of China’s human rights violations, he said. Johnson asked her what the stronger language and tougher tactics would be toward China. “And yet, I had an extraordinary 35-year career, that culminated as the assistant secretary of state of African affairs,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Twelve years after the first African American president was sworn in, the United States made history once again with the first female Vice President Kamala Harris. [TRENDING: Biden will move to reverse these Trump policies | Here’s how to register for COVID-19 vaccine | At least part-time residency required for vaccine in FL]For 28-year-old Jameson, it was a moment of pride as she witnessed a fellow Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority sister break the glass ceiling as she was sworn in by the first Latina Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. The swearing-in of our FIRST Female Vice President of these United States of America. WE SALUTE YOU MADAM VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS! #AKAHistoryMaker #AKAMVP pic.twitter.com/K6Wirddv9U — Alpha Kappa Alpha (@akasorority1908) January 20, 2021The moment will have an impact on future generations, Boothe said.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – JPMorgan Chase said Thursday it will extend billions in loans to Black and Latino homebuyers and small business owners in an expanded effort toward fixing what the bank calls “systemic racism” in the country’s economic system. “Systemic racism is a tragic part of America’s history,” said JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon in a statement. Citigroup announced last month it is committing $1 billion toward closing “the racial wealth gap” in the United States, including $550 million toward homeownership programs for racial minorities. He noted that there’s a 30% gap between Black and white homeownership, amounting to about 4.5 million households. JPMorgan was one of 27 major New York-based companies that joined a program to recruit 100,000 workers from the city's low-income, predominately Black, Latino and Asian communities over the next 10 years.

Sarah Palafox, an African American woman who sings regional Mexican music, poses in Moreno Valley, Calif., in this undated photo. Palafox, an African American woman raised by a Mexican immigrant family, has generated excitement online with her versions of regional Mexican music. Other videos of her singing banda — another form of regional music from Mexico’s southwest coast — also have been shared thousands of times. She would only say the music will be different and she’s not listening to critics who tell her she’s shouldn’t be singing regional Mexican music. “I was told you can’t wear braids, you can’t wear your Afro and go on stage and sing Mexican music,” Palafox said.

Black voters across Michigan will be pivotal in deciding who will win the battleground state in November. Biden visited Detroit earlier this month, and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, was spending time in Flint and Detroit on Tuesday. In an interview this month with longtime Detroit radio host Mildred Gaddis, Biden noted that Michigan, and its Black voters in Detroit, are “critically important." Democratic state leaders said they learned hard lessons and that the party has worked to connect with Black voters. But challenges remain in connecting with apathetic voters and with younger Black voters who might have more progressive leanings — key demographics that Branden Snyder, the executive director of Detroit Action, said his organization is trying to reach.

African American male, with a white tank top and black shorts, initially, said Joseph Griffin. In the video, the deputy told Griffin that he was not under arrest but was being detained because he fit the description. He told News 6 that he invited Griffin, a former military officer, to attend an implicit bias training class to share his experience with law enforcement. The way we stopped Mr. Griffin is the way we would have stopped a white guy, a Black guy, a Hispanic guy or a purple guy, Chitwood said. But, I will say if you remain calm, at least 85% of the time the situation will go your way, he said.

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – George Floyd’s death has impacted the country and the world. [UPDATES: Protests over death of George Floyd continue across the US | Orange County town hall to focus on George Floyd, police and community relations]“I was that 17-year-old who was stopped by the police. “It bothers me to death,” Canty said. [RELATED COVERAGE: Orange County leaders explain how they can mend law enforcement-community relationships | Black-owned restaurants you can support in Orlando]He was raised in Pine Hills and is now second in command at the Orange County sheriffs office. We’re trying to hold our people accountable and know that we are listening, we’ve heard the concerns of the community,” Canty said.

— Rep. Val Demings (@RepValDemings) January 15, 2020In a statement released by her office, Demings lashed out at Trump. Val Demings and House Democrats are desperate to undermine a duly elected president because they know they cannot beat him at the ballot box. Floridians will remember this baseless, partisan witch hunt and vote to reelect President Trump in November." Demings’ office released a detailed statement about Trump’s impeachment. My oath was to the United States Constitution.