African American

Most of us are curious about our family lineage. For Vanessa Williams, who recently took part in the show "Who Do You Think You Are" and explored her family's history, the task was both surprising and informative. Here, she talks about what she learned and how she plans to use that information. How did you become interested in finding out about your lineage? I've always been interested, but I was introduced to Ancestry.com [one of the websites that help people research their family backgrounds]

In ground-breaking action, the Los Angeles Unified school board voted Tuesday to ban suspensions of defiant students, directing officials to use alternative disciplinary practices instead. The packed board room erupted in cheers after the 5-2 vote to approve the proposal, which made L.A. Unified the first school district in the state to ban defiance as grounds for suspension. The action comes amid mounting national concern that removing students from school is imperiling their academic achievement and disproportionately harming minority students, particularly African Americans.

The 131-character dispatch arrived mournfully within two hours of sunrise May 4, at 7:58 a.m. to be exact. "When u give Give GIVE and they take Take TAKE at wat point do u draw a line in the sand?" Kobe Bryant wrote on his Twitter feed, adding the hashtags "hurt beyond measure," "gave me no warning," and finally, "love?" Bryant's career with the Lakers has often been pushed aside by internal family matters, the recent court battle over his memorabilia the latest in a string of cheerless events.

Dallas Willard Influential Christian philosopher taught at USC for 47 years Dallas Willard, 77, an influential Christian philosopher who taught at USC for 47 years and chaired the philosophy department in the early 1980s, died Wednesday in Woodland Hills, the university said. He had cancer. In "The Great Omission," "Renovation of the Heart," "The Divine Conspiracy" and other books, Willard wrote about spiritual formation and Christian discipleship for the general reader, often giving practical advice for living a Christian life in a secular world.

Avery Clayton, who carried on the work of his mother, Mayme Clayton, by establishing a library and museum in Culver City for her major collection of African American artifacts, died Thanksgiving Day. He was 62. Clayton, a retired art teacher, died suddenly of unknown causes while hosting a holiday gathering at his Culver City home, said Evelyn Davis, a family spokeswoman. The collection assembled by his mother -- a college librarian who haunted garage sales and then often packed her finds into the garage behind her humble West Adams home -- is a treasure trove of rare books, manuscripts, photographs, feature films and other ephemera.

'Brooklyn's' fine opening "Alice in Wonderland," made the competition seem small in its opening weekend, but the cop drama "Brooklyn's Finest" managed to do solid business, largely by appealing to African American moviegoers in big cities. Overture Films opened the Antoine Fuqua- directed film, which stars Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke and Wesley Snipes to a respectable $13.5 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. According to exit polls, 86% of attendees were nonwhite and an estimated 60% were African American.

African-American children may be at higher risk for food allergies, a study finds, but race may not be the only factor. Children from various ethnic backgrounds were tested for food allergies to determine if race or genetic ancestry were risk factors. Among 1,104 children (average age 2.7), 60.9% were black, 22.5% were Hispanic, 5.9% were white and 10.8% were other races. Researchers discovered that black children were more apt to have food allergies, and that being of African ancestry was linked with a greater chance of having a peanut allergy.

Roy DeCarava, an art photographer whose pictures of everyday life in Harlem helped clarify the African American experience for a wider audience, has died. He was 89.He died Tuesday in New York City, his daughter Wendy DeCarava said. The cause was not given. DeCarava (pronounced Dee-cuh-RAH-vah) photographed Harlem during the 1940s, '50s and '60s with an insider's view of the subway stations, restaurants, apartments and especially the people who lived in the predominantly African American neighborhood.

Burl Toler, the first African American game official in NFL history, has died. He was 81. Toler died Sunday at a hospital in Castro Valley, Calif., according to the University of San Francisco. He was a star lineman and linebacker on the Dons' 1951 football team that was denied a bowl bid despite a 9-0 record because it refused to leave its two black players -- Toler and Ollie Matson -- behind. "We were disappointed at the time, sure," Toler told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2001.

Irene Baumann smiled Tuesday as she applauded lively performances by African American entertainers and strolled Fullerton College's quad, which was filled with music, vendors and the aroma of barbecued ribs and chicken. The 54-year-old student was one of about 100 people attending the school's first "African American Showcase Festival," sponsored by the campus Black Student Union.

In a Hollywood auditorium, James L. Tolbert tried to induce a room packed with broadcasting and advertising executives to essentially join the civil rights movement in 1963 by pointing out the obvious. "We Negroes watch 'Bonanza' and buy Chevrolets. We watch 'Disney' on RCA sets," proclaimed Tolbert, an entertainment attorney who was speaking to the 125 invited guests in his role as president of the NAACP's Beverly Hills-Hollywood branch. "We buy all the advertised products, the same as you do. " Delivered weeks before the March on Washington, the speech pointed out the absence of African Americans on both sides of the camera.

The men had celebrated into the wee hours of the morning. Sleep would come, later. The Dodgers were theirs, and for the first time these men could introduce themselves as owners rather than bidders. Mark Walter, the incoming chairman, sat in a conference room, patiently explaining that, no, the new owners did not believe they had overpaid. Stan Kasten, the incoming president, talked about supporting the Dodgers' thin front office rather than dismantling it. Magic Johnson had plenty to say too, but he took a moment.

One complaint leveled against genome studies is that they don't survey a broad enough swath of humankind. Though many projects have searched DNA collected from people of European descent -- hoping to ferret out which changes in what parts of the genome are linked to this disease or that -- fewer have investigated the genomes of other ethnic groups.  In 2011, Stanford University geneticist and MacArthur "genius" grant recipient Carlos Bustamante discussed...

The black NASCAR truck with a white "54" on the side gleamed on pit road as its driver walked up for the night's race, prompting three dozen photographers and well-wishers to edge closer. The attraction was 19-year-old Darrell Wallace Jr. As Wallace posed for the cameras at Daytona International Speedway, the public address announcer called out his name and added: "That's a driver many people are waiting to see. " Indeed they are - especially the executives who run NASCAR - because Wallace is an African American.

When Los Angeles mayoral rivals Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti started scrambling last month to line up key supporters for the May runoff, Maxine Waters was near the top of the list for both - well worth any wining, dining or flattery that might be required. On Monday, Greuel reveled in her success in winning over the Democratic congresswoman from South Los Angeles at a joint appearance outside City Hall.  Join us at 9 a.m. as we discuss Waters' endorsement with Times reporter Michael Finnegan.

Los Angeles County sheriff's officials launched an investigation Friday into a "stupid joke" a deputy from the agency's jailhouse intelligence unit allegedly played on two black colleagues, a department spokesman said. The deputy sent an email to the rest of his unit - including his boss - singling out the two black deputies, the spokesman confirmed. "Due to the recent tension between the black and Hispanics, I implemented a new unit," Deputy Mickey Manzo, who is not black, allegedly wrote.

Nur Kiser said she brought her teen-age daughter to the black history celebration here Saturday to help her learn about another culture. Victoria Romano took her children, she said, so they would not forget their own. "Each generation loses a little bit of its heritage as we become more Americanized," said Romano, a Huntington Beach resident. "That's with any ethnic group. This is one way to keep it alive."

Re "Teen Denies Provoking Police Jabs," July 31: I am a white man who has lived with a black person for nearly 20 years. I have seen the background features of this Inglewood incident--the teen being told to drop his potato chips, five officers involved, handcuffing for an expired license check--countless times with my roommate, his family and friends. The enormous show of force by the officers, who it seems weren't otherwise paying attention to anything going on, has never happened to me or my family.

Jan Perry, the strong favorite of African Americans in the March 5 primary for Los Angeles mayor, plans to announce Thursday that she is backing her ex-rival Eric Garcetti in the May runoff, her spokeswoman said. Perry's endorsement is one of the most prized in the May 21 contest between Garcetti and City Controller Wendy Greuel. Perry has been a colleague of Garcetti's on the City Council for almost 12 years. Neither Garcetti nor Greuel emerged from the primary with significant backing among black voters, one of the biggest blocs up for grabs in the runoff.

A state lawmaker campaigning to represent a major chunk of ethnically diverse South Los Angeles on the City Council is retreating from his controversial accusation that an opponent has tried to divide voters "along racial lines. " State Sen. Curren Price (D-Los Angeles) is seeking to reframe remarks he made last week to a group made up largely of African American ministers about his rival, former council aide Ana Cubas. The shift in message came after council President Herb Wesson, a top Price supporter, called for the senator to meet personally with Cubas.