Black organizations have historically been at the forefront of civic engagement, and as Election Day gets closer, the groups are making sure the community is ready to vote.

The president of the NAACP is urging Missouri's governor to halt the execution of Marcellus Williams scheduled for Tuesday, writing that executing a Black man who says he was wrongfully convicted would amount to a “horrible miscarriage of justice.”.

Biden has spoken to Black leaders at the National Museum of African American History and Culture about the 70th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision that desegregated schools.

The NAACP says Black student-athletes should reconsider attending public colleges and universities in Florida.

The NAACP warns that “separate and unequal policing” will return to Mississippi’s majority-Black capital under a state-run police department.

Serena Williams will be honored for her tennis achievements, business success and efforts to uplift the community at the NAACP Image Awards this weekend.

There was no violence in the midterm elections last week, and many election deniers lost and quietly conceded.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced it is investigating whether Mississippi state agencies discriminated against the state’s majority-Black capital city by refusing to fund improvements for its failing water system.

President Joe Biden’s executive action pardoning Americans with federal convictions for simple marijuana possession will benefit thousands of people by making it easier for them to find housing, get a job or apply to college.

A celebration of Black business success and opportunity is back for its third year.

The NAACP on Tuesday accused Mississippi of discriminating against Black residents by denying badly needed federal funds for drinking water infrastructure in Jackson and instead diverting money to largely-white communities that needed it less.

More than 40 million Americans could see their student loan debt reduced — and in many cases eliminated — under President Joe Biden’s long-awaited forgiveness plan.

The NAACP is making a direct plea to Attorney General Merrick Garland for the Justice Department to open a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting death of Jayland Walker, the Black man who was killed last month by officers in Ohio in a hail of police gunfire.

A Washington Commanders assistant coach referring to the Jan. 6 insurrection as a “dust-up at the Capitol” is just the latest off-field controversy for NFL franchise.

Negotiations that led to the executive order on race and policing signed last week by President Joe Biden had been in danger of breaking down.

President Joe Biden has signed an executive order to improve accountability in policing.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden have traveled to Buffalo, New York, to show solidarity with the community after a white supremacist targeted Black people at a supermarket and left 10 people dead.

President Joe Biden mourned with Buffalo’s grieving families on Tuesday, then exhorted the nation to reject what he angrily labeled the poison of white supremacy.

Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, will receive the President’s Award during the 53rd NAACP Image Awards this weekend.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and a few team owners and executives met with civil rights leaders who urged the league to make drastic changes to its hiring practices to improve diversity in leadership positions.

With the November elections creeping up and Republicans imposing new restrictions on ballot access, President Biden has no easy options for safeguarding voting rights despite rising pressure from frustrated activists.

A group of civil rights leaders called for replacing the Rooney Rule in a meeting Monday with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

The NAACP is urging Attorney General Merrick Garland to bring federal civil rights charges against the white Chicago police officer who fatally shot Black teenager Laquan McDonald.

President Joe Biden has strongly affirmed that he will nominate the first Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, will soon celebrate its 113th birthday, which its leaders say comes as it undergoes a restructuring to reflect a membership and leadership that is trending younger.

Voting legislation that is a cornerstone of the Democratic agenda and a top priority for civil rights leaders is on track for defeat.

Democrats are mounting an impassioned bid to overhaul Senate rules that stand in the way of their sweeping voting legislation.

Several dozen people gathered below the wind-whipped Wisconsin flag at Kenosha’s Civic Center Park and warmed up with chants for justice before taking to the streets in protest of the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse.

U.S. Border Patrol agents tied to images showing aggressive tactics on Haitian immigrants have been placed on administrative duties pending an investigation.

In the nation’s capital on Saturday, multiracial coalitions of civil, human and labor rights leaders are convening rallies and marches to urge passage of federal voter protections that have been eroded since the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

House Democrats have passed legislation that would strengthen a landmark civil rights-era voting law weakened by the Supreme Court over the past decade.

The NAACP is urging the Justice Department to investigate whether a federal crime was being committed when Texas Republicans threatened to have their Democratic colleagues arrested.

Democrats are renewing their push to enact their marquee elections bill.

The Democratic Party’s most passionate voters are growing increasingly frustrated with the pace of change in Washington under Democratic control.

Leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are unveiling $9.25 million in new educational and humanitarian projects as they seek to build on an alliance formed with the NAACP in 2018.

FILE - In this Jan. 12, 2020, file photo, Eddie Murphy accepts the lifetime achievement award at the 25th annual Critics' Choice Awards in Santa Monica, Calif. Murphy will be inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame this month. The NAACP announced Thursday, March 11, 2021, that Murphy will be inducted during the March 27 ceremony, which will air on CBS. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)LOS ANGELES – Eddie Murphy will be inducted into the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame this month. The NAACP announced Thursday that Murphy will be inducted during the March 27 ceremony, which will air on CBS. The NAACP Image Awards honoring entertainers and writers of color will also simulcast on BET, MTV, VH1, MTV2, BET HER and LOGO.

(AP Photos)NEW YORK – Black Lives Matter protests, 2020: Overwhelming force from law enforcement in dozens of cities. “Confederate flags, ‘don’t tread on me,’ ‘blue lives matter’ flags, the Trump flags — all of it symbolizes the same thing. On Wednesday, images emerged showing custodial staffers of color in the Capitol sweeping up the shards of glass and trash left behind by the rioters. NAACP President Derrick Johnson said the people who violated the Capitol on Wednesday should not be seen as patriotic. “This is not protesting or activism; this is an insurrection, an assault on our democracy, and a coup incited by President Trump,” Johnson said.

(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)WASHINGTON – Shortly after President-elect Joe Biden’s victory last month, Cabinet hopeful Marcia Fudge pointedly noted that Black people are often typecast into positions such as housing secretary. He’s pledged to nominate the most diverse Cabinet in history and restore experience at beleaguered federal agencies. The GOP has barely acknowledged Biden's victory so the cooperation of its senators in the confirmation process is far from certain. “That’s why we are worried.”One prominent feature of Biden’s picks so far: deep ties to the Obama administration. Brent Colburn, a former Obama administration official who served in several agencies, encouraged Democrats to consider the bigger picture as they judge Biden's Cabinet.

WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden is facing increasing pressure to expand the racial and ideological diversity in his choices for Cabinet and other top jobs. Of the nine major picks Biden has made so far, only two — Secretary of State choice Antony Blinken and chief of staff Ron Klain — are white men. Today’s Senate is more bare-knuckled and hyper-partisan than when Biden was vice president, including GOP senators eyeing their own 2024 White House runs. During his decades in the Senate and even while serving as Obama's vice president, Biden relied on a small group of close advisers who were largely white. King said he hoped Biden would appoint an African American to one of the “big four” posts, especially attorney general.

WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden is facing increasing pressure to expand the racial and ideological diversity in his choices for Cabinet and other top jobs. Of the nine major picks Biden has made so far, only two — Secretary of State choice Antony Blinken and chief of staff Ron Klain — are white men. Today’s Senate is more bare-knuckled and hyper-partisan than when Biden was vice president, including GOP senators eyeing their own 2024 White House runs. During his decades in the Senate and even while serving as Obama's vice president, Biden relied on a small group of close advisers who were largely white. King said he hoped Biden would appoint an African American to one of the “big four” posts, especially attorney general.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The NAACP is working to ensure Georgia voters know that another important election is coming up in January -- the runoff races for two Senate seats. The 2020 presidential election broke records for voter turnout, including the number of minorities that cast a ballot. The NAACP said it spent millions of dollars, especially in swing states, to encourage voters to get to the polls. “This was the most strategic and largest initiative for voters,” said NAACP President Derrick Johnson. $15 million dollars was spent on the initiative, which included the states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, Texas and Alabama.

OAKLAND, Calif. – A group of prominent Facebook critics, including one of the social network's early investors and a journalist facing jail time in the Philippines, are launching their version of an “oversight board” to rival the company's own. The group says Facebook is taking too long to set up its oversight panel, which they argue is too limited in its scope and autonomy. The announcement Friday comes a day after Facebook said its own, quasi-independent oversight board, which has faced numerous delays since the company announced its creation in 2018, will launch in October. The first four board members were directly chosen by Facebook. Facebook also pays the board members’ salaries.

FILE - In this April 7, 2020, file photo, voters wait in line to cast ballots at Washington High School while ignoring a stay-at-home order over the coronavirus threat to vote in the state's presidential primary election in Milwaukee. Many Black voters are skeptical of voting by mail even as states seek to expand that option during the coronavirus pandemic. Decades of racism and voter disenfranchisement are at the heart of the uneasy choice facing Black voters. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)

Many Black voters are skeptical of voting by mail even as states seek to expand that option during the coronavirus pandemic. Decades of racism and voter disenfranchisement are at the heart of the uneasy choice facing Black voters. Ironically, suspicion of mail-in voting aligns with the views of President Donald Trump, whom many Black voters want out of office. Multiple studies show mail-in ballots from Black voters, like those from Latino and young voters, are rejected at a higher rate than those of white voters. Among the places where Black voters say they have had to overcome institutional obstacles is Shelby County, Tennessee, which includes Memphis.

FILE - NAACP President and CEO, Derrick Johnson addresses the 110th NAACP National Convention in Detroit on July 22, 2019. CBS Television and the NAACP have reached an agreement to develop content to further tell stories of the African American experience. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)LOS ANGELES CBS Television and the NAACP has reached an agreement to develop content to further tell stories of the African American experience. The television studio and civil rights organization announced the multi-year agreement in a joint statement Wednesday. CBS will work with the NAACP to form a team to acquire, develop and produce programming to detail inclusive stories.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg met with civil rights leaders, Tuesday, July 7, 2020, including the organizers of a widespread advertising boycott of the social network over hate speech on its platform. On Tuesday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg met with a group of civil rights leaders, including the organizers of a growing advertising boycott over hate speech on Facebook. Those included hiring a civil rights executive; banning private groups that promote white supremacy, vaccine misinformation or violent conspiracy theories; and ending an exemption that allows politicians to post voting misinformation. President Donald Trump frequently skirts Facebook's posting rules, yet faces no consequences, dismaying both civil rights leaders and some of Facebook's own employees. On Wednesday, Facebook will release the final results of its own civil rights audit of its U.S. practices.

What were watching heading into a new week on the 2020 campaign:Days to next set of primaries (New York and Kentucky): 8Days to general election: 141___THE NARRATIVEPresident Donald Trump makes his official return to the campaign trail this week. At the same time, health experts worry that Trump's rally could help intensify a second wave of coronavirus infections. ___THE BIG QUESTIONSWill Trump's return to the campaign trail backfire? ___2020 Watch runs every Monday and provides a look at the week ahead in the 2020 election. ___Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game.

Key Democrats, including presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden, are rejecting liberal calls to defund the police as President Donald Trump and his allies point to the movement as a dangerous example of Democratic overreach. Other opponents of the movement include Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., a former presidential candidate and one of two black Democratic senators, and Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., head of the Congressional Black Caucus. Municipal officials in Minneapolis have endorsed the defund the police language backed by some civil rights activists and a handful of progressive House Democrats. Protesters over the weekend also painted DEFUND THE POLICE in large yellow letters on a street close to the White House. Some Democrats described it as bad politics, even if most Democrats shared the desire to overhaul policing.

It's an open question, however, whether the energy on the streets will translate into energy in the voting booth. Trump hopes to demonstrate strength among his base of white voters in small towns while holding his own in metro areas. Georgia, which has emerged as a potential battleground state this fall, offers the clearest test for those two paths. The state is also holding a Senate primary on Tuesday, with congressional primaries happening in states including Nevada and South Carolina. Bidens campaign manager, Jen OMalley Dillon, mentions Georgia along with Arizona and Texas as the next three states that Democrats can flip.

WASHINGTON Joe Biden lamented the open wound of the nation's systemic racism on Friday as he responded to the police killing of a black man in Minnesota. As the country endures another spasm of racial unrest, the central premise of Bidens campaign is being tested. He clearly condemned it.By Friday afternoon, Trump sought to acknowledge the shocking circumstances of Floyds death while commending law enforcement. Biden, without mentioning Trump by name, made clear he would approach the presidency differently. This is no time to encourage violence, Biden said.

Peebles is one of roughly 40 million black Americans deciding minute by minute whether to put their faith in the government and medicine during the coronavirus pandemic. Ive just been conditioned not to trust, Peebles said. Black people already suffer disproportionately from chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease and are far more likely to be uninsured. Cities with large black populations like New York, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee and New Orleans have emerged as hot spots for the coronavirus. A 2016 paper found the fallout included mistrust of medicine among black men, along with fewer interactions with doctors and higher mortality rates.