Yahoo Home Jayla Whitfield-Anderson
Jayla is the second recipient of the Yahoo News fellowship through the National Association of Black Journalists. With a passion for storytelling, Jayla works as a national reporter and producer for Yahoo. Previously, Jayla worked as a multimedia reporter for Fox News in Atlanta, Georgia. She also worked as a local news multimedia reporter and anchor in Macon, Georgia. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends.
Yahoo NewsMississippi 'goon squad' officers are part of larger law enforcement problem, experts say
Six white former Mississippi police officers, some of whom reportedly called themselves the “Goon Squad,” pleaded guilty in a racist attack on two Black men who endured hours of torture from the officers.
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Georgia RICO cases hit Trump, Giuliani and the rapper Young Thug — all from the same DA
The former president and 18 allies are being charged under the statute originally intended to target organized crime.
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Black women-owned firm targeted by conservative activist for grant program: 'We are not scared'
Fearless Fund, an Atlanta-based venture capital firm, was sued last week for discrimination for considering only businesses owned by Black women for a grant program.
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O'Shae Sibley's death is a 'wake-up call' about rise in anti-LGBTQ hate incidents, experts say
The stabbing death of O’Shae Sibley, who was voguing outside a gas station in Brooklyn when he was attacked last month, has sparked a renewed concern over the rise of hate crimes against the LGBTQ community.
- Yahoo News 360
Can artificial intelligence be racist?
As the use of AI reaches new heights, experts say its algorithms are likely to increase racial biases and discriminatory practices.
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Carlee Russell 'hoax' fallout: Ala. lawmaker wants to make faking an abduction a felony
An Alabama lawmaker plans to introduce legislation that would make faking an abduction a felony, after Carlee Russell was charged with two misdemeanors after lying about being kidnapped.
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The history of Emmett Till: From lynching to national remembrance
The federally protected sites will include three federally protected locations in Mississippi and Chicago.
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Carlee Russell admits there was no abduction. Experts say the saga puts 'real' missing Black women at risk.
With new details revealing Carlee Russell was never abducted, advocates want to keep the momentum on finding other missing Black women and girls.
- Yahoo News 360
Why is Kamala Harris so unpopular in the polls?
In 2021, Kamala Harris made history as the first Black and first female of Indian descent to become vice president. As the 2024 election approaches, experts say her low poll numbers are no surprise.
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A Black mother died after childbirth in 2016. Now the hospital is under federal investigation.
The federal probe comes years after the death of Kira Dixon Johnson, a Black mother who died from internal bleeding roughly 12 hours after giving birth to her second child via a cesarean section in 2016.
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Top schools begin dropping legacy admissions after affirmative action ruling
The moves to eliminate legacy admissions follow the Supreme Court ruling in June against the use of race-conscious admissions for colleges, which reignited efforts to eliminate top schools giving favorable treatment to children of alumni.
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'This isn't over': Demand for national reparations intensifies after dismissal of Tulsa lawsuit
The abrupt dismissal of a lawsuit seeking reparations for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre is seen as a stinging setback for restitution efforts nationwide. But many critics say the case justifies the need for a national plan.
- Yahoo News 360
Should the Supreme Court be expanded? Calls to pack the court grow after recent SCOTUS rulings
In 2021, President Biden issued an executive order to establish a commission to study the status of and make recommendations for improving the court. The commission’s report advised against court packing.
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Black Reparations Fund aims to help local initiatives, as federal efforts stagnate
While a majority of Black Americans support reparations, a Pew Research poll found that 68% of Americans don’t support reparations, and Republicans are overwhelmingly opposed.
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SCOTUS affirmative action ruling renews calls to end 'unlevel playing field' of legacy admissions
U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., plan to reintroduce the Fair College Admissions for Students Act, a bill that seeks to stop universities from giving special treatment to children of alumni and donors.
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SCOTUS affirmative action ruling: Why experts, activists say it's a step backward
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the court’s only Black female justice, described the decision as “colorblindness for all” in her dissent. Civil rights leaders and advocates say colleges and universities must ensure diversity more now than ever before.
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Ohio activists seek DOJ probe 1 year after police shot Jayland Walker 46 times
Over a dozen organizations gathered outside of the U.S Justice Department on Tuesday wearing shirts that said “Justice for Jayland” and demanding an investigation into the policies and practices of the Akron Police Department within the next two weeks.
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Why Juneteenth represents freedom better than July 4 for many Americans
More than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, on June 19, 1865, federal troops went to the Confederate holdout in Galveston, Texas. The Union soldiers read the proclamation aloud, ensuring that all slaves were free and marking the end of slavery in the United States.
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The family of Henrietta Lacks, whose stolen cancer cells changed medicine, settles lawsuit
In June, advocates, congressional leaders and the family of Henrietta Lacks nominated her for the Congressional Gold Medal for her unknowing contribution to medicine, which has played a vital role in the polio vaccine, cloning, in vitro fertilization, gene mapping and much more.
- Yahoo News 360
How critical race theory bans are fueling debates on education and identity
The origin of racism in American history is part of an ongoing national debate as lawmakers, experts and educators advocate for and against the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT) — a theory created in the 1980s by legal scholars — in schools across the country.