Volume 134 No. 24
THE BLACK MEDIA AUTHORITY • AFRO.COM
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JANUARY 10, 2026 - JANUARY 16, 2026
AP Photo / Scott A Garfitt via Invision
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AP Photo / Owen Sweeney via Invision
The Golden Globe Awards, set to take place on Jan. 11, will serve as a night to honor excellence in film, television and podcasting. Black nominees include actress Ayo Edebiri (left), for her work on “The Bear,” director Ryan Coogler and actor Michael B. Jordan, for the internationally acclaimed film, “Sinners,” which is nominated for seven awards, and Kevin Hart (right), for his Netflix comedy special, “Acting My Age.”
Golden Globes Awards highlight Black talent By Alexis Taylor AFRO Managing Editor The Golden Globe Awards are set to take place on Jan. 11., with all eyes on the nominees who have displayed brilliance on the
big screen, in television and in a brand new category: podcasting. The awards present an opportunity to shine a spotlight on Black excellence in the arts. Whether the genre is drama, comedy, or musical, Black thespians put on quite the
show in the past year. At the top of the list of Black nominees? The unbelievably talented team behind one of the biggest hits of 2025: Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners.” The movie was released in the United States on April 18 and grossed roughly $368,289,632
in sales internationally, according to “The Numbers,” an entertainment database operated by Nash Information Services. “Sinners” has a total of seven nominations. Continued on A3
CBC slams U.S. intervention in Venezuela, citing lack of legal authority By Ashlee Banks Special to the AFRO
afro.com
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are condemning President Donald
Trump’s military takeover of Venezuela, denouncing what they describe as an illegal act of aggression and a dangerous return to U.S. interventionism carried out without congressional approval or regard for international law. Trump announced on Jan. 3 that the United States had launched a large-scale military operation in Venezuela, capturing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and removing them from the country. In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that Maduro and Flores had been “captured and flown out of the Country.” Hours later, speaking from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, Trump said the United States would assume control of Venezuela’s governance for an unspecified period. “We’re going to be running it,” he said. The announcement sent shockwaves through the region and across Capitol Hill. Venezuelan officials quickly condemned the operation and called for international intervention. Foreign Minister Yván Gil Pinto said Venezuela had requested
an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council, calling the attack a violation of the country’s sovereignty. Trump later posted a photograph of Maduro aboard the USS Iwo Jima, where Maduro and Flores were held before being transported to New York. They arrived Jan. 3, and Maduro is now being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. A new indictment filed in the Southern District of New York, announced by Attorney General Pam Bondi, alleges that Maduro led “state sponsored gangs” and facilitated large-scale drug trafficking. The president acknowledged that Congress was not notified until after the strike. “Congress has a tendency to leak,” Trump said. “It would not be good if they leaked.” That admission drew immediate criticism from Democratic lawmakers, Continued on A3
Photo by Andy Feliciotti on Unsplash
Office of Civil Rights (OCR) employees at the Department of Education say it’s been chaos since they were called back to work to deal with an extensive backlog of discrimination complaints. Hundreds of OCR staffers were laid off in March as part of a reduction-in-force (RIF), and now the agency’s been forced to bring them back.
Department of Education calls back civil rights staff amid massive discrimination case backlog By Megan Sayles AFRO Staff Writer msayles@afro.com The Department of Education (ED) has been forced to double back on its March 2025 decision to lay off hundreds of civil rights employees. In December 2025, the agency called back employees who worked in its Office of Civil Rights (OCR) because a massive backlog of
discrimination complaints had erupted. One OCR staffer, who requested anonymity due to fear of retaliation, said the office is now facing roughly 24,000 to 25,000 cases. “That’s the product of what has happened, the effect of not having staff working on cases,” said the employee. “Our heart hurts for the student with a disability whose individual education plan or
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section 504 plan is not being enforced or implemented. Our heart hurts for students who, because of the color of their skin, are being treated a certain type of way or being bullied and harassed. Our heart hurts for the students who, based upon their national origin, are being mistreated and ostracized.” She said the current Continued on A3