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NPR's Phillip Davis reports that the US Civil Rights Commission opens two days of hearings today in Tallahassee into allegations of voting irregularities in Florida's Presidential election. The Civil Rights Commission has subpoenaed state officials to testify. In another case in Miami, the NAACP, the ACLU, and other civil rights groups have filed a class action suit against Florida. They allege that poorly maintained voter rolls prevented many African Americans from voting, and that there was a pattern of substandard voting equipment in minority neighborhoods.

Pioneering journalist Marvel Cooke died this past November at the age of 99. She was the first African-American to work for a major daily newspaper in New York. From her base in Harlem she covered many of the major political and cultural stories of her era. Host Lisa Simeone talks with historian Roger Wilkins, a nephew of Marvel Cooke.

NPR's Jon Hamilton reports on a new study, which shows no differences along racial lines in the outcome of medical or surgical treatments among veterans. Other studies have shown wide disparities in health care between African-Americans and Caucasians, in particular. These studies often suggest that socioeconomic differences and access to health care are the main causes for higher disease and death rates among the black population as a whole. The new study suggests that when all things are equal, African-American men actually have a lower rate of disease and death, relative to whites.

Marvin Weeks memorialized Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was killed in Georgia last year, in a mural. Weeks' latest work delves into the history of race relations in Brunswick, Ga.

NPR's Brian Naylor reports about a lawsuit filed today by several civil rights groups, led by the NAACP, against the state of Florida. The suit charged violations of voting rights acts by the state during the last election, in which thousands of African-American voters were allegedly disenfranchised.

Forty years after two African-American students broke the race barrier at the University of Georgia, black students continue to feel unwelcome on a campus that they believe still hangs onto its racist past. From Athens, Steve Lickteig reports.

Probably best known for his mystery writing, Sallis is the author of the new highly anticipated biography of African American mystery writer and realist Chester Himes. Himes wrote several books in the late 50s like The Real Cool Killers, and Cotton Comes to Harlem. Sallis has also published several science fiction stories as well as the Lew Griffin mystery series. His book about the lives of noir writers Difficult Lives, came out last year.

NPR's Religion Correspondent Duncan Moon reports on African-American churches around the country that are consolidating into large "mega-churches." The groups are channeling their combined wealth into an entrepreneurial spirit that fuels massive redevelopment projects such as constructing low-income housing, homeless shelters, day care centers, gyms, and job-training centers. The churches are wrestling with their missionary mandates to revitalize both individuals and the communities where they live.

NPR's Ivan Watson in the city of Cotonou in the West African country of Benin reports on the mystery of the whereabouts of nearly 200 slave children. They were thought to have been on board a cargo vessel. But when the ship docked at Benin's main port, there was no sign of the child slaves.

Joshua Levs of member station WABE in Atlanta reports on a class action lawsuit filed against Georgia Power, one of the largest energy providers in the east. Several African American employees say there is a history of racial discrimination at the company, including harassment and low rates of promotion for black employees.