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Government Awards Major Grant to UC Berkeley to Honor Black Panther Party’s Legacy
The U.S. National Park Service announced last week that it will be awarding the University of California, Berkeley, a little under $100,000 for a project dedicated to “truthfully honoring the legacy” of Black Panther Party activists. The exact amount in federal funding comes to $97,999.70, according to the official award notice that was posted at…
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Dylann Roof Wants to Fire His Jewish, Indian Lawyers: ‘My Political and Biological Enemies’
Updated Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017, 2:51 p.m. EDT: How long did it take the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to deny Dylann Roof’s motion to replace his lawyers on account of their ethnic backgrounds? Less than 24 hours, and with just 11 words. ABC News reports that federal judges didn’t even bother to provide…
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St. Louis Police Claim an ‘Unknown Chemical’ Labeled ‘Apple Cider’ Maliciously Used Against Them
The St. Louis Police Department tweeted out a photo of an officer holding two spray bottles. The caption: “Officers confiscate bottles with unknown chemicals used to against police tonight in downtown #stl.” Except one of the bottles was clearly labeled “apple cider”—meaning apple-cider vinegar. The common household item is helpful for balancing the body’s pH…
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Lawsuit Claims Columbus, Ohio, Police Have Been Using Excessive Force Against Black Residents
Attorneys for Timothy Davis, an unarmed black man whose brutal beating in a local market at the hands of Columbus, Ohio, police was caught on video, have filed a civil rights complaint against the city. According to the Associated Press, the federal lawsuit filed Monday claims that Columbus police have used excessive force, particularly toward…
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Calif. High School Sparks Criticism for Using Slave-Ship Role-Play to Teach Students History
A California high school’s “unique learning experience” designed to teach its students about slavery is drawing national attention after a concerned mother spoke out about it last week. Shardé Carrington spoke to HuffPost last week about an email she received from Whitney High School administrators regarding an upcoming eighth-grade history lesson. In the email, sent…
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Employers May Soon Help With Student Loan Debt—but Will Black Grads Be Left Behind?
Many of us are all too familiar with the student loans, but thanks to a new program unveiled by Fidelity Investments, repayment aid from your employer may soon be an option. The problem? It probably won’t do much to address the deep racial disparities of the student debt crisis. According to BuzzFeed News, Fidelity announced…
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Behold This Divine Image of Rihanna and Beyoncé Together Again
At long last, the twin stars of my life, Beyoncé and Rihanna, have converged to meet in the same picture. Not since the moon eclipsed the sun have I felt so moved. So small. So unworthy of the wonders of the universe. Behold: The occasion was Rihanna’s Diamond Ball, now in its third year, which…
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NYPD Releases 1st Bodycam-Recorded Video Showing Officers Shooting Mentally Ill Bronx Man
The New York City Police Department has just made public its first-ever recorded video of a police shooting. The footage shows officers opening fire on a mentally ill Bronx, N.Y., man holding a knife after police repeatedly warn him to drop his weapon. According to the New York Daily News, NYPD officers were called to…
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Kwame Kilpatrick Files Appeal, Says He Doesn’t Owe City of Detroit a Damn Thing
Kwame Kilpatrick, the disgraced former mayor of Detroit, is asking a federal judge to wipe his $1.5 million debt clean. The embattled politician, who is currently serving a 28-year sentence in Oklahoma for corruption, claims that he cost the city of Detroit no financial losses during his tenure, reports the Detroit Free Press. Kilpatrick was…
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Berkeley Squares Up for Key Test Ahead of Free Speech (Read: White Supremacist) Week
The University of California, Berkeley, faces a key test Thursday night as it hosts Ben Shapiro, a prominent conservative commentator, who’s slated to give a speech at the campus. In preparation, the university and the city of Berkeley are deploying a number of strategies, from counseling to pepper spray, to keep the event from spiraling…