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‘Larger Than Life’ Georgetown Basketball Coach John Thompson Dead at 78
Friends and family of Hall of Famer John Thompson, the architect of the Georgetown Hoyas’ gilded age, say the legendary coach has died, reports WJLA TV. Thompson’s cause of death is unknown at this time. He was 78 years old. The first Black coach to win an NCAA championship, the 6’10” Thompson was a larger-than-life…
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Top Kenosha Police, Prosecutor Under Increased Scrutiny in Wake of Jacob Blake, Protest Shootings: ‘Some People…Aren’t Worth Saving’
In the aftermath of the police shooting of Jacob Blake, all eyes are on top law enforcement in Kenosha, Wis., as organizers and civil liberties groups around the country question the culture of policing that permeates the city. Among the officials under renewed scrutiny is Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth, whose comments about a group…
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Lake Charles Voted to Keep a Confederate Monument Up. Hurricane Laura Had Other Plans
Since 1915, a garish statue honoring Confederate soldiers stood tall on the grounds of Lake Charles’ courthouse. This year, as Black Lives Matter movements inspired people around the world to topple statues honoring racist historical figures, the town appeared to seriously consider taking the statue down, but ultimately voted to keep the statue up. The…
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Dawn of a New Day? Bon Appétit Names Dawn Davis, Award-Winning Publishing Exec, to Helm Magazine
Nearly three months after Bon Appétit cut ties with then-editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport over accusations of racial discrimination—including a stint in brownface—Condé Nast has named a new top editor to run the renowned food publication: Dawn Davis, an influential editor and top executive in the publishing industry. Davis, who is Black, comes from Simon & Schuster,…
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Kenosha Police Release Incomplete Report of Jacob Blake Shooting, Claims He Had a Knife in the Car; FBI to Investigate
Three days after Kenosha police shot Jacob Blake multiple times in the back in front of his three children, the department finally has its version of events (or, as CNN aptly put it, “their first version”) of the police shooting. Released late Wednesday, the official police report says officers were responding to a domestic dispute…
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Without Riot Gear Clad-Police and Armed Militias, 4th Night of Kenosha Protests Is Peaceful
Despite a week of violent threats from police and armed militias, the residents of Kenosha, Wisc., turned out for a fourth straight night of protests in response to the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who was shot seven times in the back as he tried to enter his car on Sunday…
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You Can Count on One Hand the Number of Days the U.S. Has Gone Without a Police Killing Since George Floyd Died
There are certain figures that, for one reason or another, get seared in your brain. For instance: 53 percent, the number of white women who voted for Trump. Or 1619, the year that the first slave ships arrived in the United States. 8 minutes and 46 seconds: the length of time former Minneapolis police officer…
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How This Week's March on Washington Has Adjusted Its Political and Social Justice Goals to the Coronavirus
On Friday, activists from across the country will commemorate the anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington with another demonstration in the nation’s capital, this time centering the victims of state-enabled violence. With police brutality and racial justice issues commanding an unprecedented amount of political and social energy—and with greater support for criminal justice reform…
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Vogue Enlists Black Artists Kerry James Marshall and Jordan Casteel to Paint History-Making September Covers
2020 has been the most dizzying year in recent memory, upending much and not enough of our sense of our security, place, and hope in the future. This disorientation is so pervasive that even the September issues of fashion magazines—which typically serve as paper bastions of luxury, privilege and aspiration—have redirected to reflect the shifting…
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Kentucky Attorney General Denies Breonna Taylor Announcement Is Forthcoming: ‘The Investigation Remains Ongoing’
Five months have passed since Louisville Metro Police ambushed 26-year-old Breonna Taylor in her home, shooting and killing her. In the intervening months, her case was first met with silence, with her family, alongside local activists and journalists, fighting to share her story and demand accountability from local officials. But as September rolls in, Taylor’s…