Ricky Jackson, 57, spent 39 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, and on Thursday an Ohio judge ordered the state to pay Jackson $1 million for his wrongful imprisonment, Reuters reports. Jackson was freed from prison last November.  Jackson was informed by a journalist about the $1 million check coming his way.…

When a 26-year-old pregnant woman went to Dynel Lane’s house in Longmont, Colo., on Wednesday to inquire about a Craiglist post advertising baby clothes, the pregnant woman, identified by the Longmont Times-Call as Michelle Wilkins, was stabbed and cut open, allegedly by Lane, and her unborn baby was removed from her uterus. When Lane’s husband,…

African-American students at the University of California, Berkeley, have issued a number of demands to their school’s chancellor—chief among them that a building on campus be renamed after Assata Shakur, Fox News reports. Shakur, born Joanne Chesimard, is an icon from the 1970s black nationalist movement who escaped from prison in 1979 after she was…

First lady Michelle Obama’s mother, Marian Robinson, was initially “a little bit” leery about her daughter dating a biracial man, Robinson said in a 2004 Chicago TV interview that has resurfaced in light of a biography about Michelle Obama’s life that will be released next month. During a sit-down interview with Chicago’s WTTW, which aired…

Despite the criticism levied upon Starbucks by people who think its Race Together campaign is way too ambitious, out of place and opportunistic, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz insisted during the company’s annual shareholders meeting in Seattle Wednesday that its motivations are sincere, the Associated Press reports. “Some in the media will criticize Starbucks for having…

The pipeline from community college to a four-year university can be shaky, since students often attend community college in hopes of improving their grades in order to gain admission to a four-year institution. The California Community Colleges system may have found a way to make that transition a bit easier: It has signed an agreement…

Bob Campbell, the organizer of a gun show that took place last weekend in Sioux Falls, N.D., described how appalled he was when he saw the target one of his vendors was selling, KSFY reports. The target was the silhouette of a man—presumably an African American with full lips—frozen in a running motion, with the…

Five residents of Ferguson, Mo., have taken a step toward removing their mayor, James Knowles III, from his post, the Associated Press reports. The group filed an affidavit “seeking to recall Knowles,” AP explained. All they need are signatures of 15 percent of registered voters in the last mayoral election to jump-start a special election process…

When Cincinnati police walked into 20-year-old Deasia Watkins’ home Monday morning after receiving a 911 call, they found Watkins and a truly horrific scene: The head of Watkins’ 3-month-old baby girl, Janiyah, had been severed, ABC affiliate WCPO reports. Watkins was arrested and charged with aggravated murder for the incident. Watkins, who was taken for…

A U.S. diplomat is one of several people who were detained Sunday during a raid by security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Associated Press reports. The raid targeted journalists and pro-democracy activists thought to be agitating the Congolese government by “posting a threat to stability,” a DRC government spokesman said. The diplomat…