The White House is defending late-night comedian Larry Wilmore’s use of the n-word during his routine at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner over the weekend, saying that President Barack Obama “appreciated the spirit and the sentiments that Mr. Wilmore expressed,” the Washington Post reports. Wilmore caused a buzz over the weekend when he concluded his…

A Pennsylvania churchgoer was fatally shot after a fight broke out over a seat for a Sunday service, the New York Daily News reports.  According to the report, the argument started when a churchgoer told Robert Braxton III, 27, that he was sitting in seats reserved for two other parishioners during Sunday service April 24…

Racist texts allegedly sent to and from a now-former San Francisco police officer are coming to light and have been released by CNN.  “I hate that beaner,” one text proclaims, “but I think the nig is worse.” “Indian ppl are disgusting,” another reads. The dozens of messages obtained by CNN are not the complete list…

Lizette Parker, who was elected mayor of Teaneck, N.J., in 2014, making her the first African-American woman to become mayor in New Jersey’s Bergen County, died Sunday at the age of 44, the New York Post reports.  According to the report, Parker was hospitalized for respiratory issues and passed away at the Holy Name Medical…

The city of Cleveland will pay out $6 million to the family of Tamir Rice to settle the federal lawsuit that was filed over the 12-year-old’s 2014 shooting death at the hands of police, Cleveland.com reports.  The money of the settlement will come out in two payments, with the city paying $3 million this year…

Miami-Dade Judge Mindy Glazer had a happy reunion with her former middle school classmate Arthur Booth as Booth walked free after serving a brief jail sentence, the New York Daily News reports.  According to the report, last summer it was Glazer who recognized Booth after he appeared before her in bond court on burglary charges. …

Harriet Tubman will be replacing President Andrew Jackson as the face of the $20 bill, the Treasury Department confirmed Wednesday. But Tubman is not the only civil rights icon set to be honored on U.S. currency.  Secretary of the Treasury Jacob J. Lew said during a press call Wednesday that the $5 bill will also…

A Missouri man has pleaded guilty to making a terrorist threat on social media against black people at the University of Missouri after the university’s president was ousted because of complaints over his handling of racial abuse, Reuters reports. Hunter Park, 20, pleaded guilty to the charge Monday and is scheduled to be sentenced June…

“Affluenza” teen Ethan Couch, who recently turned 19, has been ordered by a Texas judge to serve nearly two years—720 days—in a county jail, the Associated Press reports.  Couch appeared in adult court Wednesday in Tarrant County and was ordered to serve four consecutive 180-day terms, one term for each of the four people killed…

The Waller County, Texas, jail where Sandra Bland died in July is in serious need of an upgrade, according to a report issued Tuesday by a panel put together after Bland’s death, the Associated Press reports.  The panel noted that the jail needs a new building, more expertise is needed among staffers in identifying mental-health…