Updated Friday, June 12, 12:35 p.m. EDT: The NAACP has responded to the backlash and media frenzy surrounding reports that one of its chapter presidents “disguised herself” as black for years. In a statement posted to its website, the organization stood firmly behind Spokane NAACP President Rachel Dolezal’s advocacy record, pointing out that a person’s…

It has been two years since Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old Chicago honor student who marched in President Barack Obama’s inaugural parade, succumbed to gunshot wounds after being caught in the crossfire during a gang shooting. However, according to the New York Times, friends, family and even her school have not forgotten the majorette. An empty…

Although Los Angeles Police Officer Sharlton Wampler claims that he was in a life-and-death scuffle for his service weapon with Ezell Ford, the Los Angeles Police Commission rejected Police Chief Charlie Beck’s conclusions that the ultimately fatal shooting of the young man was justified. The commission also suggested that Wampler’s actions caused the deadly encounter,…

Ms. Sweetie is going to be 106 years old soon, but the spry “human being”—she doesn’t like calling herself an old lady—is an avid basketball fan, and nothing is going to stop her from cheering on her favorite team, the Golden State Warriors, as they play in the NBA Finals. In an interview with ESPN,…

Kalief Browder, 22, who struggled with readjusting to society after being jailed at New York City’s Rikers Island for three unexplained years without a conviction or even a trial, has died, the New Yorker reports. The young man reportedly ended his life over the weekend after pulling out an air conditioner in one of the…

The former North Charleston, S.C., police officer who killed a fleeing Walter Scott was indicted by a grand jury Monday on a murder charge, the New York Times reports. Michael T. Slager, who was fired from the North Charleston Police Department after the April 4 shooting that rocked the nation after citizen video became public,…

Salinas, Calif., police officers were called in Friday evening to help Jose Velasco, who suffers from an unspecified mental illness, according to family. The 28-year-old was reportedly running into traffic, so his mother called the police requesting assistance, Raw Story reports. Video of the incident, however, shows officers beating Velasco with batons and using a…

The book cover looks like that of any other science book, to be honest: White man showing a multicultural group something that looks like displaced atoms. However, Holding Fast to Dreams: Empowering Youth From the Civil Rights Crusade to STEM Achievement is a little more than meets the eye.  “It’s a great conversation starter,” Freeman…

A Kennesaw State University student has finally gotten an apology after a student adviser accused him of harassment merely for sitting and waiting for a chance to speak to his own adviser, 11 Alive reports.  Kevin Bruce tweeted out his encounter with student adviser Abbie Dawson, who berated him for harassing his academic adviser, even…

The historic Edmund Pettus Bridge, known for its significance during the civil rights movement as the site of Bloody Sunday and the starting point of the Selma-to-Montgomery march, could be getting a new name following a vote Wednesday by the Alabama Senate, the Montgomery Adviser reports. Democratic state Sen. Hank Sanders of Selma sponsored the…