Eric Garner. John Crawford III. Michael Brown. Ezell Ford. You should recognize these names. They all belong to unarmed black men who were killed by law enforcement since July 2014 for seemingly inexplicable reasons: allegedly selling loose cigarettes, allegedly holding a toy gun in the toy section of Wal-Mart, allegedly running away after a scuffle…

Something has snapped in Ferguson, Mo. Maybe not so much snapped as erupted. The racial tension that reached its tipping point at the killing of unarmed teen Michael Brown has dissolved police-community relationships seemingly beyond restoration, at least for now.  Protesters came out in full force Wednesday night, continuing their calls for justice for the…

The last words Dorian Johnson heard from his friend were, “Keep running, bro!” The 22-year-old, who was walking with Michael Brown before Brown was fatally shot, revealed to MSNBC in an exclusive interview exactly what he saw during the inexplicable shooting by police Saturday in Ferguson, Mo. Johnson told MSNBC that he saw the gun and…

One of the Tulsa, Okla., cops charged in the slaying of their daughter’s black boyfriend was released Thursday night from the county jail, NBC News reports. Gina Kepler, 48, was granted a $25,000 bail on her charge of being an accessory to murder and was released, although she has to report to court on Tuesday,…

John Crawford III lost his life over a toy gun. At least that’s what his relatives are claiming, and they are taking their case to civil rights organizations, the Dayton Daily News reports. According to the news site, on Tuesday night Crawford was talking on his cellphone to the mother of his two children, LeeCee…

As New York City continues to grapple with Staten Island dad Eric Garner’s death, which led an incensed city to demand justice, Mayor Bill de Blasio held a roundtable discussion with the Rev. Al Sharpton and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton to talk through the next step to be taken toward healing the community, the New…

Clifford Hall, the Texas man who went to jail even after overpaying child support debt that was caused by a clerical error, has been released from prison, his lawyer, Tyesha Elam, confirmed to The Root. Hall was released on July 2 after an associate judge suspended the sentence during a routine jail review hearing. He…

The terrorist group Boko Haram reportedly abducted the wife of Cameroon’s vice prime minister in an attack Sunday that left at least three people dead in the town of Kolofata, Reuters reports. In addition, Kolofata’s mayor, Seini Boukar Lamine—who is also the lamido, or local religious leader—was kidnapped, along with five members of his family,…

As far as a New York City Police Department internal report is concerned, the unarmed, asthmatic father of six who was seen apparently placed in a choke hold by an officer “did not appear to be in great distress,” and his “condition did not seem serious and … he did not appear to get worse,”…

He was supposed to be at the Kenyan children’s home helping out with the underprivileged kids there, but now the teen missionary is being accused of raping and molesting them, KTLA 5 reports.  Matthew Durham, 19, of Edmond, Okla., admitted to raping young girls and forcing some of the young boys to perform oral sex…