-
Tony Dungy, 1st African-American Head Coach to Win a Super Bowl, Pays Homage to Those Before Him
On Saturday night, Tony Dungy, the first African-American head coach to win an NFL championship, gave a rousing Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech, acknowledging that he didn’t get there on his own, and paying homage to 10 other coaches who came before him and made his path possible, ESPN reports. “Willie Brown, Buck Buchanan, Earnel Durden, Bob…
-
Va. Officer Guilty of Voluntary Manslaughter in Shooting Death of 18-Year-Old William Chapman
A Virginia jury found a white former police officer guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the April 2015 shooting death of an unarmed black teen who was accused of shoplifting, ABC News reports. Former Portsmouth, Va., Police Officer Stephen Rankin, who was fired from the police force as he awaited trial, fatally shot 18-year-old William Chapman…
-
Activist DeRay Mckesson Sues City of Baton Rouge, La., Over Arrest
Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson filed a lawsuit against the city of Baton Rouge, La., Thursday over his arrest last month at a protest for Alton Sterling during which more than 200 people were detained, the Associated Press reports. The lawsuit filed on behalf of Mckesson and two others arrested accuses the city and…
-
Family of Korryn Gaines Questions Police Use of Deadly Force
The family of Korryn Gaines is speaking out on behalf of the 23-year-old mother of two who was shot to death by Baltimore County police Monday after an hourslong standoff, WBAL-TV reports. One of the family’s biggest questions is why deadly force had to be used in the first place. “We see hundreds of videos…
-
Accused Charleston, SC, Shooter Dylann Roof Attacked by Inmate
Accused Charleston, S.C., mass church shooter Dylann Roof was assaulted by a fellow inmate at the Cannon Detention Center in South Carolina while in the shower Thursday morning, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office confirmed, the Post and Courier reports. Roof, 22, who was medically evaluated at the detention center, was not seriously injured in the…
-
Black Volunteer Firefighter's Home Engulfed in Flames 2 days After Receiving Racist, Threatening Note
A North Tonawanda, N.Y., volunteer firefighter who was threatened by a racist letter found in his mailbox Monday lost everything in a fire at his home Wednesday morning, WGRZ reports. Kenneth Walker and his family are safe, but two cats died in the fire damage, and the family lost all their possessions. According to the…
-
Ava DuVernay Becomes the 1st African-American Woman to Direct a $100,000,000 Film
Queen Ava DuVernay is making another mark in the history books and will be the first African-American woman to direct a live-action feature film with a budget over $100 million with A Wrinkle in Time. According to Time, DuVernay shares the accomplishment with only two other women: Kathryn Bigelow, who was the first to land a big-budget film…
-
Racist Message Delivered to Charter Cable Customers in North Texas
Charter Spectrum is investigating how a racist message was sent through set-top boxes to some of its North Texas customers earlier this week, disturbing the individuals who saw it, WFAA8 reports. “When I first pulled it up I was like, ‘What? What?’” April Taylor, who recently became a Charter customer, told the news station. “I…
-
President Barack Obama Commutes Sentences for 214 Federal Inmates
President Barack Obama commuted the sentences of 214 federal prisoners Wednesday, granting the most commutations in a single day in more than a century, Time reports. According to the White House, Obama has now officially commuted the sentences of 562 men and women “incarcerated under outdated and unduly harsh sentencing laws, including 197 individuals who…
-
Ala. Pastor Says He Was Fired for Wanting to Invite Black People to Church
A Butler, Ala., pastor believes that his recent termination has a lot to do with race, WTOK reports. Former Mount Sterling Baptist Church Pastor Jonathan Greer, who was unanimously voted out of the church late Sunday, told the news station that the pushback came after a deacon told him he could not invite black children to…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
