In recent weeks, free speech has been a topic at the forefront of fierce debate, both domestically and abroad. From Black Lives Matter protests being called anti-police “propaganda” to French magazine Charlie Hebdo’s Islamophobic and racist images being called irreverent “satire,” who is allowed to say what, and where and when they are allowed to…

From a bombed NAACP office in Colorado to the decimated town of Baga, Nigeria, acts of terrorism against black people and institutions have failed to generate much attention in the United States this past week. Most of the Western world and its political leaders have, instead, turned their eyes to No. 10 rue Nicolas-Appert, Paris,…

If you are a “good cop” in the United States who has knowledge of what you perceive to be police misconduct or brutality, yet do nothing, then you are not only perpetuating cycles of mistrust and cynicism in communities of color toward law enforcement, but also aiding and abetting the extrajudicial killing of people around…

Editor’s note: In an interview with ABC’s Linsey Davis, Phylicia Rashad said that she never said “forget those women.” Instead, the Tony Award-winning actress claims that she said, “It’s not about these women.” Showbiz 411’s Roger Friedman insists that Rashad did, in fact, say “forget these women” but that the intent has been misconstrued. “[Rashad]…

When herstory reflects on the year 2014, the many ways in which black women used their social media influence to address pivotal issues will be front and center. In the tradition of iconic feminist scholar Audre Lorde, the year 2014 found black women positioning self-preservation as an act of political warfare on both individual and…

“America never loved us. Remember?” Phillip Agnew, executive director of the Dream Defenders, a youth-fueled civil rights organization formed in response to the 2012 slaying of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, spoke those powerful words Jan. 28 during the 2014 State of the Youth. And the Year of the Protester began. Agnew’s heart-wrenching declaration—equal parts call to…

During his remarks Monday at the Police Athletic League, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called for a moratorium on protests demanding justice for the scores of black people who have fallen victim to police brutality while the city mourns the deaths of two police officers—Wenjian Liu, 28, and Rafael Ramos, 40—killed in Brooklyn on…

Brandon Tate-Brown, 26, was just trying to make it home in the early-morning hours of Dec. 15 when police officers pulled him over for allegedly driving without his headlights in Philadelphia’s Mayfair district. By the end of that encounter, Tate-Brown would be dead—a bullet piercing the back of his head—and his mother, Tanya Brown, would…

Billed as a rally against rampant police violence, Saturday’s Justice for All march in Washington, D.C., organized by several civil rights organizations, including the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network and the National Urban League, faced some criticism in the days leading up to it. The primary concern among critics is what appears to be…

The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network’s National March on Police Brutality is scheduled for Saturday in Washington, D.C. While attendance estimates are sketchy because of the rushed nature of the event, the march is seemingly being positioned by organizers as the culmination of months of protests that have swept the nation since the Aug.…