Attorneys for the family of a Marine veteran who was slain in his home by White Plains, N.Y., police officers, filed a $21 million civil rights lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan this week, according to Black America Web. The lawsuit, on behalf of the family of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., was filed Monday, less than…

As members of the NAACP gather this week at the group’s annual convention in Houston, officials announced plans to reinforce their commitment to protecting everyone’s right to vote and to tackle the dramatically high rate of unemployment among blacks, according to a report on NPR. The unemployment rate for blacks is 14.4 percent, compared to…

Shocked by news that the unemployment rate among black Americans rose nearly a full percentage point between May and June 2012, economists have been trying to determine why. One reason for the increase could be a rise in the percentage of African Americans looking for a job, rather than an uptick of black people losing…

The Huffington Post reports that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts’ health care ruling raises questions about whether the federal government can withhold Medicaid dollars if a state decides to defund Planned Parenthood. If so, it could throw a wrench in the Tea Party’s efforts to defund the group. … Before Roberts’ ruling, no legal…

Yes, they still burn crosses in 2012. At least that’s what was planned as the culmination of a three-day, whites-only religious conference held this week in Lamar County, Ala. A number of residents and local officials were incensed by the racist overtones of the gathering, which prompted the minister to complain that his First Amendment…

Serena Williams won her fifth Wimbledon title after beating Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland on Saturday, CNN reports. It was the 30-year-old American’s 14th grand slam crown and her first since winning at the All England Club in 2010, but Poland’s Radwanska made her fight every inch of the way. Suffering from a respiratory problem and…

Rihanna has sued her former accountants, charging that they caused her to lose tens of millions of dollars because of shoddy bookkeeping, according to MSN. She further alleges that they failed to recommend that she trim expenses in 2009 when a tour was losing money, and for an ongoing audit by the Internal Revenue Service.…

Four-time Olympic gold medalist sprinter Michael Johnson is catching heat for a recent comment that he made about black athletes, according to the Los Angeles Times. In an interview with a British newspaper, Johnson said that he believes slave descendants make superior athletes, adding that such controversial topics should not be avoided, especially as the…

R. Kelly apparently decided to end his 12-year marriage to Hollywood Exes star Andrea Kelly after watching the film The Notebook, Rolling Out reports, citing his newly released memoir. He writes that the film made him realize that his marriage was over and that there was nothing he could do to bring it back. According…

The Associated Press on Friday reported a third straight month of weak hiring, showing that the economy is still struggling three years after the recession ended. The numbers released by the U.S. Department of Labor showed that the national unemployment rate of 8.2 was unchanged but rose significantly among African Americans in June to 14.4…