Julian Bond, the longtime NAACP leader and civil rights champion, died late Saturday following a brief illness, according to the Associated Press. He was 75. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which released a statement announcing the death Sunday morning, called Bond unrelenting in his advocacy for civil rights, the report says. The native of Nashville,…

St. Louis County police are investigating a reported Facebook comment by one of their officers who reportedly bragged about spending extra income earned while working in Ferguson, Mo., on the one-year anniversary of the death of Michael Brown, The Guardian reports. Todd J. Bakula, also known as “T.J.,” appeared to be bragging about spending extra…

Atlantic writer Ta-Nehisi Coates’ powerful memoir about race is among six books on President Barack Obama’s summer reading list, reports The Hill. Although Coates has been a frequent critic of the president’s efforts to address racial inequality, Obama will read Between the World and Me, a memoir about being black in America, during his 16-day…

The LeBron James Family Foundation announced that it is providing more than $41 million to cover tuition at the University of Akron for 1,100 Ohio high school graduates, Fox Sports reports. In partnering with the university, James, who announced the program Thursday while hosting an event for students at Cedar Point Amusement Park, said he…

Donald Sterling, the former NBA team owner whose racist telephone rant precipitated his loss of the Los Angeles Clippers, on Friday sued the ex-girlfriend accused of leaking the audio and the entertainment-news outlet that broke the story, according to Variety. The lawsuit accuses ex-girlfriend V. Stiviano of “surreptitiously” recording phone conversations between Sterling and her…

Michael Sam, who made history last year when he became the first openly gay player drafted by a National Football League team, announced Friday that he was stepping away from football over concerns about his mental health, Reuters reports. “The last 12 months have been very difficult for me, to the point where I became…

In a move filled with more symbolism than actual substance, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has announced that Confederate Memorial Day and Gen. Robert E. Lee’s birthday have been erased from the state’s official 2016 holiday calendar, according to the American Journal-Constitution. Both days were replaced with the more neutral term “state holiday,” according to emails…

One year after unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot by Darren Wilson, a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo., family and activists gathered Sunday to commemorate the shooting that touched off a movement against police violence. Scores gathered Sunday to participate in 4.5 minutes of silence and a silent march to Greater St. Mark’s church,…

Arlington, Texas, Police Chief Will Johnson said Saturday that he spoke with the FBI’s Dallas office after a white officer shot and killed Christian Taylor, an unarmed black 19-year-old, at a car dealership, according to the New York Daily News. Johnson said he asked federal investigators to help determine any possible criminal case or policy…

On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the death of Michael Brown, whose shooting helped catapult a movement against police violence onto the global stage, protesters overtook a presidential rally to continue to make their voices heard. Activists associated with Black Lives Matter took over the stage at a rally for Vermont Sen. Bernie…