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Aaron Hernandez Acquitted of Double Murder
Former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez has been found not guilty of a 2012 drive-by shooting that left two men dead. The jury on Friday also acquitted the Pro Bowl NFL tight end of witness intimidation, but found him guilty and sentenced him to four years for carrying an unlawful weapon, according to the…
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Black Twitter Drags Forever 21 for Selling Bootleg Kanye Gear
No one knows what the designers at Forever 21 were thinking when they tried to slip clothes that were obviously “inspired” by (pronounced “sto-lenn frumm”) Kanye West onto their website, but they should have known that the folks on black Twitter don’t sleep. When the fashion retailer updated its collection with what looked like swap…
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Watch: Netflix Trolls Caucasians With New Trailer for Dear White People
In response to overwhelming pressure from the melanin-less masses who were butt-hurt about the last trailer for the upcoming series Dear White People, Netflix, instead of bowing to the fragile egos of the people who threatened to boycott the streaming service, decided to troll them instead. On Thursday the media company released the final trailer…
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Control+Assault+Delete: When Cops Destroy Video Evidence
Out of the rise of #BlackLivesMatter and the intense media scrutiny of police killings came a narrative about a brand-new, magical tool that could miraculously end police brutality by shining a light on law-enforcement misconduct. Somehow, as the public watched the endless stream of cop killings on video, everyone unquestioningly accepted the theory that more…
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Yes, You Can Measure White Privilege
Whenever anyone slips the words “white privilege” into a conversation, it immediately builds an impenetrable wall. For some white people, the words elicit an uneasy feeling because, for them, the term is accusatory without being specific. It is a nebulous concept that seemingly reduces the complex mishmash of history, racism and social phenomena to a…
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Columbus, Ohio, Police Department Deleted 100,000 Dashcam Videos and No One Cares
On Tuesday we reported the video of Columbus, Ohio, Police Officer Zachary Rosen, who roach-stomped an already handcuffed-and-restrained man’s head into the concrete while his fellow officers watched. Rosen was placed on “nonpatrol duty” while the case is being investigated. As a result of our report, dozens of citizens alerted The Root to another recent…
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This Secret Form of Voter Suppression Might Be the Civil Rights Issue of Our Time
When federal judge Nelva Gonzales struck down Texas’ discriminatory voter-identification law on Monday, voting rights advocates applauded the ruling as if the minorities barred from casting ballots had won the Super Bowl. Amy Rudd, the attorney who represented the NAACP Texas State Conference and the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, said, “We hope today’s decision sends…
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Black Twitter Roasts Chris Paul’s New Shoes
What are those? You would think that sneaker designers would have learned their lesson after social media erupted into a weeklong impromptu roast last year when Under Armour released the Steph Curry Twos (my favorite name was the “Let Me Speak to Your Manager 5s”). Nah, bruh. The black Twitter sneaker-roasting session has resumed—this time…
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In Case You Forgot About Police Brutality, Here’s Video of a White Cop Stomping a Handcuffed Black Man’s Head
I know you might be concerned about Russia, Donald Trump, Syrian chemicals, Underground, Pepsi commercials, the new Kendrick Lamar album or how much of an asshat Tyrese turned out to be. But just in case the schizophrenic news cycle made you forget about the prevalence and urgency of police brutality, this clip of Columbus, Ohio,…
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Judge to Officer Who Killed Terence Crutcher: Please STFU
After allegedly criminally shooting Terence Crutcher (because despite two separate videos showing her shooting an unarmed man walking away from her with his hands in the air, we still must legally preface any accusation with “allegedly”), Tulsa, Okla., Police Officer Betty Jo “Bad Dude” Shelby has been reprimanded by a District Court judge for her…
