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Fired Texas Cop Alleged to Have Given Homeless Man a Dog Feces Sandwich Gets Job Back
A fired San Antonio, Texas, police officer, who was ratted out by fellow cops for giving a homeless man a sandwich filled with dog shit, was reinstated because of a technicality, proving that once again, being born with white skin and a penis and getting a badge on top of that is like hitting the…
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He Doesn’t Do Politics, He Does Fun: Shaquille O’Neal Joins With Embattled Pizza Pusher, Papa John’s, in New Deal
When we got word Papa John’s Pizza got a new (black) face, Shaquille O’Neal, the crew at The Root had a field day. “Ask Shaq about his obsession with being a cop and if he had trouble finding a cap and cane for his soft shoe routine …,” quipped one. “The same Shaq who just…
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Police Kill 29-Year-Old Black Man They Tried to Serve With ‘Mental Health Warrant’
Police have killed yet another black person in mental health distress, this time in State College, Pa. The most galling part of this tragedy, though, is that the officers were attempting to serve a “mental health warrant.” On Wednesday, State County borough police shot and killed 29-year-old Osaze Osagie in what Centre County Coroner Scott…
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In Baltimore, 6 Babies Died in Their Sleep in 6 Weeks. Most of Them Were Black
Baltimore, a city that has some serious disparities in almost every measure but remains a beautiful black city nonetheless, saw six infants die in their sleep in as many weeks, the worst rate of such deaths since a 2009 campaign to prevent these kinds of tragedies began. The Baltimore City Health Department confirmed to The Root…
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Counselors, Not Cops: New Yorkers Protest Millions Proposed for School Safety Budget, Saying Money Fuels School-to-Prison Pipeline
Guided by a coalition of 40 New York City social justice organizations, dozens of students, parents and advocates converged on New York’s City Hall Wednesday to protest Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposed increase to the NYPD’s School Safety Division budget, saying those millions would be better used on student social supports and services. In an…
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Power: For Those Who Survive Police Violence, Their Black Lives Matter, Too [Watch]
Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Marie Cullors wears many hats: activist, author, abolitionist, white supremacy slayer. But one role many may not know of Cullors is that of “artist.” Cullors, currently a 2019 MFA candidate at the University of Southern California, has been flexing her creative muscles since before she came to international prominence as…
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Supreme Court to Hear Whether ‘DC Sniper’ Lee Boyd Malvo Deserves New Sentencing
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal of Lee Boyd Malvo, who participated in one of the most notorious, murderous shooting sprees in U.S. history, to determine if he should be re-sentenced because he was a minor at the time of his crimes. In September and October 2002, 17-year-old Malvo and…
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San Francisco Man Gets $13M Settlement After Being Falsely Framed for Murder by Police
A San Francisco man will receive a $13.1-million settlement after being framed by police and spending years in prison for a 2007 murder he did not commit. As a young man, Jamal Trulove was tried and convicted in the killing of his friend Seu Kuka in a San Francisco housing project. A state appeals court…
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New Postpartum Depression Drug Offers Hope for Suffering Mothers—but Most Won't Be Able to Afford It
A new drug specifically for the swift and effective treatment of postpartum depression was approved by the FDA on Tuesday, offering a beacon of hope for the serious mental illness that affects about 1 in 8 new mothers. That’s the good news. The not-so-great news is that this new drug ain’t cheap; neither is it…
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Is Felony Murder the Next Chapter in the Anti-Protest Movement?
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “riots are the language of the unheard,” but legislators across the country seem to be rushing to silence those cries. While protests are commonplace in a healthy democracy, the movement to silence dissent is picking up steam. Over the past several years, there has been a…
