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Hampton University President Pens Letter to BET Slamming The Quad for Its Depiction of HBCUs
Since its debut, BET’s The Quad has been the topic of debate for both fans and critics alike. The show, which focuses on life at the fictional Georgia A&M University, seemingly offers a glimpse into life on the campus of an HBCU, but many have said that its portrayals grossly exaggerate what HBCU life is…
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Man With White Supremacist Connections Accused of Plotting Attack ‘In the Spirit of Dylann Roof’
A South Carolina man with white supremacist connections who expressed admiration for Charleston, S.C., church shooter Dylann Roof was arrested Wednesday and accused of plotting an attack after unknowingly discussing his plans with an undercover FBI employee. The Washington Post reports that 29-year-old Benjamin Thomas Samuel McDowell told an FBI employee that he wanted to…
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Report: Trump Will Issue New Executive Order on Immigration Next Week Instead of Fighting Court Case
On the same day the Justice Department told a federal court there would be no point in further court battles over President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration, the president himself said that he will issue a new executive order on immigration by next week. According to NBC News, in a filing submitted to the…
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Judge Denies Dismissal of Charges Against Police Officer Who Killed Philando Castile
Defense attorneys for the police officer who shot and killed Philando Castile attempted to get the manslaughter charges against him dropped, arguing that Castile was culpable in his own death, but a judge disagreed and denied the dismissal Wednesday, ruling that the trial against the officer will move forward. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that…
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Report: Hate Groups in the US Have Increased for 2nd Consecutive Year
The number of hate groups in the United States rose for the second year in a row in 2016, a result of the radical right being energized by the candidacy of Donald Trump, according to a report released Wednesday by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Anti-Muslim hate groups showed the most dramatic growth, nearly tripling…
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Chicago Police Say Suspect Shot at Rival Gang Members, Killed Takiya Holmes Instead
Police and prosecutors in Chicago say that Antwan C. Jones was walking down the street Saturday evening when he saw three rival gang members selling weed in his gang’s territory. Jones reportedly shot at them from across the street, but instead of hitting his targets, he hit 11-year-old Takiya Holmes in the right temple as…
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ACLU of Oregon Recommends Changes to Portland Police Protest Policy
The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon sent a letter to the Portland Police Bureau on Wednesday addressing concerns about the bureau’s current crowd-control policies when responding to protests. In the letter (pdf) addressed to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Portland Police Bureau Chief Michael Marshman, the ACLU notes that the Crowd Control Workgroup of…
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Black 2nd-Graders at L.A. Elementary School Get Math Homework With a Word Problem About Slavery
Parents of students at Windsor Hills Elementary School in Los Angeles are outraged after second-graders at the school received a math homework assignment last week that contained a word problem with racial undertones. NBC News reports that students received the following word problem as part of their math homework: The master needed 192 slaves to…
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Secret Service Director Steps Down After a Little Over 3 Weeks Working for Trump
Secret Service Director Joseph P. Clancy is a career Secret Service agent and former presidential-detail leader who had left the agency for the private sector but was called by then-President Barack Obama in 2014 to come back to work as director amid a string of security breaches and employee misconduct. Now, after just three weeks…
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National Security Adviser Michael Flynn Resigns After Revelation He Lied About Talks With Russian Ambassador
National security adviser Michael Flynn resigned Monday night after it was revealed he lied to Vice President Mike Pence and other top White House officials about conversations he had with the Russian ambassador to the United States. From the New York Times: Mr. Flynn, who served in the job for less than a month, stepped…