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Daisha Simmons’ Story Is a Cautionary Tale for All Student Athletes
One of the biggest misconceptions about student athletes on the collegiate level is that they are being given something of worth (a free education) in exchange for their compliance in the classroom and their hard work on the playing field as well. But it’s a bit murkier than that. The NCAA loves to paint itself…
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Gov. Christie’s NAACP Speech Won’t Change His Abysmal Record on Issues That Matter to People of Color
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie delivered the keynote address to the New Jersey State NAACP Conference Saturday afternoon. He touted some of the criminal-justice issues that he’s worked on recently with African-American leaders, but over the course of his tenure as governor, Christie has an abysmal record when it comes to most issues that are…
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Weekend Rally in St. Louis Begins Peacefully
In the aftermath of a second high profile shooting death of a black teen by a white officer in area of St. Louis, Mo., demonstrators Saturday kicked off peaceful protests against police violence, according to Reuters. A march through downtown St. Louis was slated to end with discussions about race and teach-ins about how to…
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Chicago Man Gets 160 Years in Death of Suburban Teen
A 41-year-old Chicago man on Friday was sentenced to 160 years in prison in the fatal stabbing of a 14-year-old girl almost three years ago when he broke into her west suburban home in Indian Head, Il., the Chicago Tribune reports. John Wilson Jr., was charged with murder, armed robbery and home invasion in the…
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Jahi McMath’s Family Seeks Medical Consensus
Nearly a week after releasing video clips of Jahi McMath apparently responding to verbal commands although she has been ruled brain-dead, the girl’s family is seeking a consensus from the medical community, saying she is “very much alive.” If doctors agree that Jahi is brain-damaged and not brain-dead, the death certificate could be reversed, which…
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2nd Mistrial for Detroit Cop Who Killed 7-Year-Old Girl
A mistrial was declared Friday in the case of a Detroit police officer charged with a misdemeanor in the fatal shooting of a sleeping 7-year-old girl. Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway issued the ruling after jurors deadlocked in the trial of Officer Joseph Weekley, who killed Aiyana Stanley-Jones during a bungled raid…
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Tattoo of Boyfriend’s Name Will Likely Be Around Longer Than He Will
“I got a tattoo of my man’s name. We were supposed to do this together. He said he would write mine. Instead, he does initials. I’m pissed and feel quite stupid because I think he tried to make it vague. My initials are A.S.K. I asked him why he didn’t write out my name. He…
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Good Riddance, ‘Baby Doc’
Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, Haiti’s former dictator, is to be buried Saturday in the nation’s capital, Port-au-Prince, without benefit of a state-sponsored funeral. As I discovered on a recent trip to Haiti, some Haitians, frustrated by the lack of economic progress and forgetful of the oppression he once represented, had begun to speak nostalgically of…
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Young Black Men 21 Times More Likely Than Whites to Be Shot Dead by Police
There are two sides in the debate surrounding the fatal police shooting of unarmed Ferguson, Mo., teen Michael Brown and still not many answers. There are those who believe he must have done something to have been stopped and ultimately shot to death by Officer Darren Wilson, and those who believe that police unfairly target…
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President Obama Celebrates America’s Newest National Monument: The San Gabriel Mountains
Today President Barack Obama will travel to Los Angeles County, Calif., to designate the San Gabriel Mountains as America’s newest national monument, and a timeless piece of our national heritage. In many ways this nation’s story is etched into its land, and as the president is recognizing today, each of our monuments provides us with…

