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Who Was the Real Dido Elizabeth Belle?
Editor’s note: This column was originally published on May 5. Belle, the movie based on the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle, will be released on DVD on Tuesday and is available now as a digital download on Amazon.com. For those who are wondering about the retro title of this black-history series, please take a moment…
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Texas Mom and 4 Children Held at Gunpoint by Police
Kametra Barbour and her young children were the subjects of a horrifying police stop. Barbour says that she was pulled over at gunpoint by a police officer in Forney, Texas, according to ABC 7 Chicago. With her four children—all under the age of 10—in tow, Barbour was told to exit the vehicle with her hands…
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9-Year-Old Chicago Boy Fatally Shot Blocks From Home
The family of 9-year-old Antonio Smith is searching for answers after the child was shot down last Wednesday, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. Antonio became upset after he called his mother to ask for a snack and she told him no, according to the Sun-Times. Afterward, he left his house, followed closely by his 12-year-old brother.…
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5 Crucial Moments From MTV’s Video Music Awards
It’s not MTV’s fault that its staple Video Music Awards is known more for shock and awe than actual trophies. While it definitely aims every year to earn its watercooler moments, far too many freak-of-nature occurrences—Kanye storming the stage, the timing of Beyoncé’s pregnancy—make us tune in each year for the moments that weren’t planned.…
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Navy Discharges Black Woman Who Refused to Cut Natural Hair
After months of discussion about how styling and protocol related to black women’s hair in the armed forces, the Navy has discharged Jessica Sims, a sailor for 12 years, for “failing to obey an order to cut off her natural hairstyle,” ThinkProgress reports. Sims, “who wears her hair in tightly twisted locks pulled back in…
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Teens Have Greater Fear of Police After Ferguson Shooting
As the fiery protests that erupted in Ferguson, Mo., after the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teen by a white police officer appeared to be on the wane, several St. Louis-area young people reflected on the incident and talked about lessons learned. While many were demoralized and saddened by the shooting of Michael Brown,…
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I’m Homeschooling My Son Because My House Is the Only Place Where He’s Not Seen As Dangerous
It’s back-to-school season. However, in our family, we won’t be going back anywhere. We have chosen to educate at home. Now, hold on one minute before you judge. Believe me, I never thought I would be one of “those moms.” Let me explain how and why I have chosen this unlikely route and why I…
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Being White and Middle Class, We Had Many Advantages. And We Used Them to Leave North St. Louis
Last December I took a picture with two friends in front of our old elementary school: Bel-Nor Elementary in St. Louis, a little over 3 miles from Ferguson, Mo. It was the last day before Bel-Nor was closing for good; come January, its students and teachers would disperse to other schools in the area and…
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Michael Brown is Laid to Rest
After nearly two weeks of angry protests over his death at the hands of a police officer, Michael Brown is being laid to rest. The presence of White House officials at the ceremony underscores the degree to which the tragic shooting of Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old, has sparked a national debate at the highest levels…
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Big Win by Chicago’s Black Little League Inspires Hope
Chicago’s Jackie Robinson West Little League team is inspiring hope in a city marked by crime and gun violence among young people. On Saturday, the all-black squad from the city’s embattled South Side, defeated Las Vegas Mountain Ridge 7-5 in the U.S. Championship baseball game at the Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pa.,…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
