-
8 Times Diana Ross Reminded Us She Was Magic
Diana Ross blessed the world with her immensely successful self-titled album in 1976. The iconic project (which was her seventh studio album) included two No. 1 pop smashes—“Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)” and “Love Hangover”—among other chart-topping singles, like “I Thought It Took a Little Time (but Today I Fell…
-
Klansman Who Bombed 16th Street Baptist Church Is Up for Parole
The Klansman who bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., killing four black girls in 1963, goes before the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles next month for his first parole hearing, reports Alabama.com. Thomas E. Blanton Jr., who was convicted only in 2001, will go before the board Aug. 3. Addie Mae…
-
Tatyana Ali Sues Warner Bros., Says She Came Up With Idea for The Real
Tatyana Ali, best known as sweet Ashley from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, is suing Warner Brothers Telepictures; she says it stole her idea for daytime talk show The Real. Ali claims that she pitched the idea of a daytime talk show with female celebrity hosts in their 20s and 30s in late 2012 but was…
-
Fired Atlanta Police Officer Charged With Murder in Shooting Death of Black Man
A former Atlanta police officer, terminated July 1 for his part in the shooting death of a robbery suspect, has been charged with felony murder, reports WSB-TV Atlanta. The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office announced that an arrest warrant has been issued for former Atlanta Police Officer James Burns, 34, who shot and killed Devaris…
-
Vanderbilt Football Player Cory Batey Gets 15 Years for Rape
Former Vanderbilt football player Cory Batey was sentenced to 15 years in prison Friday for raping an unconscious woman, weeks after a Stanford student received what many believe was a slap on the wrist for a rape conviction. The New York Daily News reports that Batey was convicted in April of aggravated rape, which carries a…
-
How to Go From #BlackLivesMatter to #BlackPolicyMatters
How do we go from #BlackLivesMatter to changing the policies that devalue black life? This moment feels both full of possibility and also in danger of going unfulfilled. Folks across the political spectrum are finally confronting the issue of police violence, but there’s little consensus about how to fix it. Organizations like Campaign Zero are…
-
Dear Mr. President: Black America Deserves Better
Dear President Obama: As a black man, I have cried more times than I care to admit in the past week, particularly after hearing the audiotape of Diamond Reynolds’ live Facebook video following the killing of her fiance, Philando Castile, in Falcon Heights, Minn. My heart wept as she showed profound resilience and calm in the face…
-
President Obama Defends Phrase ‘Black Lives Matter’ in Unprecedented Town Hall
President Barack Obama led an unprecedented nationally televised town hall meeting on race and the criminal-justice system Thursday night. Black Lives Matter, said Obama, “simply refers to the notion that there’s a specific vulnerability for African Americans that needs to be addressed” and does not denigrate or disparage police officers, white people or any other…
-
How Do I Connect With Kin of My Ancestor’s Slave Owners?
I have uncovered an interesting and tragic family story. I was able to trace my family to a couple of former slaves: my great-great-grandfather Joseph Hoosier and his uncle Timothy Hoosier (Hauser). Both were former slaves in Yadkinville, N.C. A front-page newspaper article on Dec. 26, 1913, tells of the death of Timothy Hoosier, who died…
-
To Black Church Folks Just Waking Up: A Welcome and a Warning
The past few weeks have been rough. We are dying daily, and yet many of you have been sound asleep. You saw Mike Mike’s body lying in the middle of Canfield Green in Ferguson, Mo., on Aug. 9, 2014, but you did not “cry aloud and spare not.” Some of you prayed, and others recited…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
