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#BlackStoriesHavePower: Barnes & Noble Suspends Plans to Publish Diverse Editions After Backlash
On this week’s episode of “Books in Blackface,” the book retailer Barnes & Noble decided to “suspend” its controversial Diverse Editions series that was supposed to launch Wednesday in Honor of Black History Month. The series, spearheaded by the chain’s flagship store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, was a planned rerelease of beloved classics with…
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This 11-Year-Old Is Helping NYC Families Afford College
While most 11-year-old boys are begging their parents for toys and new shoes, 11-year-old Obocho Peters is earning cash with his mom and helping other families save for college in the process. Obocho and his mom, Sasha Peters, run Obocho’s Closet, a thrift store in NYC stocked with affordable clothes and shoes for kids up…
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Family of Incapacitated Rape Victim Sues Arizona and 2 Doctors for Negligence
The family of an incapacitated woman who was raped and impregnated at her long-term healthcare facility has sued the state of Arizona and two doctors for negligence. The lawsuit, filed Dec. 24, alleges that the state and the two doctors who cared for the 30-year-old patient at Hacienda HealthCare failed to meet the family’s request…
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Tom Hanks’ Son Chet Was Filmed Speaking Patois at the Golden Globes, and We Have Questions
This year’s Golden Globe Awards witnessed Chet Hanks, Tom Hanks’ son, speaking patois on camera, which left the entire Internet asking, “But why, tho’?” The 29-year-old rapper/actor posted a video of himself to Instagram on Sunday highlighting his attendance at the awards ceremony where his dad, actor Tom Hanks, was being honored with a lifetime…
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We Ain’t Surprised: New Study Says Black People in California Are Stopped by Police More Than Other Groups
It’s weird to write news that doesn’t feel like news, but here it goes: A new study confirms what we have always known—black people in California are stopped by law enforcement officers more often than any other racial group. The study, conducted by California’s Open Justice Initiative using “the largest-ever dataset compiled about US police…
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US Postal Service to Issue a Gwen Ifill Black Heritage Forever Stamp
The U.S. Postal Service will host a stamp dedication ceremony to launch the release of the Gwen Ifill black heritage stamp on Jan. 30. The ceremony will honor the late journalist with the 43rd stamp in its Black Heritage Forever stamp collection, a collection that has honored other black history heavyweights like Ida B. Wells…
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Racist Cop Who Kicked in Black Woman’s Door Resigns
I can hear the bass strumming along with the words: Another one bites the dust. Another one bites the dust. Michael J. Reynolds, the white New York Police Department officer who broke into a black woman’s home in Tennessee during and apparent drunken rage and threatened her and her sons, has resigned from the police…
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LeVar Burton Does More Than Read; His New Video Series Captures Racism in Daily Life
On the first day of this new year, LeVar “Kunta Kinte” Burton told all of Twitter that he wouldn’t tolerate any racial gaslighting in the new decade. The acclaimed actor, author and advocate released the first installment of This is My Story, a video series where he shares individual stories that capture some of the…
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Some Good News: Chicago's Crime Rate Down for 3rd Consecutive Year
Just in time to bring in a little New Year cheer, the Chicago Police Department announced that the murder rate in the city declined 13 percent in 2019 from the prior year. Interim Police Superintendent Charlie Beck announced Wednesday that the number of murders decreased from 567 in 2018 to 492 in 2019, giving the…
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Florida Teen's Train Death Ruled a Suicide
Seventeen-year-old football star Bryce Gowdy, who was set to attend Georgia Tech, died early Monday after he was struck by a freight train in his hometown, Deerfield Beach, Florida. Today, the Broward County Medical Examiner’s office ruled his death a suicide, CNN reports. The county sheriff’s office said it “responded at about 4 a.m. to…
