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Criminal Justice

Criminal Justice, News, Social Justice

Blackout for Human Rights Launches 5th Annual #BlackoutBlackFriday Action With Terence Nance

Blackout for Human Rights is urging you to be conscious about your Black Friday sale-hunting instincts and avoid major retailers and corporations violating human rights standards. For a fifth year, the collective—founded by Ryan Coogler—will kick off a nationwide campaign encouraging shoppers to participate in an economic boycott of “major retailers, and any corporations that…

By

Natalie Degraffinried

Published

November 21, 2018
Crime, Criminal Justice, News

Alleged Gunman, His Girlfriend, a Police Officer and 1 Other Dead in Shooting at Chicago Hospital [Updated]

One person is reported dead and at least three others—including one police officer—were wounded after a gunman opened fire at a Chicago hospital on Monday afternoon. The incident happened around 3:20 p.m. at Mercy Hospital & Medical Center. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the Chicago Tribune that the suspect was found inside the hospital. He…

By

Monique Judge

Published

November 19, 2018
Criminal Justice, News, Social Justice

Why They Kneel: Kansas City, LA and Why Police Should Never Be Called ‘Pigs’

To examine the injustice and inequality that prompted some NFL players to protest during the national anthem, each week, for the remainder of the NFL season, The Root will explore the data behind racial disparities in the two cities represented in the National Football League’s premiere matchup—Monday Night Football. Tonight, the Kansas City Chiefs travel…

By

Michael Harriot

Published

November 19, 2018
Criminal Justice, Mass Incarceration, News

Hollow Gesture Alert: Billionaire New England Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Would ‘Very Much Like’ to See Kaepernick Back in the NFL

These are the words of a billionaire owner of an NFL franchise, the words of the most (or second most behind Jerry Jones) influential owner in the league, the man whose team is led by a 41-year-old quarterback and a backup who probably isn’t even good enough to be fourth-string: “I would very much like…

By

Issac J. Bailey

Published

November 16, 2018
Criminal Justice, News, Social Justice

Meet Grace McKinnon: Black Women Are the Superheroines Who Don’t Wear Capes

It seems as though the number of black men killed at the hands of police increases by at least one every day. The stories have become so commonplace as to somewhat desensitize the public to their occurrence. On Wednesday, Nov. 7, at approximately 3:30 p.m., one story that could have ended with that same narrative…

By

Monique Judge

Published

November 14, 2018
Criminal Justice, News, Social Justice

Marian Wright Edelman to Step Down as President of Children’s Defense Fund

There are few people alive today whose names are as synonymous with social justice—especially for the most vulnerable among us—as Marian Wright Edelman. Now, the children’s rights advocate who founded the Children’s Defense Fund will be stepping down as president, a role she held for 45 years. In a statement released this morning, the CDF…

By

Anne Branigin

Published

November 14, 2018
Criminal Justice, News, Social Justice

California Is Using Slave Labor to Fight the Wildfires

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction” — The 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America text Yesterday, I vacuumed the stairs. There was a time…

By

Michael Harriot

Published

November 13, 2018
Criminal Justice, News, Social Justice

Why They Kneel: New York, San Francisco and How To Colonize a City in 5 Easy Steps

To examine the injustice and inequality that prompted some NFL players to protest during the national anthem, each week, for the remainder of the NFL season, The Root will explore the data behind racial disparities in the two cities represented in the National Football League’s premiere matchup—Monday Night Football. Tonight, the New York Giants travel…

By

Michael Harriot

Published

November 12, 2018
Criminal Justice, News, Social Justice

Founder of the First Ever MLK Day Parade Is Laid to Rest

On Saturday, the funeral for civil rights activist Ovide Duncantell was held at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. He was 82. As the founder of the first ever Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade in the country, as well as Houston’s Black Heritage Society, Duncantell dedicated his life to advocacy and activism within the…

By

Jay Connor

Published

November 11, 2018
Criminal Justice, News, Social Justice

Floridians May Not Have Elected Andrew Gillum but Did Vote to Restore Voting Rights to Over 1 Million Ex-Felons

Much to our eternal chagrin, Floridians did not elect Andrew Gillum as governor of their deservedly designated simple-minded (and often repressive) state. However, on Election Day, they did vote “yes” on Amendment 4, a citizen-proposed ballot initiative that will enable more than one million ex-felons to regain their voting rights, potentially changing the political landscape…

By

Angela Helm

Published

November 7, 2018