african americans and police
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Chance the Rapper Livestreams Police Stop in Chicago in Case It Goes ‘Sideways’
After consuming a sickening amount of “black death porn”—that is, black folks being killed by police on video—one could deduce that it is a precarious situation whenever an African American gets pulled over by police—regardless of social standing, celebrity, or the size of his or her bank account. Grammy-winning artist Chance the Rapper, being black…
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Black People 3 Times as Likely to Die in Police Chases: Report
In a first-of-its-kind investigation, USA Today found that black people in the U.S. have been killed in police chases at a rate nearly three times higher than anyone else. The rub is that this included both those fleeing law enforcement and innocent bystanders. The outlet was able to thoroughly and meticulously illustrate yet another example of…
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Protests Mount After Teen Carnell Snell Jr. Shot and Killed by LAPD
An 18-year-old was shot fatally by the Los Angeles Police Department after a foot chase that relatives said ended tragically in front of his home. The dead teen has been identified as Carnell “C.J.” Snell Jr., a young man neighbors say was into skateboards and his family, according to the Los Angeles Times. LAPD officers…
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Pasadena, Calif., Man Dies in Police Custody After Being Tased
Pasadena, Calif., police quickly released grainy security video and audio from a 911 call from the family of a man who died in their custody after being restrained and tased early Friday morning. Although authorities have yet to release the name of the dead man, relatives have identified him as Reginald “Junior” Thomas, a father of eight.…
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Watch: NFL Commentator Shannon Sharpe Says to White Folks, ‘Don’t Tell Us What to Grieve For’
It’s almost as if Colin Kaepernick has given those in the sports realm the green light to express the frustration they may feel at the relentless (and avoidable) death of black people at the hands of police. To wit, on Thursday evening, NFL commentator Shannon Sharpe passionately told his co-worker about his take on Kaepernick’s…
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#DeEscalateDontKill: Black Man Fatally Shot by Fla. Cops in His Own Backyard
In the last year, there has been a hashtag directed toward law enforcement all over the nation: #DeEscalateDontKill. But the police in Broward County, Fla., must have missed the memo. The Broward Palm Beach New Times reports that police responded to a domestic disturbance call Friday night and shot and killed a man who was…
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Video Shows Texas Police Throwing Black Schoolteacher to the Ground Twice
Officials in Austin, Texas, are investigating the violent arrest last year of a black elementary school teacher who was slammed to the ground twice during a traffic stop, the Austin American-Statesman reports. Also under investigation are comments apparently made by an officer who can be heard on video telling the teacher, Breaion King, that black people…
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America, Bye: Why Black America Is Leaving While Staying Put
I was a grad student at the UCLA film school, getting my MFA in screenwriting, when a consumer-trends company asked me to work for them. Why did they want me? Well, they advised major corporations on how to best situate their products for the African-American consumer market, and in order to do that effectively, the…
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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…