#blacklivesmatter
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Colin Kaepernick Shows That #BlackLivesMatter Even When His Career May Not
San Francisco 49ers backup quarterback Colin Kaepernick chose last Friday to remind America that black lives matter. It’s a laudable goal, and one for which he should be commended. The role of the black athlete in addressing pressing social issues has moved from the “risk it all” activism of the 1960s to the “Republicans buy…
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Family of Korryn Gaines Questions Police Use of Deadly Force
The family of Korryn Gaines is speaking out on behalf of the 23-year-old mother of two who was shot to death by Baltimore County police Monday after an hourslong standoff, WBAL-TV reports. One of the family’s biggest questions is why deadly force had to be used in the first place. “We see hundreds of videos…
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How To Prove Your Own Murder (#HTPYOM)
Yesterday morning, I found myself searching for answers on the 6 train. I did everything I was supposed to do but, sometimes that falls short. Talk to God. Be objective. Consider all sides. Listen to the elders. But nothing makes sense anymore. Nothing. So how do you make the case for your own murder when…
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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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BLM Activists Speak on ‘Manipulative,’ ‘Disingenuous’ Town Hall on Race
Thursday’s ABC town hall with President Barack Obama was anticipated with bated breath. Many were looking forward to an honest conversation about race and about the current tensions between the black community and police officers in the aftermath of the shooting deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile and the attack in Dallas that left…
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MLK Would Never Shut Down a Freeway, and 6 Other Myths About the Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter
On Saturday, as protests mounted across the country following the police killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed explained the large police presence at downtown protests to reporters: “Dr. King would never take a freeway.” Reed’s claim was historically absurd. Martin Luther King Jr. took many a highway—most famously, perhaps, in…
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The Politics of Being Woke
“Who polices the woke?” The question caught me off guard. My line brother posed it to me as I was on my way to a meeting. We are members of the first historically black Greek collegiate fraternity and are called line brothers because we joined at the same time. He called with a question that,…
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Black Lives Matter, Explained, For People Who Still Somehow Don't Freakin Get It
What is Black Lives Matter? Black Lives Matter is a social justice and activism movement founded by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. It derives from the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, created in 2013 in response to George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the death of Trayvon Martin. It uses non-violent means — hashtag activism, protests, marches, die-ins, and intentional…
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In the Streets, in Protest and on the Basketball Court, Black Women Lead
A day after rallies around the country to protest the slayings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling at the hands of police, two photos are emblazoned in my mind. The first is of a woman standing peacefully in a sundress wearing sensible shoes while police in riot gear swarm to arrest her. The second is…
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Post-Dallas, Could White Fear Turn Tide for Trump?
The political climate had already incubated into the most racially flammable presidential election cycle in recent memory (perhaps more so than when the first black president ran). Throw a lit match of tragic police assassinations by a heavily armed vengeful black man onto it, and it may have just exploded into a summer-surprise inflection point…