culture
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Time for #BlackLivesMatter to Turn Protest Into Policy
This year, 2015—the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act and the 150th anniversary of emancipation and the end of the Civil War—is the time to turn nationwide #BlackLivesMatter protests into tangible public policy. The Success-Oriented Funding proposal from the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University offers activists a tangible framework for criminal-justice reform.…
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Detroit’s Black Resiliency Will Be the Key to Its ‘Comeback’
When I visited Detroit in October for the first time since 2009, I saw neighborhoods full of dilapidated homes and the economic devastation that has been widely discussed in documentaries and mainstream media reports over the past five-plus years. But what overwhelmed me was the black pride and black resiliency of Detroiters—the pride that comes…
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Selma Costumes Reveal Class and Consciousness of the Movement
The costumes worn in the critically acclaimed film Selma tell about an important yet understudied history of the race, class and generational tensions of the Deep South. Few realize how critical dress was in establishing and maintaining the social order of the South. The Jim Crow system was built upon a hierarchy that placed wealthy…
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Obama Moves to Close Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp
President Barack Obama has made it a priority for his last two years in office to shrink the prisoner population at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp so much that it would become an economic burden if it were kept open any longer, the New York Times reports. Closing the detention camp was an issue he…
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Judge Will Hear Arguments to Determine if Eric Garner Grand Jury Proceedings Will Be Made Public
The public may soon be able to read the grand jury proceedings that led to the decision not to indict Daniel Pantaleo, the New York City police officer who fatally choked Eric Garner. On Monday a judge at the New York Supreme Court announced that he would hear arguments later this month to decide whether…
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Former NYPD Cop Tweets a Gun Selfie to Goad #BlackBrunchNYC Protesters
On Sunday John Cardillo, a former New York City police officer, posted a selfie on Twitter of himself pointing a gun at the camera. The caption read: “I’m really enjoying these Eggs Benedict so move along now. #BlackBrunchNYC.” The hashtag was the same one used by several dozen protesters who had stormed into brunch eateries…
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Burglar Returns Stolen Money, Fixes Window He Damaged to Break In
Last week a Palm Bay, Fla., woman returned to her apartment to find a burglar standing in her home. “I walk into my room, and I find all my boyfriend’s shoes and clothes thrown on the floor,” the woman told a 911 operator, according to Yahoo News. “I said, ‘So you’re trying to rob us?’…
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Police Officer Accidentally Shoots Himself in the Stomach
On Saturday night, off-duty police officer, Darryl Jouett and his wife, had just finished eating dinner in a Cincinnati, Ohio restaurant when, they boarded a parking garage elevator. Jouett then took a gun out of his pocket and somehow discharged the weapon, shooting himself in the abdomen. Surveillance video of the incident shows Jouett, who…
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2 Police Officers Shot in NYC
Two New York City police officers were shot Monday night in the Bronx after responding to reports of a robbery, according to the New York Daily News. According to the Daily News, “Andrew Dossi, 30, was shot in the arm and back, while Officer Aliro Pellerano, 38, was shot in the arm and abdomen.” Both…
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Ferguson Juror Sues Prosecutor, Says Evidence Was Manipulated to Implicate Michael Brown
One of the jurors on the St. Louis County grand jury that decided not to indict then-Police Officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown commissioned the American Civil Liberties Union to file a lawsuit to allow the juror to publicly discuss the proceedings. Specifically, the juror, who remains unnamed, wants to be…