culture
-
Illinois Woman Wants to Trademark ‘I Can’t Breathe’ for Clothing
One Illinois woman is hoping to get the trademark to the dying words of New York City’s Eric Garner to use them for commercial purposes in one incredibly classy move, the Smoking Gun reports. Catherine Crump of Waukegan, Ill., wants to use “I can’t breathe,” the now-popular rallying cry against police brutality, for use on…
-
Brandon Tate-Brown’s Mother Says ‘There Was No Excuse’ for Philly Police to Shoot Her Son in the Back of His Head
Brandon Tate-Brown, 26, was just trying to make it home in the early-morning hours of Dec. 15 when police officers pulled him over for allegedly driving without his headlights in Philadelphia’s Mayfair district. By the end of that encounter, Tate-Brown would be dead—a bullet piercing the back of his head—and his mother, Tanya Brown, would…
-
‘After Everything That’s Happened’: NYPD Plainclothes Officer Punches Boy, 12
With the country still on its heels from the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner at the hands of white police officers, video has surfaced of a reportedly 12-year-old boy being punched by a New York City Police Department plainclothes officer as three uniformed cops attempt to arrest him, the New York Daily News reports.…
-
Treasury Department Wants More Contract Bids from Black and Hispanic Business Owners
The U.S. Department of Treasury does about $7 billion worth of business with outside contractors every year, and they recently released an online publication that encourages and educates African American, Hispanic, small and female business owners on how they can get in on the action and pitch their services to the Treasury Department as well.…
-
My Boyfriend Hates How Much Time I Spend Doing a Job That I Love
My boyfriend of four years nags me about the same thing: my work schedule. I work long, sometimes outrageous hours, but I love my job. He can’t get past it and sometimes argues with me via phone when I work late, other times in my office (door closed). Other than this, our relationship is fine.…
-
DOJ to Sue NYC Over Alleged Civil Rights Violations on Rikers Island
The U.S. Department of Justice has announced its intentions to sue New York City for alleged civil rights violations of teenage inmates in Rikers Island jail, the New York Post reports. According to the news site, the DOJ has expressed dissatisfaction with attempts by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration to speed up…
-
Police: Fla. Man Faked Heart Attack While Friend Stole Toys
While 27-year-old Genard Dupree collapsed to the floor near the Central Florida Wal-Mart store entrance, clutching his chest, his friend, 30-year-old Tarus Scott, allegedly strolled out with a shopping cart stuffed with a motorized Power Wheels Barbie car, a LeapFrog tablet and a Barbie Glam Vacation House, authorities say, the New York Post reports. Dupree…
-
George Zimmerman Regrets Not Getting Self-Defense Insurance
Woe is George Zimmerman. According to Raw Story, the former neighborhood watchman responsible for the death of unarmed Florida teen Trayvon Martin in 2012 called the Armed American Radio show on Sunday to give fellow gun carriers advice about what to do if they ever happen to shoot someone. It seems that one of Zimmerman’s…
-
NJ Authorities Want Assata Shakur Back From Cuba to Finish Life Sentence
On Wednesday President Obama announced that he was easing some of the United States’ 50-year restrictions against Cuba, and shortly after that announcement, the focus for some people shifted to what a new Cuba-U.S. relationship might mean for Assata Shakur. Shakur, who has become a kind of vigilante folk hero in the black community, was…
-
UN: Nearly 1 Million in West Africa at Risk of Going Hungry as Ebola Restrictions Cause Food Shortages
Approximately 1 million people living in the three West African nations most plagued by the Ebola outbreak—Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone—are at risk of going hungry because of major food shortages due to “border closures, quarantines and crop losses,” Al-Jazeera reports. Two food-monitoring groups, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the U.N. World…