culture
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Mourners Bid Farewell to Akai Gurley
As the nation grapples with a backlash against police violence in the black community, family and friends on Friday mourned an unarmed African-American man who was fatally shot by a New York City Police Department officer. Akai Gurley, 28, was remembered as a loyal father and son at a wake that came hours after the…
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African Diaspora Film Fest: Artistic Visions of the Black Experience
When you see the movie title Obama Mama, you might think it’s the latest offering from Tyler Perry, but it’s actually the title of a new documentary about President Barack Obama’s mother. The film closes out the 22nd annual African Diaspora International Film Festival, taking place in New York City now through Dec. 14. The…
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The 3 Worst Conservative Rationalizations for What Happened to Eric Garner
Unlike the recent shootings by police of Michael Brown, John Crawford and Tamir Rice, there’s something—the video—about the killing of Eric Garner by New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo that has folks on both sides of the political aisle criticizing the Staten Island grand jury’s decision not to indict, with conservative mainstays like Washington…
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Wrongful Death Suit Filed in Tamir Rice’s Shooting Death
Tamir Rice’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Cleveland and the two policemen involved in the 12-year-old boy’s tragic shooting death, Fox 8 reports. Rice’s family attorney said that the suit, filed on Friday, alleges that the Cleveland officers “confronted him in a surprise fashion” while he “was playing ……
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Report: Cop Who Shot Akai Gurley Texted Union Rep While Gurley Lay Dying
Akai Gurley, 28, and his girlfriend, Melissa Butler, 27, were leaving Butler’s seventh-floor apartment at the Louis Pink Houses in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Nov. 20 after she had just finished braiding his hair. Tired of waiting for the elevator, they decided to take the stairs. At the same time, police say, two rookie officers were…
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Bill Cosby Files Lawsuit Against Judith Huth for Sexual Assault Allegations
Bill Cosby is addressing at least one of the allegations of sexual assault launched against him by countersuing Judith Huth, the woman who alleged that she was assaulted by the comedian when she was 15, CBS News reports. Cosby’s lawyer is claiming that Huth and her attorney attempted to extort money from Cosby by demanding…
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SC Has Indicted 3 Cops in 4 Months for Shooting Unarmed Black Men
While the nation reels from the lack of indictments in the recent cases of Ohio’s John Crawford III, Missouri’s Michael Brown and New York’s Eric Garner, all of whom were killed by on-duty police officers, South Carolina is reportedly taking a different approach, having indicted three white officers in the past four months for the…
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Transgender Woman Killed While Pounding on Door for Help
Deshawnda Sanchez, a 21-year-old transgender woman known to many as “Tata,” was gunned down on Wednesday in front of a house in South Los Angeles that police believe she had run to seeking help. “She was definitely at that door, pounding on that door seeking help,” Los Angeles police Detective Christopher Barling told KTLA 5.…
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Eric Garner’s Mom: His Death Wasn’t About Race, It Was a ‘Thrill Kill’
Officer Daniel Pantaleo’s part in Eric Garner’s death may not have been a race issue as much as a size issue, the Garner family said in interviews with CNN. Erica Garner, the daughter of the deceased Staten Island father of six who was killed, in part, by a banned choke hold, said that it was…
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Biggest Loser’s Damien Gurganious Dead at Age 38
Season 7 Biggest Loser star Damien Gurganious has died suddenly at age 38, the Daily Mail reports. According to the news site, Gurganious died Nov. 24 because of a brain bleed caused by a rare autoimmune disorder called idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. “As most of you know, I never post on social media. So, it is…