culture
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According to Knicks Player J.R. Smith, Black Friday Is Linked to Slavery
We have yet to check with our editor-in-chief, Henry Louis Gates Jr., but according to New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith’s Instagram page, Black Friday is historically linked to slavery. On Tuesday evening, Smith posted the following message linking the biggest shopping day of the year with a “historical” factoid claiming that the day after…
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Pastor Reportedly Refuses to Bury 93-Year-Old Woman Who Hadn’t Paid Her Church Dues
A Houston pastor faces criticism after refusing to bury a 93-year-old woman who had been a member of his church for more than 50 years, reports KRIV. Barbara Day says that she feels insulted by the way the pastor, Walter F. Houston, responded to her request to bury her mother, Olivia Blair. “It was like…
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Why Are Some Black Men Dismissing Black Women’s Criticism of Bill Cosby?
It’s about time for black men to take a long look in the mirror and ask how our male privilege can be harmful to black women. During the most turbulent of times, it seems that when black women raise their voices to discuss their unique experience with racism and sexual violence, too many of us…
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Video Shows Denver Police Tripping Pregnant Woman
Denver police have come under scrutiny after a witness, bearing video evidence, says that they used excessive force in restraining a suspect, tripped a heavily pregnant woman and tried to cover it all up by deleting the video from the witness’ tablet, Fox 31 reports. Levi Frasier was recording the shocking arrest of David Flores…
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Thanksgiving Away From Home? Here Are Some Rules for the Road
I haven’t been home for Thanksgiving in almost 10 years. I typically reserve trips home to Houston for Christmas, weddings and family reunions (and that more somber occasion that starts with an “f”). For the several years that I spent Thanksgiving in Washington, D.C., I would spend the day with various combinations of cousins and…
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Sharpton: Public Outrage Was Exacerbated by Prosecutor’s ‘Frontal Attack’ on Michael Brown’s Character
Two days after a grand jury refused to indict Ferguson, Mo., police Officer Darren Wilson for the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, Brown’s parents appeared with the Rev. Al Sharpton at the Harlem headquarters of National Action Network, the civil rights organization founded by Sharpton in 1991. They remain determined to keep the legacy…
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Watch: Cleveland Police Shoot 12-Year-Old Tamir Rice Within Seconds of Arriving on Scene
Cleveland has released video showing the moment that 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot dead by police, Cleveland.com reports. In the video, which lacks audio, Tamir can be seen getting up from a bench at a West Side recreation center, and walking as a police cruiser pulls up. In a split second, an officer exits the…
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Former Model and Restaurateur B. Smith Is Found
Updated Wed., Nov. 26, 2:45 p.m. EST: CBS Evening News tweeted confirmation that B. Smith has been found at a New York City diner, following reports of her being missing. Earlier: B. Smith, the renowned former model and restaurateur, has gone missing while traveling from New York City to Sag Harbor, N.Y., MyFoxNY reports. According to…
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Michael Brown Family’s Church Set on Fire, Center of Arson Probe
After the Monday announcement of the grand jury decision not to indict Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown, the Brown family has suffered another blow: Their church was set on fire that night, NBC News reports. According to the report, federal investigators are looking into the…
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Watch: Driver Hits Michael Brown Protesters in Minneapolis
A car that drove into a group of protesters Tuesday afternoon in Minneapolis hit several people who were rallying for justice for Michael Brown a day after a St. Louis grand jury decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for fatally shooting Brown. According to video taken by helicopter for news station KSTP, a vehicle…