culture
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Teen Convicted in Steubenville Rape Case Is Back on High School Football Team
Ma’lik Richmond, one of the Steubenville, Ohio, teens convicted for raping a 16-year-old girl in a case that rocked the nation, is back to playing football with his high school team after his release, the New York Daily News reports. The 18-year-old, one of two offenders involved in the horrific crime against the young girl…
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Mom Arrested for Allegedly Helping Son With ‘Fire Challenge’ Video
Because kids have nothing better to do with their time except douse themselves in flammable liquid and then light themselves on fire while a friend records it on video until the fire is put out, “the fire challenge” was born, and now a Charlotte, N.C., mother has been arrested for allegedly helping her teenage son…
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Pregnant Woman Claims Ferguson, Mo., Police Assaulted Her
Pregnant protester Mikiesha Wickerson claims she was thrown to the ground and maced by police in Ferguson, Mo., where there has been unrest since Saturday’s fatal police shooting of unarmed teen Michael Brown. Wickerson told KMOV that she and her cousins were yelling at police in their unmoving and closed car when police wearing riot gear…
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Unarmed Black Man, Ezell Ford, Shot by Police in Los Angeles
While the country is still reeling from the news and aftermath of the fatal shooting by police of unarmed Ferguson, Mo., teen Michael Brown, KTLA is reporting that a 25-year-old mentally challenged man was shot and killed in Los Angeles while lying on the ground. His family says he was complying with officers. He was also…
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Miss Black USA: More Than Just a Beauty Pageant
Miss Black Colorado, Jasmine Alexander, is the owner of this year’s Miss Black USA crown and a prize package that includes a $5,000 scholarship and a trip to Africa. But hers wasn’t the only victory in this atypical beauty competition, which was held Sunday night at the Theatre for Performing Arts at the University of…
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Stepping Up: Kids Learn the Importance of Arts and College Through Dance
Feet flashing, hands clapping, hair swinging. It’s a display of confidence, self-assurance … might I even venture to say swag. This was what was on display Sunday at the National Building Museum as a weeklong summer step camp, a collaboration between professional dance group Step Afrika! and Washington Performing Arts came to an end with a resounding…
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What Exactly Can a White Man Safely Say About a Black Woman’s Hair?
So a while ago, I (a white man without much hair to speak of—I trim it to about a quarter-inch guard) was behind a black woman with a magnificent Afro in line at a coffee shop, and I said to her that I really liked her hair. She thanked me very graciously, but I wonder—was…
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Throw Like a Girl: 13-Year-Old Mo’Ne Davis Takes Team to Little League World Series
To call 13-year-old Mo’Ne Davis a good pitcher would be an understatement. Mo’Ne, who regularly clocks in pitches at 70 mph, brought her team, the Philadelphia Taney Dragons, to victory during the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship, according to the Huffington Post. Mo’Ne, an honor roll student entering eighth grade, will join an elite group—becoming one of…
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13-Year-Old Md. Boy Drowns in a Lake on Birthday
A young, Laurel, Md., boy lost his life on his birthday during what was supposed to be a fun day at camp, WJLA reports. Dennis Kemp, 13, drowned while swimming in a lake at Oregon Ridge Park while out with his camping group, Camp Sonshine, based in Silver Spring, Md., officials said, according to the…
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Friend Who Witnessed Michael Brown Shooting Speaks
The last words Dorian Johnson heard from his friend were, “Keep running, bro!” The 22-year-old, who was walking with Michael Brown before Brown was fatally shot, revealed to MSNBC in an exclusive interview exactly what he saw during the inexplicable shooting by police Saturday in Ferguson, Mo. Johnson told MSNBC that he saw the gun and…