culture
-
Chicago Teen Arrested in Case of 11-Year-Old Killed at Slumber Party
Chicago police have formally arrested and charged an 18-year-old man in connection with the death of Shamiya Adams, the 11-year-old who was killed by a stray bullet while she was playing at a slumber party, New York’s Daily News reports. The suspect, Tevin Lee, reportedly was looking for revenge in some sort of dispute involving…
-
Christian Groups Aren’t Happy With Black Jesus
The Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder’s new show, Black Jesus, hasn’t even aired its first episode, and if Christian-rights groups have their way, it never will. McGruder’s comedy show for the Adult Swim network finds Black Jesus, played by actor Gerald “Slink” Johnson, living in Compton, Calif., where he tells his followers, “You get money f—king with…
-
Blacks Fined Disproportionately for Publicly Smoking Pot in Seattle
One would think that Seattle, as a city that’s at the forefront of the marijuana revolution, would be more progressive when it comes to racial equality. The numbers beg to differ. Based on their representation in the population, African Americans received a disproportionate number of fines for smoking cannabis in public compared with whites and Asians…
-
The Bad Best Friend Is Back With a Shocker Update to Her Tale of Betrayal
I’m back! Remember me? Bad BFF? Well, quick update … I am engaged to the ex of my ex-BFF. Crazy how things work out, right? I hope all women learn a lesson from this: Never, ever pass up true love. Loyalty is essential but has its limits. I’m glad I was brave enough to make…
-
What if the Video of Eric Garner’s Choke Hold Didn’t Exist?
Ramsey Orta could have been arrested for recording what police were doing to Eric Garner. That would have changed everything. According to the New York Daily News, the internal police report about the incident doesn’t even mention that Garner was put in a choke hold, a maneuver prohibited by New York Police Department policy. That…
-
106-Year-Old Black DC Church to Be Sold to Developer
Soon, the Alexander Memorial Baptist Church, a historic, century-old black church in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington D.C., will be no more, according to WJLA. The church is being sold for $6.5 million to a developer, with plans to turn it into either condominiums or townhouses, according to the news station. The reason for the…
-
‘Shopping While Black’ Vine User Rashid Polo: If Profiling Keeps Happening, I’ll Have to Record It
Rashid Polo, who made waves on the Internet last week after his Vine video of convenience store employees following him drew 30 million views, has no plans to stop filming his racial profilers. “If it keeps happening, I’m going to be forced to record it,” he told the Hollywood Reporter. “Hopefully it doesn’t happen again,…
-
Canadians Step In to Help Detroit During Water-Shutoff Crisis
Detroit has found interesting allies in Canada as the bankrupt city’s residents face water shutoffs due to unpaid bills in a crackdown by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. According to the Detroit Free Press, a Canadian group will be trying to send a convoy of some eight cars adorned patriotically with Canadian flags through…
-
Video Surfaces of 2nd Man Apparently Choked by NYPD
An internal investigation is being launched within the New York City Police Department after a second video reportedly surfaced of another officer using an alleged choke hold on a man during an arrest. Choke holds are banned by the NYPD as a tactic for restraining a suspect. According to the Associated Press, on July 14,…
-
Renisha McBride Shooting Trial Begins in Detroit
As the highly controversial Renisha McBride shooting trial began in Detroit Wednesday, jurors heard two different versions of what happened that night from the lawyers on opposing sides in their opening statements, the Detroit Free Press reports. Lawyers for Theodore Wafer—the 55-year-old Dearborn Heights, Mich., resident charged in the shooting death of the young, unarmed…