culture
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How Did My Free Bajan Ancestor End Up in North Carolina?
My great-great-grandfather Sandy Powell Sr. moved to North Carolina in the late 19th century. The story is that he came from Barbados after 1865, as a free man. No one knows why or under what conditions. We don’t know from where in Barbados he traveled, either. Was he part of a larger migration from the…
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'Urban Terrorism' in Detroit and No One Noticed
The gunman had a beef with the guys gambling in the back of Al’s Barber Shop in Detroit, so he strapped on body armor and shot into the crowd of people Wednesday evening. At least one man in the crowd returned fire. In total three men were killed and six were wounded. The police have…
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Even the KKK Is Insulted by Kid’s Klansman Halloween Costume
When you offend the most notorious hate group in the United States of America with your Halloween costume, you might have gone a smidge too far. As it turns out, the Ku Klux Klan isn’t at all impressed, honored or pleased by a 7-year-old Virginia boy’s Halloween costume, which imitated the long, white robes of…
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‘Stand Your Ground’ and Warning Shots Survive Hearing
A panel of Florida lawmakers shot down a proposal to repeal the state’s “Stand your ground” law but approved an amendment to allow immunity for those who fire a warning shot, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Nearly 300 people attended the vote to give their opinion on the controversial law that has been in the…
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Roots Star LeVar Burton Wants to Know Why Miniseries Needs Remake
In an interview with New York magazine, Roots star LeVar Burton had one simple question about the History Channel’s intended remake of the popular 1970s miniseries: “My initial reaction was, why?” Burton said in the interview. The actor proudly spoke of the original TV drama, saying that it wasn’t “just art for art’s sake” but,…
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Shonda Rhimes Says Scandal Ending Is Clear
If you’re curious about how the beloved TV political drama Scandal will end, you may not have to be curious for much longer. Creator Shonda Rhimes told NPR in an interview that in her head, the show has a “clear expiration date,” and she knows how it’s going to end. “I feel like there is…
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Home Depot Pairs Fake Monkey With Black Men
Home Depot is apologizing for what some are calling a racist tweet sent out by the megastore. The tweet shows two African-American drummers and a third man in a monkey mask with the caption, “Which drummer is not like the others?” The hardware chain store tweeted the photo on Thursday and then promptly took it…
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2nd Suspect Charged in Mississippi Family Murder
A second suspect is in custody and has been charged with the abduction and killing of a Mississippi family, the Associated Press and ABC News reports. While authorities say that they are still piecing together exactly what happened on the night when 7-year-old Jaidon Hill, 30-year-old Atira Hughes-Smith and her husband, 34-year-old Laterry Smith, were…
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Evidence Tampering in Kendrick Johnson Case?
The family of Kendrick Johnson, the young man found dead inside a rolled-up gym mat in his high school gymnasium, believes the video surveillance footage that a judge ordered released to them has been tampered with, CNN reports. CNN also obtained what they are calling a “scathing report” written by the coroner in the Johnson…
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Shutting Down the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Who could forget the alarming image of St. Petersburg, Fla., police officers clasping handcuffs around the wrists of Ja’eisha Scott, a 5-year-old African-American girl, as they placed her under arrest for throwing a tantrum at school? A video camera captured the incident on March 14, 2005, which took place at Fairmount Park Elementary School…