mental illness
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Mad ‘Preacher’ Mows Down 6 in Queens, NY, Before Driving Into Pond
A wacked-out man dressed in preachers’ flowing white robes plowed into six people, critically injuring two, before driving into a pond Saturday evening. “Hallelujah!! Praise Jesus!” said the unidentified driver after emerging from a Ford Econoline van with the words “Psalm 24” and “Psalm 27” written on the back. According to the New York Daily…
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Jury Awards More Than $15,000,000 to Family of Unarmed Black Man Killed by SWAT Sniper in Wash. State
A federal jury unanimously decided that police violated the rights of a 30-year-old black man when a family argument escalated into an attack during which the man was shot by a SWAT sniper in front of his young son. According to the Seattle Times, on Friday the jury decided to award the family of Leonard…
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Texas Governor Signs ‘Weakened’ Sandra Bland Act Into Law
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the Sandra Bland Act into law Thursday, in what was supposed to be a decisive move to address the issues that led to Bland’s death. As the Texas Tribune notes, the act obligates county jails to channel individuals with mental-health and substance abuse issues toward treatment, and to make it…
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Sometimes, Staying Woke Means Staying Away
Waking up to tragedies of some measure has become the norm over the years. Lately it feels as if every day there’s another hashtag created to expose our worst fears or break what’s left of our hearts. I wasn’t clear on what had happened; all I saw were the hashtags floating down the page. My…
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Shame and Other Pre-Existing Conditions
I go to stores at 3:15 on weekdays. Lunchtime is crowded with people rushing to squeeze in errands during the workday. Noon to 3 is for the stay-at-home moms killing time before they join the school-pickup lines. Anything after 5 is an absolute no unless I can get there an hour or two before closing.…
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Chirlane McCray on ‘the Invisible Disease’
The saying goes, “Healthy mind, healthy body.” But how often do we tend, acknowledge and nurture our mental health? Mental illness shouldn’t be dismissed as something to simply “walk off.” Nor will “manning up” do the job. And being pegged as “crazy” is worlds away from resolving the problem. Mental illness is a disease that…
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Started From the Blog, Now We’re Here: The Black Snob’s Danielle Belton Triumphs Over Mental Illness
We’re living in a DIY culture, and there’s no one more DIY than bloggers. Blogging is a means of communication, self-expression, culture, news and so much more. And the people who create blogs are typically ridiculously talented and effortlessly wear the responsibility of being a voice for their culture. Bloggers are inspiring, to say the…
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Guards Won’t Be Charged in Death of Fla. Inmate Who Was Locked in Scalding Shower
More than four years after the gruesome shower death of Florida inmate Darren Rainey, and following a two-year probe into the incident by law enforcement, prosecutors have declined to charge the four guards involved in the death, with authorities saying that there is no evidence of wrongdoing. According to the Washington Post, on Friday, Miami-Dade…