michael brown
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How to Look at Atatiana Jefferson
Every Sunday for the last six years, artist Nikkolas Smith has taken out his iPad in his Los Angeles home, blocking out a few hours to paint whatever comes to mind. Sometimes his subjects are topical—famous figures or events that made the news. Other times, he’ll experiment with landscapes and techniques. Last month, as he…
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Mike Brown’s Death Changed the World, but Local Activists Say It Hasn’t Changed Ferguson
Today marks five years since Darren Wilson gunned down 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown was far from the only black man to die at the hands of the police that year; other high-profile cases—Eric Garner died in New York months earlier, Laquan McDonald would be shot and killed later that fall—sparked protests and…
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United by Death, Mothers of the Movement Breathes New Life Into Political Agendas
In front of a packed ballroom, Tiffany Crutcher reached into her purse and pulled out a stapled letter, folded and refolded many times over. The letter was from the Department of Justice—only a handful of families in the country have ever received such correspondence from the government. But for the Mothers of the Movement panel…
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Lezley McSpadden Loses 1st Ferguson City Council Race
Lezley McSpadden, mother of Michael Brown, lost a hotly contested 3-way race for a seat on Ferguson’s city council Tuesday night. Had she won, McSpadden would have helped oversee the police force whose officer shot and killed her son in 2014. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Fran Griffin, a local activist and organizer who…
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When It Comes to Blackness, All Roads Lead to and Through East St. Louis. Period.
Firstly, I want to make this clear: People often (always) confuse East St. Louis and St. Louis—they are not the same city. Kind of like assuming all black people look alike or just because our names are close than we must be sisters—nah. East St. Louis is literally “east” of St. Louis and is housed…
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At the Age of 31, Ferguson Activist Bassem Masri Reportedly Died of a Heart Attack. Why?
Bassem Masri, a Palestinian-American civil rights activist best known for his participation in and live-streaming of the Ferguson Uprising in 2014, died Tuesday morning after being found unresponsive on a bus, officials say. While the cause of death still hasn’t been confirmed, at least one outlet is reporting that Masri died of a heart attack.…
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Danye Jones' Death Is Being Investigated as a Suicide. But His Mother, a Ferguson Activist, Says It's a Lynching
A rally and news conference have been organized today by the family of Danye Jones, a 24-year-old man who was found dead, hanging from a tree on his family’s property, earlier this month. St. Louis County says they are investigating Jones’ death as a suicide. But his mother, Melissa McKinnies, a prominent protester who helped…
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Kavanaugh’s Confirmation Proves White Male Privilege Is Invincible
His confirmation might come as a shock to some, but for many of us, it was a foregone conclusion.