news
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Remains of Tuskegee Airman Missing for 73 Years May Have Finally Been Found
The remains of a Tuskegee Airman who went missing in combat more than 70 years ago may have finally been found. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, or DPAA, believes that it may have found the remains of Capt. Lawrence E. Dickson, a fighter pilot who was just 24 when his plane went down. If the…
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Presidential Twitter Rant Doesn’t Include Mention of Man Who Died in Trump Tower Fire
In the last 24 hours, the president must have absconded to the bathroom with his phone again, sharing his “thoughts” on everything from the impending trade war with China, Scott Pruitt and the EPA, Mexico, the nation’s top law enforcement agencies, Syria—with a few Barack Obama digs thrown in for good measure. But in this…
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#SaheedVassell Mentally Spiraled After NYPD Gunned Down His Best Friend 10 Years Ago
In a most stinging irony, Saheed Vassell slid into a worsening depression after his best friend, Ortanzso “Marlon” Bovell, was shot and killed by police in 2008. The mental stress of experiencing such personal heartbreak most likely played a role in Vassell’s meeting the same fate—death by cop—on those same Brooklyn, N.Y., streets almost a…
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Robert Johnson Capes for Trump Over Black Unemployment Numbers (or Something)
America’s very first black billionaire out here caping for Donald Trump, ostensibly to finagle some deal that will make a very rich man richer. Or maybe he just likes being in proximity to power. On Friday the BET founder appeared on CNBC, saying that black folks should be dancing a little jig for the “growing…
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Lakeith Smith Gets 65 Years for Death of 16-Year-Old Killed by Police
Much has been made of the fact that a black teenager laughed openly in court before being sentenced to 65 years in prison. But the brutal truth of it is that this kid embodies the tragedy of criminal justice in America today, certainly no laughing matter to those destroyed by it. In early March, Lakeith…
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Bye! South Carolina Threatens to Secede (Again)
The first time South Carolina left the Union, it was because the scions of that state wanted the brutal practice of chattel slavery to continue, sparking the Civil War. This time, a group of Republicans in the state House of Representatives are proposing the very same action over so-called gun rights. To which I say,…
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Howard Students End Protest, Win Concessions From University
After nine days of occupying the campus Administration Building (renamed the Kwame Ture Student Center during the protest), Howard University students have ended their #HUSitIn, having reached a consensus with the trustees and university president. On Friday the board of trustees released a statement of commitments addressing student concerns, many of which were first outlined…
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NYPD Releases Video, 911 Transcripts Related to Shooting of Saheed Vassell
Video released by the New York City Police Department on Thursday shows 34-year-old Saheed Vassell pointing a metal pipe at several people as if it were a gun on Wednesday before he was shot and killed by police officers in the Crown Heights area of the city’s Brooklyn borough. Police also released the transcripts of…