news
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Director of Harlem’s Schomburg Center to Leave
An era is coming to an end at Harlem’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad will leave his post as director in July 2016, the Amsterdam News reports. Muhammad is stepping down after five years at one of the leading institutions focusing exclusively on the African-American experience and the African…
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Del. Cop Acquitted of Video-Recorded Assault of Black Suspect Returns to Police Department
After being acquitted of assault, a Dover, Del., police officer caught on video kicking a suspect in the head is expected to return to the police force today on paid administrative leave, NBC News reports. Dover Police Chief Paul Bernat made the announcement Saturday regarding Cpl. Thomas Webster IV. He said that the department’s policy…
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Walter Scott’s Family Seeks Court Approval of a $6,500,000 Settlement
The civil court portion of the case involving the fatal police shooting of Walter Scott moves forward. Scott’s family filed documents asking a judge to approve its wrongful death settlement with North Charleston, S.C., CBS News reports. City officials agreed in October to settle the case for $6.5 million. Back in April, Officer Michael Slager,…
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Tenn. Teen Died Protecting Others From Gunfire
Family, friends and classmates are mourning a high school athlete this weekend who sacrificed his life to save three girls. Zaevion Dobson, 15, died during a shooting spree in Knoxville, Tenn., NBC News reports. The mayhem began Thursday night when shooters opened fire at a house, injuring Lisa Perry, 46, who was hit several times…
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St. Louis Cop Who Killed VonDerrit Myers Jr. Arrested, Resigns Under Suspicion of DWI
Jason Flanery, the St. Louis police officer who made headlines last fall for the killing of 18-year-old VonDerrit Myers Jr., resigned Saturday amid suspicions that he drove under the influence, STL Today reports. Flanery was off-duty and driving his patrol car after dawn Saturday when he crashed into a parked car near his home in St.…
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Parents Protest Charge Against Spring Valley High School Student After Violent Arrest
Black parents at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, S.C., and civil rights leaders have joined together in a call for charges to be removed against a 16-year-old student who was assaulted by a school resource officer who yanked her from her desk and tossed her across the floor in October, according to the Associated Press.…
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250,000 Sign Petition in Call for Emanuel and Alvarez to Resign Amid New Evidence
A wide coalition of activists have collected over 250,000 signatures on a petition that calls for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez to step down immediately, according to Fox 32. ColorOfChange.org, MoveOn.org, Democracy for America and Credo collected the signatures after the elected officials failed to hold the Chicago Police Department accountable…
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Bill Cosby’s Lawyers Fight Wife’s Deposition in Defamation Suit
Lawyers representing seven women who accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault are seeking to depose the entertainer’s wife in a federal defamation lawsuit filed in Springfield, Mass., reports the Associated Press. Cosby’s lawyers on Friday filed a motion to block the subpoena against his wife, Camille, arguing that “information from the couple’s private conversations is…
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Here’s How the Federal Reserve Just Told Black Folks ‘You Don’t Really Matter’
It may not be as sexy as the dating lives of rappers, the bad karma of a thieving white Big Pharma whiz kid or what went down in the latest episode of your favorite show. And, sure, it’s not the latest in a string of racist things a presidential candidate or Supreme Court justice said.…
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Sikh 7th-Grader Arrested, Spends 2 Nights in Texas Jail for Bomb-Threat Hoax
Stop us if you’ve heard this story before. An Arlington, Texas, seventh-grade Sikh student was arrested and spent a weekend in jail after being accused of carrying a bomb in his backpack. According to the Dallas Morning News, 12-year-old Armaan Singh claimed that another boy, whom he calls a “bully,” reported that Armaan had a…