news
-
Wheaton College Suspends Professor After Facebook Post Supporting Muslims
Wheaton College, an evangelical Christian institution, has put one of its professors on administrative leave. The move apparently stems from remarks that the associate professor of political science made in solidarity with Muslims, the New York Times reports. The Illinois liberal arts college released a statement explaining that it suspended Larycia Hawkins for “significant questions…
-
You’re the Real MVP: LeBron James Shares Special Moment With Teen
During the second quarter of Tuesday night’s game featuring the Boston Celtics hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron James looked up at the big screen and was moved to action. The Celtics were honoring Aaron Miller, a Boston-area high school student who overcame brain damage and being told he might never walk or talk again to…
-
NYC Woman Files Lawsuit Claiming Cop Called Her Gay Slur, Assaulted Her
A Brooklyn, N.Y., woman is suing for unspecified damages after she claims a police officer called her a homophobic slur before he attacked and falsely arrested her, the Huffington Post reports. Stephanie Dorceant, 29, and her ex-girlfriend Nandi Allman filed the lawsuit in a Brooklyn federal court Monday, just two weeks after Dorceant was cleared…
-
Mistrial for Baltimore Officer Could Spell Trouble for Prosecutors Seeking Justice for Freddie Gray
On Wednesday, Judge Barry Williams declared a mistrial in the criminal case against Baltimore Police Officer William Porter. Porter was the first officer to face trial out of a total of six police officers who are charged in the death of Freddie Gray. Gray died from a broken neck and spinal cord injury while in police…
-
‘We Need a Conviction’: Baltimore Reacts to Mistrial in Freddie Gray Case
“Indict! Convict! Send those killer cops to jail! The whole damn system is guilty as hell,” is what protesters shouted outside the courthouse in Baltimore Wednesday after the trial of Police Officer William Porter ended in a hung jury. Porter, the first of six officers facing prosecution in the police-custody death of Freddie Gray, had…
-
Freddie Gray Case: Judge Declares Mistrial in William Porter Trial as Jury Fails to Reach Unanimous Verdict
A Baltimore jury failed to reach a verdict in the case of Baltimore Police Officer William Porter, the first of six officers to be tried in the death of Freddie Gray, forcing Judge Barry Williams to declare a mistrial. According to CNN, jurors told the judge Tuesday that they were unable to reach a unanimous…
-
Central Park Five’s Korey Wise Donates $190,000 to University of Colo.’s Innocence Project
Korey Wise, one of the Central Park Five, is now giving back, hoping to help wrongly convicted inmates, by donating $190,000 to the University of Colorado’s Innocence Project, securing for the program a new lease on life, the Denver Post reports. The program, which is operated out of the university’s law school, has been renamed…
-
Warrant Issued for ‘Affluenza’ Teen Ethan Couch
A warrant has been issued for Ethan Couch, the “affluenza”-afflicted teen who is serving probation after killing four people in a drunk-driving crash two years ago, WFAA reports. According to the station, Couch, 18, missed a check-in with his probation officer earlier this month, and court officers were unable to locate him or his mother.…
-
Miss. Elementary School Apologizes After Making Child Change out of ‘Black Girls Rock!’ Shirt
A Mississippi mother is speaking out to ensure that other kids know they can speak up, after her 8-year-old was made to change out of her “Black Girls Rock!” shirt while at Popps Ferry Elementary School in Biloxi. According to WLOX, Sharika Jolly has long been hoping to instill some self-esteem in her daughter, Makiyah-Jae,…
-
Mexico Finally Recognizes its Afro-Mexican Population in Recent National Census
Afro-Mexicans, for the first time, have finally been given the option of identifying as black in the national census and claiming their African heritage. As Quartz reports, as of Dec. 8, with the release of Mexico’s 2015 population survey, 1.38 million people identified themselves as having African heritage, representing a total of 1.2 percent of…