news
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Watch: Michael Sam ‘Steps Away’ From Canadian Football League Over Mental-Health Issues
Michael Sam, who made history last year when he became the first openly gay player drafted by a National Football League team, announced Friday that he was stepping away from football over concerns about his mental health, Reuters reports. “The last 12 months have been very difficult for me, to the point where I became…
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Family of Wis. Teen Fatally Shot by Police Files Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit
The family of a teen who was fatally shot by a Madison, Wis., police officer is seeking unspecified damages in a federal civil rights lawsuit, claiming that the officer’s actions were unconstitutional, the Associated Press reports. The lawsuit accuses Police Officer Matt Kenny of violating Tony Robinson Jr.’s equal-protection rights, as well as his right…
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Family of 14-Year-Old Shot by NJ Officers Says He Was Unarmed
The family of a New Jersey teen who was shot multiple times by police said that he was unarmed and trying to run from officers, NJ.com reports. Radazz Hearns, who, family members say, suffered seven gunshot wounds, is currently in stable condition at the Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton, N.J. He was shot…
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US Flag Flies High in Cuba for 1st Time in 54 Years
For the first time in 54 years, the U.S. flag was raised over the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, a symbolic nod to the end of a diplomatic strain that has lasted more than half a century. “We are gathered here because our leaders made a courageous decision to stop being prisoners of history,” Secretary of…
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Dutch Newspaper Reviews Ta-Nehisi Coates’ New Book, Uses Headline, ‘N–ger, Are You Crazy?’
Ta-Nehisi Coates’ latest book, Between the World and Me, has earned widespread praise across the U.S., with many nodding at Coates’ unforgiving examination of race in America. A Dutch newspaper decided that the best way to present a review of said book was to slap the headline “Nigger, Are You Crazy?” on the view, accompanied…
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Wis. Man Arrested After ‘Shoving’ Woman to the Ground, Barging Into Her Home to Remove Confederate Flag: Report
This Wisconsin resident really seems to take issue with the Confederate flag. Tajaun Boatner was arrested last week after he allegedly shoved past a woman and barged into her home to remove the controversial flag that was hanging inside, the Daily Mail reports. Boatner had reportedly spoken before to the woman, asking her to take down…
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Stanford-Bound Teen Who Planned to Use College Savings to Bury His Mom Gets Outpouring of Support
Dellarontay Readus spent his high school years working to make his mother proud. He earned a GPA of over 4.0 at Melrose High School in Memphis, Tenn., and was the valedictorian of his graduating class. In April The Root reported on Readus’ acceptance to all eight Ivy league schools. Just one month before Readus was…
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The Revolution Is Socialized: Organization ‘Live-Tweets’ Watts Riots on 50th Anniversary
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Watts rebellion (Aug. 11-17, 1965), the California Endowment’s Sons and Brothers Campaign, in partnership with the Community Coalition of South Los Angeles, is “live-tweeting” the uprising, drawing clear parallels between the raw revolution of Watts, a South Los Angeles neighborhood, and its grandchild, the uprising in Ferguson, Mo. It hasn’t been marked with the pageantry…
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Former Texas Officer Tried to Hire Hit Man to Kill Pregnant Lover: Report
A former Austin, Texas, police officer has been named a suspect in the death of his pregnant lover, with a warrant revealing that he reportedly sought out a hit man to kill the woman so that he wouldn’t have to pay child support. The nightmare began Feb. 4 when Samantha Dean, a pregnant, 29-year-old crimes-victim…
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Hillary Clinton’s ‘New College Compact’ Includes $25,000,000,000 to Support Private HBCUs
Hillary Clinton unveiled a “New College Compact”—a $350 billion proposal—as part of her 2016 presidential platform this week, promising to ease the cost of higher education and, in the same breath, reduce student debt. In the broader proposal, Clinton proposes that states “will have to step up … by maintaining current levels of higher education…