news
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Let’s Call Charleston Shooting What It Was: A Terrorist Attack
It’s become quite the national pastime (centuries in the making, in fact) that when violent, racially motivated and genocidal-like tragedies befall African Americans, the reflex is to avoid calling it what it is: domestic terrorism. State, local and federal authorities, however, will want us all to find comfort in the “hate crime” stamp after Wednesday…
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Canadian Province Addresses Racial Profiling
Racial profiling is a concern beyond our northern border. To address the issue, Community Safety Minister Yasir Naqvi announced June 16 that the province of Ontario will standardize its controversial carding policy, the Canadian Broadcast Corp. reports. The safety minister said that in too many cases, police conduct identity checks without having probable cause. He…
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The Victims of the Charleston, SC, Church Massacre
One woman coached the girls track team at a local high school. Another young man had just graduated from college last year and was thinking about pursuing a career in broadcast journalism. Another man was the consummate community leader, having met both President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and former Secretary of…
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Judge Rejects Lawsuit by 2 Black Men Alleging a Pattern of Racial Discrimination at Kansas City Entertainment District
A U.S. District court has thrown out a class action racial-discrimination lawsuit against a Kansas City, Mo., entertainment center. Two African-American men accused Cordish Cos.—which owns the downtown Kansas City, Mo., entertainment area called the Kansas City Power & Light District—of using various tactics to limit the number of black patrons at the district’s restaurants, bars and…
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US Supreme Court Permits Texas to Reject Confederate Flag License Plate
In a 5-4 ruling on Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Texas’ refusal to issue a license plate with the Confederate flag, the Associated Press reports. Justice Clarence Thomas joined the more liberal justices to form a majority. They overturned an appeals court ruling that barring the plates was a violation of free speech rights.…
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Watch: Obama Speaks Out on Charleston Church Shooting: ‘I’ve Had to Make Statements Like This Too Many Times’
In a speech Thursday afternoon before a trip to California, President Barack Obama gave a statement on the mass shooting in Charleston, S.C., denouncing the “senseless murders” while also remembering the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church’s long and embattled history. “To say our thoughts and prayers are with [the victims] and their families and their…
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Dylann Storm Roof, Suspect in SC Church Mass Murder, Arrested in NC
Updated Thursday, June 18, 1:36 p.m. EDT: A South Carolina news station, WLTX, is reporting that law enforcement has apprehended Dylann Storm Roof in Shelby, N.C. According to the report, the 21-year-old was taken into custody at approximately 11 a.m. after a traffic stop. Charleston, S.C., Police Chief Greg Mullen said that a citizen called…
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Adults Told Black Girl Scouts Protesting Animal Cruelty to ‘Go Back to Baltimore’
The members of a Maryland Girl Scouts troop—the Chesapeake Bay Troop 176—attended a public meeting of the Animal Care and Control Oversight Commission in Cecil County, Md., to protest the mistreatment of animals at a county animal-control facility. The Girl Scouts were allegedly told by a group of adults to “go back to Baltimore, where…
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Shots Fired Into Tenn. Church
Shots were fired into a Memphis, Tenn., church early Thursday morning during a choir rehearsal, WMC Action News reports. There was a bullet in the wall of St. Matthew Missionary Baptist Church, the news station reports. No one was present at the time of the shooting. A pastor noticed the bullet in the front door,…
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Kan. Family Files Claim Against Wichita Police Officers in 2014 Shooting Death of Mentally Ill Vet
The city of Wichita, Kan., released a copy Tuesday of the full claim document that a grieving family filed against the city claiming that Icarus Randolph, a Marine veteran struggling with his mental health, was needlessly and wrongly shot by a police officer who ignored the Wichita Police Department’s policy on engaging mentally ill individuals,…