news
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Marion Barry’s Widow Suing Woman Who Donated Kidney to Him in 2009: Report
Cora Masters Barry, wife of the late former Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry, isn’t happy that the woman who donated a kidney to her husband in 2009 is using his name to promote organ donation, according to the Washington Post City Paper. Masters Barry has reportedly filed a lawsuit asking that Kim Dickens stop using…
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Fla. Man Cuts Dreadlocks to Help Find Job and Shed ‘Negative Look’
Dominick Davis, 41, of Jacksonville, Fla., had not had a haircut in 10 years, preferring to wear his mane in dreadlocks. Recently, though, Davis cut them all off because he believes that his hair may have been holding him back. “It’s time for a change, because enough is enough,” Davis, an ex-offender who served six…
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Watch: SC Police Officer Charged With Murder After Shooting Black Man in the Back
It was a familiar story: A white police officer claimed that he felt threatened, that a black man wrestled with him for his weapon and that he had to shoot him in order to protect himself. But new video showing North Charleston, S.C., Police Officer Michael T. Slager, 33, shooting Walter L. Scott, 50, in…
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Postal Service Releases New Maya Angelou Stamp, but the Quote Isn’t Hers
The U.S. Postal Service released a stamp Tuesday to commemorate Maya Angelou’s life and work. First lady Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Ambassador Andrew Young and The Root co-founder Henry Louis Gates Jr. (who appeared via video) introduced the “forever” stamp to the mailing community. Attendees and the public were encouraged to share news about the…
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Watch: Minneapolis Cop Threatens to Break Teenager’s Leg During Traffic Stop
A video has surfaced that appears to show a Minneapolis police officer threatening to break a teenager’s leg during a traffic stop. Hamza Jeylani, 17, who recorded the cellphone video, told MRP News that he and his friends had left a YMCA on March 18 when police pulled them over. The four young men, of…
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Ga. Judge Allegedly Uses N-Word in Court
A county judge in Georgia and two sheriff’s deputies are accused of using the n-word in court, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. Allen Duray Green, an African American, was waiting in the Fannin County Courthouse on March 16 to testify at a bond hearing for his friend Robert Vivian, who is white. When Judge…
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2 White Professors Sue Alabama State University for Racism Against Whites
Two white faculty members at Alabama State University have filed a lawsuit against the school in which they claim that ASU discriminates against whites in its hiring and admissions processes, USA Today reports. Steven B. Chesbro, reportedly the only white dean at Alabama State, and his partner, John Garland, a faculty member, also took issue…
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Md. Father and 7 Children Die in Apparent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
When Rodney Todd failed to show up at work for several days, his co-workers knew something was wrong. So one of them filed a police report. When officers on Monday entered Todd’s home in the town of Princess Anne, Md., they found a tragic scene. Todd and his seven children were dead of apparent carbon…
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‘Cripmas Party’ Leads to Probation for Clemson’s SAE Fraternity Chapter
Clemson University put its Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity chapter on probation for two years over a party the frat threw last Christmas, the Associated Press reports. An investigation found that the gang-themed party violated the university’s alcohol rules and student-conduct codes. Students attended the gathering, dubbed a “Cripmas” party, dressed like Crips and Bloods gang…
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The Rev. Gardner C. Taylor, the ‘Dean of Black Preachers,’ Dies of a Heart Attack at 96
The Rev. Gardner C. Taylor, one of the leading voices on faith, politics and social justice during the civil rights movement, died Sunday of a heart attack, the New York Times reports. He was 96 years old. Taylor presided over a 10,000-member congregation in Brooklyn, N.Y., at the Concord Baptist Church of Christ from 1948…