Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude

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Culture, Family Matters

#FreeBlackMamas: This Mother’s Day, Let’s Build a System of Deep Care

In a just world, Mother’s Day would be a time when every person could freely choose how to express gratitude for the mothers, caregivers and the maternal figures in their lives. I imagine many people would choose to celebrate in different ways, from delicious meals, extra-long embraces and words that communicate how deeply they appreciate…

By

Genetta M. Adams

Published

May 7, 2021
Politics

Long-Term Solitary Confinement to End in New York State

After years of activism and political power shifts, New York state will end long-term solitary confinement in prisons and jails. The New York Times reports that Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill that will restrict the use of the abusive practice up to 15 consecutive days. The law also bars the use of…

By

Terrell Jermaine Starr

Published

April 1, 2021
Culture

'Kinder, Gentler Cages Are Still Cages': How Prison Abolitionists Are Working Towards a Less Carceral Future

“We’re not saying that people are not responsible for the harm that they commit. What we’re saying is that prisons aren’t the way to resolve those harms.” — Kim Wilson, Ph.D., Co-host and producer, Beyond Prisons podcast text Last summer’s racial reckoning was the first time many people in the United States ever heard of…

By

Jessica Moulite

Published

March 19, 2021
Culture

'Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic': Why This Abolitionist Believes Biden's Executive Order on Private Prisons Isn't the Progressive Measure He Thinks It Is

“If we want to transform society, we can’t just shun [incarcerated folks] and pretend that they don’t exist and lock them up and throw away the key. That kind of thinking is really at the root of reform.” — Kim Wilson, Ph.D., Co-host and Producer, Beyond Prisons podcast text Kim Wilson, Ph.D., is the living…

By

Jessica Moulite

Published

March 18, 2021
News

Biden Signs Order Halting Federal Private Prison Contract Renewals, But Falls Short on Ending For-Profit Immigration Detention Centers

We have to give President Joe Biden credit. One week in office and he’s making moves towards establishing a government that defends the kind of values most of us support, the same ones the previous administration was outright hostile towards. You know, values such as racial equity, believing in science, and most recently, the proliferation…

By

Ishena Robinson

Published

January 27, 2021
Criminal Justice, News

Black Man Who Spent 25 Years on Mississippi's Death Row Released From Prison After Evidence is Discredited

A Black man in Mississippi who spent over 25 years on death row has been freed after key evidence used in his conviction was discredited. According to the Associated Press, the now 67-year-old Eddie Lee Howard was convicted of capital murder multiple times in the 1992 stabbing death of 84-year-old Georgia Kemp. District Attorney Scott Colom…

By

Joe Jurado

Published

January 13, 2021
Criminal Justice, News

Two Black Men Who Spent Nearly 18 Years in a Michigan Prison for a Crime They Didn't Commit File $160 Million Lawsuit

It’s not always easy being a writer whose main focus is documenting racism and racial injustice in America. It’s a job that consistently requires the covering of sad and often infuriating stories. Among the hardest stories to cover are those that involve Black people spending years and even decades in prison for crimes they didn’t…

By

Zack Linly

Published

January 5, 2021
Criminal Justice, News

Black Man Serving Life Sentence for $20 Marijuana Sale Released From Prison

A Black man in Louisiana who was serving a life sentence over two bags of weed worth only $20 has finally been freed from prison after 12 years. I didn’t need any further proof that the American justice system is far from just, but a life sentence? For what may have barely been an eighth?…

By

Joe Jurado

Published

December 17, 2020
Criminal Justice, News

Minnesota Man Convicted for Killing a Child With a Stray Bullet Has Life Sentence Commuted

In 2003, Myron Burrell was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the death of an 11-year-old girl who was killed by a stray bullet. On Tuesday, the Minnesota Board of Pardons commuted his sentence. According to CBS News, the decision was mutually agreed upon by Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota Attorney General Keith…

By

Joe Jurado

Published

December 16, 2020
News

Lil Wayne Pleads Guilty To Federal Gun Charge, Could Go To Prison for 10 Years

Lil Wayne could be headed to the slammer based on federal charges for illegal possession of a firearm. AP reports that the 38-year-old rapper, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter, on Friday pled guilty in a Miami court to charges related to an incident last December when federal agents searched his private plane and…

By

Ishena Robinson

Published

December 12, 2020