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Listen carefully when Jotaka Eaddy speaks, and you hear her heart pulsating to the beat of a hollow gourd.  It keeps rhythm with Ysaye Barnwell of Sweet Honey and the Rock tapping out “Ella’s Song.” When Eaddy describes what propelled her into activism you can almost hear that female a cappella group harmonizing, “We who…

Because of their size, a railway train car and a prison tower are being installed during the construction phase of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall, the Associated Press reports. Both are being lowered into the construction site by crane because they are too big to install…

Sylvester Stallone reportedly got a little testy with photographers who were hot on his trail in Beverly Hills on Thursday, TMZ reports, leading him to allegedly hurl a racial slur, “This [f———g] [n-word] here, this [f——-r].” The incident occurred as he and a friend were leaving Caffe Roma and were being followed by a group…

Photos and videos allegedly showing Detroit-area police officers harassing and humiliating African-American men have prompted an investigation and ignited a firestorm of controversy, the Daily Mail reports. The images and video footage were reportedly shared between members of Grosse Pointe Park police and their families, the Mail says. A former Detroit Free Press reporter released…

An alarming new “game” that has reportedly caused deaths in Syracuse, N.Y.; St. Louis, Mo.; and Hoboken, N.J., is sweeping the nation, according to CBSDC, as roving bands of youths prey on unsuspecting people walking the streets. The so-called “knockout” game involves groups or individuals who randomly target strangers, with the ultimate goal of knocking…

America has reached another watershed moment in its “racial journey,” the Associated Press points out: The next mayor of New York City is a white man with a black wife. Although interracial marriage is more accepted and common than ever, the AP says, Bill de Blasio’s marriage to Chirlane McCray is exceptional: He is apparently…

A bathroom brawl Friday among football players from Winston-Salem State and Virginia State during a CIAA championship game luncheon left the WSSU quarterback beaten and charges filed against a player from the other team, the Associated Press reports. The scuffle led to the cancellation of Saturday’s title game in Winston-Salem, N.C. Rudy Johnson, the starting…

A South Georgia deputy sheriff who was photographed dressed in blackface and inmate stripes at a Halloween party has been suspended without pay, the Huffington Post reports. A 15-year veteran of the Camden County Sheriff’s Office, Chad Palmer reportedly told people at the private party that he was dressed as a Camden County inmate, and…

On Friday, Theodore P. Wafer, a white, suburban Detroit airport worker charged in connection with the Nov. 2 shooting death of Renisha McBride, ceased to be an inconspicuous American. Standing before Michigan District Court Judge Mark J. Plawecki with eyes fixed and hands clasped tightly below his waist, the 54-year-old Wafer had an expression that…

Scores of children were delighted when the Dutch equivalent of Santa Claus arrived in the Netherlands on Saturday. But the Associated Press reports that some parents and other adults protested against a part of the tradition that they describe as racist: his servant whose face is awash in blackface makeup, Black Pete. During the annual…