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Officer charged in killing motorist
“He purposely killed him.” That’s how an Ohio prosecutor described a white police officer’s gruesome actions in gunning down an unarmed African-American motorist he pulled over for not having a front license plate.
Jury recommends neo-Nazi spend life behind bars for death at Charlottesville rally
A Charlottesville jury says the man who killed 32-year-old paralegal Heather Heyer and injured nearly 40 other people with his car during a neo-Nazi rally last year should spend the rest of his life in prison.
Black media icons scaling back, possibly closing
It has been a rough few days for the black media. First, Ebony magazine and its sister publication, JET magazine, may be closing their doors for good. And then the publisher of the storied Chicago Defender newspaper announced last week that it will no longer publish a print version.
Sen. Harris enters presidential contest
She’s running! U.S. Sen. Kamala D. Harris announced Monday that she is seeking the 2020 Democratic nomination for president. She adds her name to a growing list of women who want to call the White House home.
Justice denied
Ferguson, N.Y. cases expose injustices, spark change
A national movement is underway to address police brutality against African-American men and the criminalization of communities of color.
U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear appeal of N.C. laws targeting African-American voters
In a victory for African-American and other nonwhite voters in North Carolina, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to lift the racist label that a federal appeals court in Richmond pinned on the state.
Ashe statue to stay put
On Richmond’s Monument Avenue, the collection of towering statues honoring Confederate veterans was interrupted by one noticeably different: A monument to hometown tennis legend and human rights activist Arthur Ashe Jr.
Mormon church denounces white supremacy, angering some members
The Mormon church is specifically condemning white supremacist attitudes in its strongest statement since a Virginia rally over a Confederate monument descended into deadly violence.
Incoming U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson celebrated at White House ceremony
“In my family, it took just one generation to go from segregation to the Supreme Court of the United States.” With those words, incoming Justice Ketanji Brown Jack- son acknowledged both the struggles and progress of Black Americans in her lifetime.
Jury sentences white supremacist to death in S.C. church massacre
Unrepentant white supremacist Dylann Roof was sentenced to death Tuesday for fatally shooting nine African-American church members during Bible study at a landmark Charleston, S.C., church, becoming the first person ordered executed for a federal hate crime.
U.S. Supreme Court upholds Bladensburg Peace Cross
A 40-foot-tall cross-shaped war memorial standing on public land in Maryland does not represent an impermissible government endorsement of religion, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a major decision testing the boundaries of the federal Constitution’s separation of church and state.
Virginia ends hospital-style regulation for abortion clinics
Virginia’s Board of Health voted on Monday to remove contested regulations on abortion clinics that included meeting hospital-like building standards.
Stray bullet narrowly misses pastor during New Year’s Eve service
A bullet that was fired into the air as the new year neared fell through a Texas church roof and narrowly missed a pastor, who said he then turned the service into a celebration of life.
Study: Teachers quicker to label black students as ‘troublemakers’
A new study suggests that racial stereotyping by teachers could be a root cause for harsher discipline imposed on black students. Two Stanford University psychologists, Dr. Jennifer L. Eberhardt and doctoral candidate Jason Okonofua, conducted the study to determine if hidden bias could explain government data showing that misbehaving black students are three times more likely to be suspended or expelled from public schools than their misbehaving white peers. The psychologists’ research found that teachers are quicker to label black students as troublemakers and to consider more severe penalties for them, compared with white students who misbehave.
Black-owned beauty brands move into the retail spotlight
When Dr. Rose Ingleton launched her own namesake skincare line two years ago, she couldn’t break into the big chains and was forced to use her own funds and get financial help from family and friends.
Civil rights activist Vernon Jordan dies at 85
Vernon Jordan, who rose from humble beginnings in the segregated South to become a champion of civil rights before reinventing himself as a Washington insider and corporate influencer, has died at the age of 85.
’Let Sha’Carri run!’
Nearly 500,000 sign petition calling for her reinstatement in the Olympics
More than a half million fans are coming to the defense of America’s fastest woman, flamboyant track star Sha’Carri Richardson, who has been barred from Olympic competition over marijuana use after winning the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.86 seconds during the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore., on June 19.
Former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks dies
Leon Spinks, who won Olympic gold and then shocked the boxing world by beating Muhammad Ali to win the heavyweight title in only his eighth pro fight, died Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. He was 67.
$6.4M to Freddie Gray’s family
Baltimore agrees to pay before trials of police officers
Baltimore city officials on Wednesday approved a $6.4 million civil settlement to the family of Freddie Gray, whose death from an injury in police custody triggered protests and rioting.
Tearful, rambling Kanye West launches presidential campaign
In his first rally for his last-minute presidential campaign, rapper Kanye West ranted against abortion and pornography, argued policy with attendees and at one point broke down in tears during rambling remarks Sunday at a Charleston, S.C., wedding venue and convention center.
