One of the country’s most liberal states is under fire for a worrisome trend. A recently released report from the state’s Justice Department finds that hate crimes against Black people have risen by as much as 11.2 percent in California.
Harvard retracts admissions of applicants who founded obscene group chat
If gaining acceptance into Harvard College is one of the highest accomplishments in academics, is losing your admission one of the lowest? It likely feels that way for a group of students admitted into the class of 2021 who then lost their spots after founding a group chat plastered with racist and sexually explicit memes.
Liberation is a 3-step process: Broadening activism’s scope in the wake of the Movement for Black Lives
Contrary to popular belief, the Movement for Black Lives is not solely about police brutality. Bigger than body cameras and electoral politics, the Movement is about Black liberation and freedom for all Black people.
Liberation and freedom are unconventional in the sense that the system under which society currently operates makes those two realities impossible. In order to achieve them we need radical transformation, but how do we get there?
What you need to know about Chicago’s ‘gang database’ and the lawsuit from local activists
In a “broken windows” fashion, the Chicago Police Department sustains a gang database of its residents. They say this is in efforts to stay ahead on crime. They also seek to punish those on the list to the fullest extent of the law when the opportunity presents itself.
As of last week, CPD and it’s gang database are at the center of a recent lawsuit after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided the home of Wilmer Catalan-Ramirez. This happened after incorrect information about him surfaced through this database, identifying him as a gang member. Not only is the department being hit with a lawsuit, they will also be answering to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request about how the database is used. The suit was filed on behalf of BYP100, Organized Communities Against Deportations (OCAD), and the MacArthur Justice Center.
Simply, the gang database is an excuse to justify further surveillance and excessive force against Black and Brown folks in this very sensitive time regarding citizenship.
White people have long tried to obscure slavery as the cause of the Civil War. Donald Trump is no different.
In a recent interview with the Washington Examiner‘s Salena Zito, Donald Trump – the current President of the United States – asked, “What caused the Civil War?” This led many in the news media to highlight the sitting president’s apparent lack of knowledge about the historical context surrounding this country’s most deadly war. While it might be the most convenient answer that Trump just “doesn’t know” anything about this country’s history, I have reason to believe this whole farce of a president and the antics he continues to perpetuate run much deeper than simply not knowing any better.
Fox News Anchor Holds Press Conference To Speak On Network’s Racism
It feels like Fox News is facing scandals from every direction. On one end, its losing some of its most prominent figures after years of sexual harassment finally caught up with them. On the other, more stories are coming out about how hard it is to work at the news station as a Black employee.
The latest of which came from Kelly Wright, a news anchor for the network who held a press conference on Wednesday.
Private Prison Company Gets Contract for Immigrant Detention Center
According to Mic., the GEO Group has won the first federal contract for a new immigrant detention center in Texas. The contract is worth $110 million and will house 1000 beds for undocumented immigrants or those accused of committing a crime.
Taking down the Confederacy is more than a symbolic act
The City of New Orleans has scheduled the removal of 4 Confederate statues this week. As someone who grew up in the south, I applaud this effort to rid the Southern landscape of celebratory markers of a dark past that continues to haunt Black and white Americans. This has been a long time coming.
Lawsuit Exposes Racism In College Women’s Basketball Team
Jasmine Orsted’s past coaches called her an “excellent athlete.” She proved that to be true during a year at Northern Virginia Community College where she played well. However, the next year she was cut from the women’s basketball team at the University of Mary Washington before the season started. Reportedly, it was because of a lack of “chemistry” between her and her teammates.
That’s at least what she was told. But Orsted tells a very different story that eventually led to a lawsuit and a settlement of $160,000, according to The Washington Post.
How a Chicago mayor’s proposal to make post-grad plans a requirement for graduating harms Black & Brown students
Not content with over-policing Black folks in the streets and at their schools, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is now extending these practices into their academics. Earlier this week, the mayor shared his bright idea for requiring Chicago Public Schools students to produce a letter of acceptance from a 2 or 4-year university, vocational school, a branch of the military, or a job before receiving their diploma–starting with this year’s freshman class.
