Mollie Judith Olgin, age 19, and Mary Christine Chapa, age 18, were both shot in the head last weekend. While say they do not know if the young couple’s sexuality motivated the crime. Still, a senseless tragedy.
Today a historic Supreme Court ruling banned mandatory life sentences for children convicted of homicide. The ruling affirms that young offenders should be given “a meaningful opportunity to show they have rehabilitated themselves and are appropriate candidates for release.”
Every week, the Black Youth Project collects the top news stories about black youth from across the country. Click here to check out our archive of weekly news round-ups, and check back every Monday for a new roundup of headlines about young black America.
14 year-old Kardin Ulysse is now blind in one eye after a brutal, homophobic assault by bullies in the cafeteria of Roy H. Mann Junior High School in Brooklyn. His family plans to sue the city for $16 million, and want his attackers to face hate crime charges.
The most sobering moment in Paul Beatty’s satirical novel, The White Boy Shuffle (1996) occurs just before the L.A. Riots are about to begin. The book’s protagonist, Gunnar Kaufman and his best friend Nicholas Scoby are on their way home from a strangely long basketball practice. During their walk, Gunnar immediately senses something different happening in his […]
Dear White People Trailer httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=watjO62NrVg&feature=g-all-u I’m super excited, mainly because today marks the premiere of Season 2 of the popular and award winning web series Awkward Black Girl. Spearheaded by Stanford grad Issa Rae, the show follows the chronicles of Jay, and her comedic clashes with everything from her job to her love interest. Interestingly […]
The New York Times recently spoke with Tyquan Brehon, a young, African American resident of Brooklyn who has been stopped over 60 times under the NYPD’s oppressive “Stop and Frisk” program.
The summer is arriving with teenagers and young adults scrambling to find the little money available in the job market. If you’re like my brother, you’ve probably come to the conclusion that there are no more jobs in the “real” world. This old way of making money, of conforming to what jobs are available simply […]
Commencement yesterday was filled with encouraging speeches reminding my senior class that “commencement” is the beginning, not the end, and graduating is simply a marker that we have received and collected the tools we will need to move forward. The rhetoric of speakers, and of casual conversations on any graduation day is generally one of […]
Patricia Larry holds a photograph of her son, Darius Simmons, 13 (AP Photo/Dinesh Ramde) Just a few short months ago Hip-Hop journalist Davey D blogged about the 29 Black people that had been killed by police or those claiming to be security since 2012, 16 after the murder of Trayvon Martin. This was before police […]
UCLA is standing by its decision to award Justin Combs an athletic scholarship worth $54,000. While many feel there are less-fortunate young people who could use the financial assistance, Justin earned his scholarship fair and square. Should he give the money back?
A recent article from NewsOne’s Dr. Boyce Watkins highlights the remarkable story David Boone, a Cleveland high school student who went from homelessness to acceptance at Harvard University.
