Almost one year after her murder, no action has been taken against the police officer. Tomorrow, January 10, 2013 Antonio Cross will begin the first day of his trial for “aggravated assault” charges. If he is found guilty, 22 year old young Rekia Boyd’s murder may likely be determined as justified.
As I think of resolutions for the New Year, I am often brought back to the one thing that can make the lives of black youth better: a decent education. I have been lucky enough to be placed in positions to allow me to contextualize my own history and educational trajectory, and ultimately have been […]
In all, 505 (mostly Black and Latino) Chicagoans were murdered in 2012, including 108 young people. The awesome Black Star Project has collected the names of the 108 youth who lost their lives to violence. We too wish to honor these young lives…
SF teen Courtni Webb was suspended from school over a poem she wrote about the Sandy Hook shooting. In the poem, she expresses what her teacher interpreted as sympathy for shooter Adam Lanza. Should a student ever be suspended over a poem? Shouldn’t they have talked with her first?
Republican WI state senator Glenn Grothman is under fire after attacking the Kwanzaa holiday, asserting that “no black people care” about it. Of course, it’s actually observed by 2 million Americans. Should he apologize? Do you celebrate Kwanzaa?
Jasiri X and Pharoahe Monch at the Brooklyn Bowl for the Sandy Relief Concert (Photo by Paradise Gray) On “Our World with Black Enterprise“, hosted by Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, we discussed the current state of Hip-Hop and it’s future, with Hip-Hop artist Pharoahe Monch, Dr. Tricia Rose, chair of the Department of Africana Studies at Brown University and myself. […]
The Catholic Church lead by Pope Benedict XVI continues to spew out homophobic teachings as he (a man disconnected by at least 5 generations) called me “unnatural.” As the Pope ironically celebrated his pagan holiday by lighting a Christmas tree, he also used the stage as an opportunity to tell women what they could and […]
A Bedford Stuyvesant woman was arrested for filming an NYPD Stop and Frisk in progress. With the help of the NYCLU, Hadiyah Charles plans to sue the NYPD, asserting that her civil rights were violated. Good for her! Will these officers face any real consequences?
Activists in Brazil have launched a campaign to impeach the governor of Sao Paulo amid allegations of a campaign of police violence that specifically targets black youth.
Megan Piphus, an upperclassman at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, recently appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. She’s using music, ventriloquism, and puppetry, to inspire youth to dream big and in color!
BET’s new documentary ‘Murder to Excellence: Life & Hip Hop in Chicago’ spotlights our youth, the challenges they face, and the multi-faceted art to which their struggle has given birth.
Throughout the discourse in the social meaning, experience and consequence of race, we come to understand that everyone sees race through a social lens or paradigm. Generally the lens that one chooses will serve as a function that works toward the social and economic advantage of that individual. However, what one must not forget is […]