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 […]
The Black Youth Project has released a brand new memo; “President Obama and the Politics of Change.” The new analysis shows that Black youth believe that significant changes have occurred during the Obama administration, but continue to believe that big change is needed in America, from the ground up!
A few months ago, I made a serious decision to start taking my health into my own hands. The first step was to better understand what I was eating and how it was affecting me. The second step was to start (and stick with) an exercise regimen. Definitely easier said than done, but since schedule […]
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared at a black church in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn yesterday morning, and defended the NYPD’s highly controversial “Stop and Frisk” program. Was a black church an appropriate place for this?
George Zimmerman’s will remain in jail until his next bond hearing, scheduled on June 29, 2012. Zimmerman, who has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Trayvon Martin, was out on bond until last week.
Shannon Cooper was arrested for being a proud mother. Although the audience had been warned that they would be thrown out of the graduation for cheering during the awarding of diplomas, probably none imagined cheering would result in being arrested!
Prior to the NBA enforcing a dress code, players were allowed to express themselves sartorially however they saw fit. Most were already rocking suits but some players were a bit more…expressive. Some fans and media were concerned with the way the players were dressing and league commissioner David Stern seemed to agree. He instituted a […]
17 year-old Baltimore resident and honor student Tiarra Brown was mistakenly arrested and charged with attempted murder in the middle of graduation practice. She was held for four days, missing graduation. Honest mistake, or should there be consequences?
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 […]
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzPhnVaw874 It is always amazing to me when organizations find interventions that can radically change the way young people view their place in the world. As you can see in the video, this is an example of how Chicago Freedom School uses music and chants to build the self-efficacy of young people. There is something […]
A Fulton County judge will not indict Union City police officer Luther Lewis for shooting unarmed 19 year-old Ariston Waiters late last year. During an altercation between Lewis and Waiters, Waiters was shot in the back. Was this shooting justified?
It was a sweltering memorial day weekend in Chicago this year, in more ways than one. According to ABC, 40 people were shot over the weekend; 10 were killed.