According to the ACLU, whites and blacks use marijuana at the same rate. Yet, African Americans are nearly four times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession. And on a state-by-state basis, this disparity is even higher.
Kim Moore wants to know why Thurgood Marshall Jr. sits on the board of directors for CCA (Corrections Corporation of America): “Having all this information, carrying your fathers last name and legacy, I must ask, are you betting on or against black men?”
First of all, I love when an artist spits conscious lyrics, which Kanye certainly does on his new song, “New Slaves”. I especially like when he references CCA and how they’re really making new slaves: “Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), now the nation’s largest private prison company, was founded just over 30 years ago in Nashville. Since […]
A memorial gathering is under way for Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of Malcolm X. Shabazz was murdered in Mexico City last week. Once again, an unbelievably tragic situation. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Shabazz family. Rest in Peace, Malcolm
The Open Society Foundations has announced an award of $1.2 million to the 2013 cohort of Soros Justice Fellows. The fellows, a mix of emerging and established leaders, include investigative journalists, lawyers, grassroots organizers, policy advocates, and scholars.
Charged against 16 year-old Kiera Wilmot have been dropped. She was arrested and expelled over a science experiment gone wrong on school grounds. Wilmot – widely considered an outstanding student with a clean record – was facing up to 5 years in prison.
Alice Walker ruminates on the continued harassment and persecution of Assata Shakur in a recent blog post: “But nothing seems as cruel to me as this: that our big, muscular, macho country would go after so tiny a woman as Assata who is given sanctuary in a country smaller than many of our states.”
Last year, Brandon Jackson was sentenced to 12 years in prison by an all-white jury after defending himself against a group of white males who’d attacked him. In a passionate, inspiring letter, Fisher discusses what it feels like to spend another Mother’s Day without her son.
Lauryn Hill has posted a letter on her Tumblr, thanking “family, friends, business associates, and fans who have called, emailed, sent texts, and posted messages of concern, encouragement, and support.”
It was the wise Martin Luther King Jr. that stated, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Though explicitly referring to the active disenfranchisement of Black people in the 60’s, this powerful quote provides much truth in the context of urban violence. As a nation, our discourse on urban violence has been exceptionally […]
A screenshot from the music video, “We Changed the Game” directed by Khamisi Norewood, for the Game Changers Project Much has been made over the recent activism in Hip-Hop over the last few weeks, especially after seeing community pressure cause Rick Ross and Lil Wayne lose lucrative endorsement deals. I recently came across a very interesting […]
In the wake of her addition to the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist List, Assata Shakur has released an open letter. “All I have is my voice, my spirit and the will to tell the truth. But I sincerely ask, those of you in the Black media, those of you in the progressive media, those of you who believe in truth freedom, To publish this statement and to let people know what is happening.”
