LeRoy Hubbard III reports to WMAQ that he has video of Chicago police barging into his parents’ home and knocking over his mother, who was on a dialysis machine, before placing him in a chokehold. According to NBC Chicago, the incident of alleged police misconduct took place after officers tried to stop Hubbard while he was simply walking outside of his parents home in the Englewood neighborhood on the South…
CNN published a report stating that Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson is set to resign in the future as part of the city’s effort to reform the police department. CNN says the information came from government officials who are, “familiar with the ongoing discussions between local, state and federal officials.” It is also being reported that the announcement of Jackson’s resignation could come as soon as next week. Jackson’s resignation…
Perla Avina, a 30-year-old mother of 4, was shot dead during an apparent road rage altercation. The shooting happened when Avina was riding in a Toyota Camry with her husband through Oakland’s Brookfield Village neighborhood. The couple was returning from a shopping trip at Supermercado Mi Tierra. Avina had a tradition of preparing posole for her family to enjoy the Raiders game together every other week. Instead of gathering for…
April V. Taylor The hacker group Anonymous released a Tweet over the weekend stating that they had received leaked information that Darren Wilson will not be indicted by the grand jury for the death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Today, they released a report containing information about Darren Wilson’s current alias, appearance and location. Anonymous stated in Tweets from their Operation Ferguson Twitter account that they had…
April V. Taylor The Associated Press is reporting that an independent autopsy that was conducted by Dr. Cyril Wecht at the request of slain teen Vonderrit Myers’ family shows that Myers was shot 8 times, six of those shots were to the back of his legs. Wecht stated during a news conference that a wound to the side of Myers’ face was most likely the fatal injury. The controversy surrounding…
April V. Taylor London isn’t the only city taking to extreme measures to prevent homeless people from being able to sleep, eat or care for themselves; many cities in the United States are in on the action too. The National Alliance to End Homeless estimates that on any given night, there are 610,042 homeless people on the streets of American cities. Each year, 1.5 million children find themselves homeless in…
April V. Taylor The new book, “The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery And The Making of American Capitalism,” by Edward Baptist has incited an onslaught of controversy regarding his examination of the slavery and suffering of generations of Black people who were bought and sold and the economic wealth and power that was made possible from their exploitation. Baptist is a history professor at Cornell University, and his new…
April V. Taylor For the first time in the history of the United States, Amnesty International has documented human rights abuses on American soil. The report entitled, “On The Streets of America: Human Rights Abuses In Ferguson,” declares Michael Brown’s death a human rights abuse and also highlights abuses that include police reactions to protesters and racist policing tactics across the country. Specifically regarding Officer Wilson killing unarmed teenager Michael…
Parents in Pennsylvania are demanding the resignation of school board president Brad Rigler. PennLive.com reports that many parents believe racially inflammatory YouTube videos posted by Rigler call into question Rigler’s fitness to remain in a leadership position at the school board. A petition calling on Rigler to resign has garnered over 600 signatures, but although Rigler has apologized to anyone he offended, he has refused to step down. Last Friday,…
[View the story “Thousands March Against Mass Incarceration and Police Brutality” on Storify]
April V. Taylor As Ferguson residents and people all over the country anxiously await the decision of the grand jury on whether or not Officer Darren Wilson will be indicted for the death of unarmed teen Michael Brown, it appears that officials are using leaked documents to prepare the public for an indictment not to be returned. After a series of leaks through Twitter, the most recent leak of an…
April V. Taylor The fact that the overwhelming majority of police officers who kill unarmed, surrendered civilians are never convicted of any crime makes one wonder what the law says about whether or not this act is legal or not. The recent killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri has caused many across the country to focus on the issue of police killing and has revealed that incomplete…
April V. Taylor According to the ideology we are sold about the American Dream, America is supposed to be a country of limitless opportunity where any person, no matter what their socioeconomic status, can work hard enough and based on their own individual merit accomplish anything they want to. According to this ideology, a person gets out of life what they put into it based on their own innate ability,…
April V. Taylor For anyone truly paying attention, it is no secret how white supremacy and privilege structures how mainstream media reports and frames events in the United States. The weekend yielded a perfect and unsettling example of just how pervasive this bias and privilege is when white college students from Keene State College rioted and destroyed property during the school’s annual Pumpkinfest. Twitter lit up with people mocking white…
Born to a 17-year old single mother and placed in special education as a child, Dr. Boyce Watkins has risen above the obstacles to become one of the leading black scholars in the world today. In college, he was the Wall Street Journal Outstanding Graduating Senior in Finance with a triple major in Finance, Economics and Business Management. He went on to earn a Masters Degree in Mathematical Statistics and…