Reported by Andrew Scot Bolsinger Washington D.C. City Council, led by Councilman Kenyan McDuffie, has passed a law to ban the box on job applications that require applicants to disclose their criminal history. The effort, called the Fair Criminal Records Sentencing Act, which finally succeeded against years of opposition, is an effort to significantly lower recidivism among those re-entering society after an arrest and conviction. Earlier this month, McDuffie’s amendment…
Reported by Krystle Crossman Desmond Meade started his adult life as a soldier. After he was dismissed from the U.S. Army, a string of unfortunate events happened and his life took a dramatic turn. His mother passed away. He had been convicted of a felony, and then was later convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He spent fifteen years in prison. His family’s home had also…
by Dr. Kimberly Brown Recently, Nas and Michael E. Dyson discussed hip hop. They sat in a Georgetown lecture hall. The moderator is a professor there. Dyson teaches there. Nas referenced going to “Harvard and meeting Skip Gates” as measures of “progress.” None of the panelists represented a Black institution (record label, school or otherwise). Power, of course is always measured, harnessed, and utilized via institutions, not individuals. So although three “successful”…
“Hoodwinked” is a film that should be a must-see for every person of color in America. It has earned every ounce of buzz that it’s received in mainstream media. The film asks questions about long-held beliefs about black male graduation and incarceration rates and shows you why everything you’ve been led to believe is wrong. Filmmaker Janks Morton brings together the top black male scholars in the country to…
The year 1996 was amazing for the legendary all-female group, TLC. The group was at the height of their success,winning so many Grammy awards that all three ladies came to the post-show interview with two in each hand. The reason this interview is so interesting is because it was an admittedly awkward, yet insightful conversation with the ladies that gives perspective on their success 17 years later. One really…
Yesterday, on October 8th, Lauryn Hill posted what she called a “Letter of Recognition” to her Tumblr page. The Letter was uploaded less than a week after she was released from prison. Hill was imprisoned for about three months for not filing her taxes from the years 2005-2007. The singer served time at a prison located in Danbury, Connecticut. Her jail time started on July 8th. The letter began with…
Russell Simmons took a lot of heat for that Harriet Tubman s-x tape, which he probably wishes he’d never allowed into the public eye. He didn’t make the tape, but it was his job to stop his comedians from putting it out. But right after the backlash happened, he apologized, but that wasn’t enough for the feminists, who were sick and tired of him anyway. But Russell keeps fighting back,…
Among the celebrities that are most beloved around the world, Jennifer Hudson tops the list. She has a great fiance and is determined to make the world a better place as a performer. Jennifer was one of the 175 celebrities who signed an open letter to the president to stop the mass incarceration crisis, and she has also been slated to play the wife of Nelson Mandela in an…
When does the racism stop? The president of the United States is supposed to be one of the most respected Americans in the country. So, it’s sad to see someone disrespect the office by portraying the president to be an inhuman buffoon. But then again, when it comes to the heehaws at rodeos, its never a surprise when you see them doing things that are just flat out ridiculous. …
Dr. Boyce Watkins and Dr. Byron Price explain how all of us are affected by prison rape and mass incarceration. Click to watch.
Tension is evident within the Dallas Cowboys camp. Following the death of one team member and the incarceration of the other team member, reports are swarming that a heated argument ensued between franchise owner Jerry Jones and nose tackle Jay Ratliff after the victorious game against Philadelphia on Sunday. Jones is known for visiting his team’s locker room after each game to give the men words of encouragement. When he…
The Schott Foundation for Public Education released the results from “The Urgency of Now,” a study showing that only 52% of black male ninth-graders graduate from high school 4 years later, compared to 58% of Latino male ninth-graders and 78% of white, non-Latino male ninth-graders. While the rate may appear to be pretty low, it is a significant improvement from the last eleven years; however, black males are still falling…
‘What a collection of left-wing victimization claptrap,’ she said of the dissertations. ‘The best that can be said of these topics is that they’re so irrelevant no one will ever look at them.’ ‘Seriously, folks, there are legitimate debates about the problems that plague the black community from high incarceration rates to low graduation rates to high out-of-wedlock birth rates. But it’s clear that they’re not happening in black-studies departments,’…
Kareem Burke, one of the founders of Roc-A-Fella records, had pleaded guilty on charges that he distributed marijuana. The 38-year old was part of a sting operation that led to the incarceration of over 50 people during a series of raids designed to halt the sale of marijuana in New York and Florida. The feds captured over $2 million and 360 pounds of marijuana. Burke faces up to…
The Drug Policy Alliance recently reported on rampant discrimination against people of color when when it comes to drug charges. Studies show that drug use is pretty even among the races, yet minorities are stopped and searched more than any other race. While African-Americans only compose 14 percent of the drug users in the United States they compose 37 percent of those arrested for drug offenses. The Drug Policy…