The violence plaguing Chicago made international headlines Wednesday, after a violent and bloody Fourth of July weekend. Of the 102 people shot since Friday night, 15 have died. Police said most of the shootings happened Monday night on the South and West sides of the city.
July 4th violence in Chicago is inexcusable.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) ripped into Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson in a speech Saturday at the Essence Music Festival, saying Carson “doesn’t care about people in public housing.”
“[Carson] knows nothing about the mission of HUD,” Waters said in a speech at the Essence Festival in New Orleans. “He doesn’t care about people in public housing. He believes that if you are poor, it is your own fault. And he doesn’t know the difference between an immigrant and a slave.”
Waters also warned Carson that she would tough on him when he testifies before the House Committee on Financial Services, on which she is the ranking member.
“[If he] things that I am going to give him a pass, I am going to take his ass apart,” Waters said.
The black valedictorian of a Mississippi high school was forced to share her graduating class's top honor with a white student who had a lower grade-point average, the woman's mother says in a federal lawsuit.
The allegation comes months after the Cleveland School District settled a 52-year-old lawsuit demanding that it desegregate its schools.
Sherry Shepard noted the settlement in the lawsuit filed last week, which alleges that her daughter, Jasmine, had to unfairly share the 2016 Cleveland High School valedictorian honors.
She further claims that Jasmine Shepard was the first black valedictorian in Cleveland High's 110-year history. The other 109 were white, Sherry Shepard alleged.
"As a result of the school official's unprecedented action of making an African-American student share the valedictorian award with a white student, the defendants discriminated against J.S.," the lawsuit says, claiming Jasmine Shepard has suffered lost opportunities, mental anguish, pain and suffering as a result of the decision.
The lawsuit targets the district, the superintendent and Cleveland High's principal and seeks unspecified monetary damages. It does not identify the valedictorians, but CNN is naming them as they both spoke to its reporters last year about the federal desegregation order.
In a Facebook post, Jasmine Shepard said she and her family have faced ugly attacks and name calling as a result of the more recent lawsuit. She included a screen grab of a message that incorporated the N-word and said, "Black lives don't mean s***!"
"You may disagree with us in this plight, but please respect us as well as others on this page. Name calling and bashing is not necessary!" Jasmine Shepard posted.
Read more: Black valedictorian forced to share honor with white student
The man who shot and killed an 18 year old black teenager named Bianca Roberson in West Goshen Pennsylvania has turned himself into police.
David Desper, 28, faces multiple charges, including first-degree murder and reckless endangerment, Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan said.
Police used video footage from surveillance cameras to identify the truck and its owner. They urged the shooter to turn himself in over recent days.
Desper did so through his attorney about 2 a.m. Sunday, Hogan said.
During an interview with TMZ, Minnesota congressman and DNC deputy chair Keith Ellison stated that he believes that Twitter should ban Trump for his abusive behavior towards others and violations of Twitter's policies. Listen to his comments below:
A manhunt for the driver who shot a recent high school graduate, Bianca Roberson in the head, killing her, in an apparent road rage incident, has stretched across Pennsylvania and all the way west into Texas, investigators said Friday.
Police released a sketch of the suspect who shot Bianca Roberson in West Goshen Township Wednesday. The driver of the pickup truck is described as a medium-built, white male, 30 to 40 years old with blonde or light-colored brown hair. His vehicle is described as a small, red pickup truck with faded paint.
He remains on the loose and is considered armed and extremely dangerous.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information is urged to contact the West Goshen Police Department Traffic Safety Division at 610-696-7400.
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George Watson Sr. of Lakewood NJ, one of the original Tuskegee Airmen has died. He was 96.
Mr. Watson died of complications due to pneumonia on June 19. Services will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Calvary Lighthouse Church, just a few hundred feet away from the Watson home on East County Line Road.
During his 26 years of service in the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force., he was assigned to stations in Germany, England, Turkey, Iran and McGuire Air Force Base in Burlington County, his grandson Bryce Watson said.
His duties during World War II included delivering aircraft parts to the "Red Tails," the nickname for the African-American airmen responsible for flying escort for heavy bombers. His grandson said he was injured while on guard duty, but later returned to service.
After retiring, Tech Sgt. Watson managed the Greenwood Cemetery in Lakewood, his grandson said. He also made a life out of talking to schools and community groups about the Tuskegee Airmen.
Two films were made about the legendary Tuskegee Airmen, and Watson was interviewed and credited for his contribution to George Lucas' 2012 movie "Red Tails." Experts estimate that fewer than 200 of the airmen are still alive.
No teenagers were drinking or using drugs at an April 29 party broken up by Balch Springs police, despite a 911 call that ultimately led to an officer shooting and killing 15-year-old Jordan Edwards.
This week’s revelation by a law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, and an attorney for the boy’s family accompanied the results of Jordan’s autopsy. They say the results show the teen had no alcohol or illegal drugs in his system when he died.
Roy Oliver, the officer who shot Jordan, was later fired and arrested on a murder charge. Oliver is white, and Jordan was black.
Oliver and another officer, Tyler Gross, were inside the party watching kids carry around energy drinks and sodas. Police found no drugs or alcohol in the house except for an empty beer bottle tossed in a kitchen trash can, the law enforcement official said.
Balch Springs police had previously said there was alcohol at the party but officers didn’t cite anyone.
[SOURCE: DALLASNEWS]
The Oxford-English Dictionary has made one of its four annual updates for 2017, and finally decided that it’s time to get “woke.”
One of the world’s foremost authorities on the English language, the O.E.D. has added a new definition to the word “woke.” Embraced by the Black Lives Matter movement, “woke” has taken on a sociopolitical definition in recent years. As such, the O.E.D. now defines the past participle form of “woke” as:
woke, adjective: Originally: well-informed, up-to-date. Now chiefly: alert to racial or social discrimination and injustice; frequently in stay woke (often used as an exhortation).
[SOURCE]
Three current or former Chicago police officers were indicted Tuesday on state felony charges of conspiracy in the investigation of the 2014 shooting death of Laquan McDonald.
Former Detective David March, and former Patrol Officer Joseph Walsh and Patrol Officer Thomas Gaffney were charged with conspiracy, official misconduct and obstruction of justice, according to a news release from Special Prosecutor Patricia Brown Holmes' office.
"The indictment makes clear that these defendants did more than merely obey an unofficial 'code of silence,' rather it alleges that they lied about what occurred to prevent independent criminal investigators from learning the truth," Holmes said.
In the 11-page indictment Van Dyke is referred to as Individual A and as a part of the conspiracy. He has been accused of official misconduct. Arraignment set for July
Gaffney, 43; March, 58; and Walsh, 48, are accused of writing incident reports that "contained important false information in an attempt to prevent or shape any criminal investigation."
Several reports referred to three officers being battered, which the the indictment says is false. Police statements that McDonald was threatening Van Dyke with his knife were also lies, the document says.
The indictment also says the officers failed to interview at least three witnesses whose versions of the events were different than those of police.
The indictment says there are other individuals that may be part of the conspiracy, but Holmes wouldn't comment on whether other officers will be indicted. She told reporters the investigation is ongoing.
The officers will be arraigned July 10.
New York City real estate companies' attempts to rename a Harlem neighborhood "SoHa" have enraged long-time residents of the historically black enclave, who say the move erases the community's rich cultural history.
The neighborhood served as home and inspiration to generations of leading African Americans, including activists W.E.B. Du Bois and Malcolm X, who dubbed it "Seventh Heaven." Artists such as poet Langston Hughes and singers Harry Belafonte and Ella Fitzgerald also lived there.
The "SoHa" name, echoing the high-priced, largely white Manhattan neighborhood of SoHo in lower Manhattan, has begun appearing in real estate listings for apartments located between 110th Street and 125th Street, and Realtor Keller Williams boasts a "SoHa Team" of agents on its website.
Keller Williams did not respond to a request for comment.
Harlem's U.S. Congressman Adriano Espaillat vowed to introduce a House resolution to protect Harlem from being renamed.
Espaillat said the congressional resolution he plans to introduce this week "supports imposing limitations on the ability to change the name of a neighborhood based on economic gain."
"I along with leaders and constituents of this community stand united to vigorously oppose the renaming Harlem in yet another sanctioned gentrification," he said in an email. "This is an incredibly insulting attempt to disown Harlem's longtime residents, legacy, and culture."
Jamie McShane, a spokesman for the Real Estate Board of New York, an industry association, said the group supports existing state regulations, which prohibit real estate brokers from using "a name to describe an area that would be misleading to the public."
Harlem is not the only historically black U.S. neighborhood to have its image challenged by eager real estate agents. Further north, parts of the South Bronx have been christened the "Piano District," a reference to its former instrument manufacturing base.
Read more: Move to rename Harlem neighborhood sparks outrage over erasing black history
Ahhh, poor little Omarosa Manigault ( or should I say Honorable Omarosa Maigault..LOL) seems upset that the Congressional black Caucus turned down an invite to meet with Trump a second time, and is having a temper tantrum. It must've hurt to come to the realization that she has about as much pull with African Americans as Trump does...LOL. George L. Cook III AfricanAmerican Reports.Com
Manigault told Fox Business Network's Charles Payne that members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) on Friday of "showboating" and refusing to serve their constituents, after the lawmakers refused an invitation to meet with President Trump. watch video of that segment below.
The Congressional Black Caucus was right not to meet with Trump again
As black people we have all learned that there are several things you can't do while being black unless you want to be shot by the police. You know things like, walking, talking, or breathing. You can now add being a cop to that list as black police officer found out the hard way in St. Louis after being wounded by a fellow officer. And yes, the officer who shot him claimed he feared for his life although other officers at the scene had told the black cop to approach them after CONFIRMING that he was a cop. Sadly the most that may happen to this trigger happy cop is that he looses his job. SMH. George L. Cook III AfricanAmericanReports.Com
An off-duty black St. Louis police officer's race factored into him being mistakenly shot by a white officer who didn't recognize him after a shootout with black suspects this week, the wounded officer's lawyer contends.
The 38-year-old black officer was off duty when he heard a commotion near his home and ran toward it with his service weapon to try to help his fellow officers, police said.
St. Louis' interim police chief, Lawrence O'Toole, said the incident began when officers with an anti-crime task force followed a stolen car and were twice fired upon by its occupants. One suspect was shot in an ankle and was arrested, along with another teenager who tried to run from police, O'Toole said. A third suspect is being sought.
When the off-duty officer who lived nearby heard the commotion and arrived at the scene Wednesday night to help, two on-duty officers ordered him to the ground but then recognized him and told him to stand up and walk toward them. As he was doing so, another officer arrived and shot the off-duty officer "apparently not recognizing" him, police said.
The police department as of Saturday hadn't disclosed the names of the officers, who have been placed on routine administrative leave as the matter is investigated. Police described the black officer as an 11-year department veteran and said he was treated at a hospital and released. The officer who shot him is 36 and has been with the department more than eight years.
The black officer's lawyer, Rufus J. Tate Jr., discussed the shooting with St. Louis Fox affiliate KTVI, but the officer isn't named in that report. Tate told the station that his client identified himself to the on-duty officers at the scene and complied with their commands. The lawyer questioned the white officer's account to police that he shot the off-duty officer because he feared for his safety.
"In the police report you have so far, there is no description of a threat he received. So we have a real problem with that. But this has been a national discussion for the past two years. There is this perception that a black man is automatically feared," Tate said.
Read more: Lawyer: Race a factor in St. Louis cop being mistakenly shot
Crystal Griner, The Capitol police officer was injured last week when a gunman opened fire on members of Congress during practice for a charity baseball game. Watch video of that great moment below.
Before MLK Jr. and Malcom X, there was Marshall.
Long before he sat on the United States Supreme Court or claimed victory in Brown v. Board of Education, Thurgood Marshall (Chadwick Boseman) was a young rabble-rousing attorney for the NAACP. The new motion picture, MARSHALL, is the true story of his greatest challenge in those early days – a fight he fought alongside attorney Sam Friedman (Josh Gad), a young lawyer with no experience in criminal law: the case of black chauffeur Joseph Spell (Sterling K. Brown), accused by his white employer, Eleanor Strubing (Kate Hudson), of sexual assault and attempted murder.
The film is directed by Reginald Hudlin release date is October 13, 2017. Watch the trailer below.
The Congressional Black Caucus was right not to meet with Trump again
The parents of black teenager Michael Brown and the city of Ferguson, Missouri, have settled a lawsuit over his fatal shooting by a white city police officer in 2014, according to a court document filed on Monday.
Brown's death triggered sometimes violent protests in Ferguson and around the United States, fueled by later police killings of unarmed black men in other cities. It also helped spark debate about racial bias in the U.S. justice system.
Terms of the wrongful death settlement between Ferguson and Brown's parents, Michael Brown Sr. and Lesley McSpadden, were not disclosed. U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber approved the settlement and ordered it sealed.
"The gross settlement amount is fair and reasonable compensation for this wrongful death claim and is in the best interests of each plaintiff," Webber wrote.
[SOURCE]
Almost three months after President Trump tried to mend fences with African American members of Congress at the White House, Mr. Trump is once again trying to restart talks with the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC).
Mr. Trump's adviser Omarosa Manigault sent a letter to the CBC on June 9, inviting all members of the CBC back to the White House for a follow up meeting to "discuss issues pertinent to your members."
A source inside the CBC was skeptical about the latest invitation, saying, "We're willing to engage with the president, but it has to be a substantive policy discussion, not a photo op."
"The caucus has been quite clear that the policy proposals of this administration, from cutting early childhood education funding to dismantling the Affordable Care Act, would cause great harm to African American communities across the nation," the source added.
Mr. Trump's outreach to African American community leaders has resulted with more photo ops than actual results.
Presidents of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) met with Mr. Trump at the end of February, when he signed an executive order that moved an HBCU task force into the White House from the Department of Education.
The college presidents sought a 5 to 10 percent increase in funding for black schools during the meeting. But Mr. Trump's recently released budget proposal revealed no new funding for the schools, despite signals otherwise.
Her name was Charleena Lyles. She called 911 for help and was killed by those officers who arrived to "protect and serve".
Charleena Lyles a pregnant mother of four was gunned down at her own home after calling 911 due to a burglary. Police claim she had a knife and was coming at them. To back up their claims they released dash cam audio, but that audio shows that those same officers knew she had four kids who may be in the house and that she suffered from mental illness before entering the home. The audio has been redacted by Seattle Police in some places, listen to the audio below.
