A Tennessee man may not be able to walk again after an electronic cigarette exploded in his face on Friday. Cordero Caples, 29, was hospitalized in critical condition after suffering fractured vertebrae, facial fractures and at least one missing tooth following the sudden explosion in Colorado, his sister said. “It’s going to be a long, intensive recovery process,” Colossi Porter ...
Read More »Will Smith Says ‘Racism Is Actually Rare,’ But Prejudice Is Everywhere
Will Smith thinks there’s a problem with the discussion around race in Hollywood today: a confusion, or at least a lack of precision, about two of the issue’s key terms. Smith, who’s getting serious Oscar buzz for his role as Dr. Bennet Omalu in the upcoming movie “Concussion,” was asked about this highly charged issue during The Hollywood Reporter’s awards-season Actor ...
Read More »The Amazing Black Activists We’re Thankful For in 2015
Thanksgiving is a time for reflecting on what and who we’re most thankful for. This year has been, without a doubt, one of the hardest for people of color. From Ferguson to Mizzou, racial tensions in the United States seem at an all time high. But there are activists — online commentators, celebrities, and organizers — who are doing something about ...
Read More »Laquan McDonald Shooting Video Has Chicago On Edge
CHICAGO, Nov 23 (Reuters) – Community leaders who met with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said they expected protests on Wednesday when the city plans to release a disturbing video of an October 2014 fatal police shooting of a black teenager. Emanuel called in community leaders and pastors for meetings on Monday aimed at preparing for public reaction to the video. ...
Read More »Fraternity Marches Through Ongoing Gang War To End Violence In Chicago
Whenever protests against police brutality occur in the United States, critics of the Black Lives Matter movement and other race-related protests are quick to criticize marchers for ignoring so-called black-on-black crime and for only speaking out when a white police officer is involved in a black person’s death. But last weekend, the men of Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically black intercollegiate fraternity, proved this ...
Read More »Black Tape, White Wonder: Harvard Law’s Reaction to My Everyday Experience
Someone put black tape over the portraits of Black professors at Harvard Law school. It wasn’t totally unexpected: when a culture tolerates or breeds intolerance, such things are bound to occur. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime. What surprised me was not the black tape – but the reactions of my white peers and professors. So many ...
Read More »This Homeless Choir Got A Personal Invite To A White House Holiday Party
The nation’s capital is receiving a wonderful gift this holiday season. Atlanta’s Homeward Choir, a group of men from the city’s Central Night Shelter, have been invited to perform at the White House Open House Holiday Celebration on Dec. 21. The members of the chorus, who are all currently homeless, are seeking help for donations to help cover the expenses ...
Read More »This Black Teen Rock Climbing Sensation Is Shattering Stereotypes
Sixteen-year-old rock climbing champion Kai Lightner is reaching new heights with his athletic skills as one of a few professional black rock climbers. Lightner told The Huffington Post that he can’t remember a time when he wasn’t finding ways to get his two feet off the ground and that he started climbing when he was six years old. Eventually, he said, someone at his ...
Read More »Why Some Native Americans Recognize A ‘National Day Of Mourning’ On Thanksgiving
When Cedric Cromwell sits down with his family for a meal on Thanksgiving each year, the day holds a unique kind of significance. Cromwell is the chairman and president of the tribal council of the Mashpee Wampanoag, the same Native American tribe that first made contact with the Pilgrims who arrived in Massachusetts in 1620. While the Wampanoag welcomed the ...
Read More »California Has Become A Nationwide Leader In Better School Discipline Practices
California is leading the way in making sure that young kids don’t get pushed out of school for minor misbehavior. A new study out Monday from UCLA’s Civil Rights Project shows that districts in the Golden State sharply reduced the number of suspensions given to kids between 2011 and 2014. At the same time that suspension rates went down in ...
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