Breaking News! History in the Making

Black Man Found Hanging From Tree In Georgia Committed Suicide: Officials
The death of Roosevelt Champion III, the black Georgia man who on Monday was found hanging from a tree, has been ruled a suicide by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Michelle Obama Tells Grads Not to Let Hate and Insults Stand in Their Way
In her commencement speech to the graduating class, the first lady shared what she has overcome at the White House and encouraged members of the senior class to have faith in themselves.

Officer in Freddie Gray case demanded man’s arrest as part of personal dispute
Baltimore lieutenant Brian Rice used his position to threaten ‘heads will roll’ if officers did not arrest his ex-girlfriend’s husband, police report reveals.
The most senior Baltimore police officer charged over the death of Freddie Gray used his position to order the arrest of a man as part of a personal dispute just two weeks before the fatal incident, prompting an internal inquiry by Baltimore police department.

Baltimore mayor seeks federal investigation of police department
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake asked the Justice Department on Wednesday to conduct a full-scale civil rights investigation into the pattern and practices of the Baltimore Police Department — a probe that would examine excessive force, discriminatory harassment, false arrests, and unlawful stops, searches or arrests.

Baltimore Free Farm Feeds Protestors Through ‘Culinary Solidarity’
As protests enveloped the city following the death 25-year-old Freddie Gray, whose spine was severed while in police custody, the organization Baltimore Free Farm immediately began working around the clock to feed hungry demonstrators.

Baltimore Teen Encouraged by Parents to Turn Himself in Is Held on $500,000 Bail, Faces Life in Prison
Allen Bullock, the 18-year-old seen in photos smashing in a police car with a traffic cone, turned himself in after being encouraged by his parents. But now he is being held on $500,000 bail, an amount his parents cannot afford.

What’s Happening In Baltimore Didn’t Just Start With Freddie Gray
This week’s chaos on the streets of Baltimore has been decades in the making.
Violence erupted in the city on Monday after days of largely peaceful protests over the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who recently died of injuries he sustained while in police custody. But Gray’s death was just the latest point on a timeline stretching back generations, one that encompasses all manner of racial inequity and human indignity.

Loretta Lynch Sworn In As U.S. Attorney General
Loretta Lynch was sworn in as U.S. attorney general on Monday, becoming the first African-American woman to fill the position.

Thousands dead, few prosecuted
Among the thousands of fatal shootings at the hands of police since 2005, only 54 officers have been charged, a Post analysis found. Most were cleared or acquitted in the cases that have been resolved.

Michigan business owner denies being a racist despite hanging nooses and a Confederate flag outside his properties
A businessman in suburban Detroit is under fire from unhappy neighbours after hanging a Confederate flag and nooses at his two properties in the area.

1.5 Million Missing Black Men
For every 100 black women, there are only 83 black men. Among whites, it’s 99 men/100 women, nearly parity. Mass incarceration and early death are principal factors. In certain cities, including Milwaukee, more than 42% of black men are missing. This has serious ramifications for community and family life.

When ‘Deshawn’ And ‘Greg’ Act Out In Class, Guess Who Gets Branded A Troublemaker
Research has shown that young black students in American schools are expelled and suspended three times as often as white students. Now a disturbing new study from Stanford University reveals one factor behind such disproportionate punishment.

Citizens Stand For Economic Equality With #BlackWorkMatters And The #FightFor15
In a push for racial justice, protesters took to the streets in cities across the country — from New York City, Chicago, Seattle, Sacramento and New Orleans — to demand a $15 per hour minimum wage and the creation of a union for fast food workers.

Protests In U.S. Cities Against Police Violence Prompt Arrests
Protesters in several U.S. cities blocked highways and swarmed police precincts, leading to at least two dozen arrests in demonstrations touched off by fresh cases of police violence against unarmed black men.

Protesters Against Police Brutality Begin 9-Day March From New York To D.C.
A march from New York City to Washington, D.C., to protest police brutality started Monday morning in Staten Island — the borough where Eric Garner died last summer after being put into a chokehold by a New York police officer.

Here’s A News Report We’d Be Reading If Walter Scott’s Killing Wasn’t On Video
This article is written as if the alleged murder of Walter Scott had not been captured on video that was made public Tuesday by The New York Times and other outlets.
A North Charleston police officer was forced to use his service weapon Saturday during a scuffle with a suspect who tried to overpower him and seize the officer’s Taser, authorities said.

James Clyburn Tells Young People To Turn Their Cameras On Police
Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said Wednesday that, in the wake of a video showing a South Carolina police officer fatally shooting an unarmed black man, young people should keep their cameras turned on police.

Ferguson Is Having an Election, but Will Ferguson Vote?
A city plagued by racial discrimination and low voter turnout hopes to turn over a new leaf on both after only 6 percent of eligible African-American voters cast a ballot in 2012.

Ronald ‘Ra Diggs’ Herron Gets Life Sentence After Rap Lyrics Used As Evidence
An accused New York City gang member was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday for a slew of violent crimes, including three murders, after being convicted in a trial in which prosecutors used his graphic rap lyrics against him.

85 years after infamous lynching, another noose stirs tension in Indiana town
Assistant fire chief Rick Backs has since been suspended by the Marion Fire Department; he released a statement apologizing for forming a noose during a knot-tying exercise at the station house Feb. 13.

Michelle Obama Declares ‘Black Girls Rock!’
Obama got among the night’s loudest ovations as she came on stage and declared “Black girls rock!” – the slogan and name of the organization founded by Beverly Bond, which is designed to uplift young black girls, a group that often has difficulty finding positive and reaffirming images of themselves in the world.