Breaking News! History in the Making

Jody Westby tells police, "please leave our neighborhood" after she sees them questioning her friend, who had done nothing wrong.

White Woman Comes to Black Man’s Aid, Tells Police to Leave

Jody Westby was working from home when she saw police harassing her friend so she ran outside to confront the police.

Students at the Dryades YMCA James M. Singleton Charter School Aug. 23, 2006, in New Orleans

Parents Claim No Choice, No Voice, in Children’s Education

The U.S. Department of Education is investigating claims in three school districts—New Orleans, Newark and Chicago—that black children are facing discrimination and segregation in school-enrollment programs.

Jon Burge, a former commander of the Chicago Police Department. Credit Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune, via Associated Press

118 Black Men Tortured On His Watch–Less Than 4 Years of Jailtime

Chicago police commander Jon Burge oversaw brutal torture of black men in custody, extracting false confessions that resulted in them spending decades in prison.

Jamal Jones and his family are filing charges against an Indiana police department after officers smashed their car windows during a routine traffic stop. (ABC News)

Cell Phone Video Captures Police Smashing Window, Using Stun Gun During Traffic Stop

A firsthand recording of the excessive display of force shown by the Hammond Police during a traffic stop.

John Ridleyyhyhs

Oscar-winning filmmaker premieres film at Milwaukee Film Festival

John Ridley chose his hometown of Milwaukee WI as the place to premiere his new film, JIMI: All Is By My Side. Over 1000 movie-goers packed the sold-out theater.

Inmates of Attica State Prison voicing their demands in 1971.

New York Is Cataloging, and Returning, Bloody Relics of 1971 Attica Assault

New York State invited the families of 12 families of victims of the Attica assault for a memorial service and to return personal belongings.

former slave 1941

Harvesting Cotton-Field Capitalism

Edward Baptist’s new book follows the money on slavery. His research shows how blacks’ suffering and forced labor is what made the USA powerful and rich.

A 2005 study found that “black adolescents are generally achievement oriented and that racialized peer pressure against high academic achievement is not prevalent in all schools.”

Talking White

Black people’s disdain for “proper English” and academic achievement is a myth.

These towers, designed by an Italian architect, collect clean water from dew and fog.

Towers in Ethiopia that harvest clean water from thin air

These towers, which can be built by villagers themselves, can collect over 25 gallons of potable water daily, saving women and children from walking miles to contaminated ponds.

Children stand in a nursery while their parents are away at church on Sept. 28, 2014, in Monrovia, Liberia.

Orphans of Ebola Are Being Ostracized by Cautious Relatives

West African children whose parents have Ebola generally don’t have a support system because their parent(s) are dead and their extended families are too scared or don’t have the resources to take them in.

Ben Carson

Ben Carson Likely to Run for President

Ben Carson, the Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon-turned-Republican star, believes that the “likelihood is strong” that he will end up running for president in 2016.

Cleveland Stroud, the only black Council member in Conyers, Ga., says whites have represented their changing constituency well.

Mostly Black Cities, Mostly White City Halls

Richard Fausset examines why primarily black cities in the United States still have white representatives in City Hall.

English Professor John Matteson teaches a free course on Literature & Law of American Slavery at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.  
COURTESY OF JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

From Slavery to Ferguson: America’s History of Violence Toward Blacks

English Prof. John Matteson teaches an 8-week course about the impact of the legacy of slavery on violence in law enforcement, race relations, and families.

In “black-ish,” Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross lead a family wrestling with racial issues. From left, Marsai Martin, Marcus Scribner, Yara Shahidi and Miles Brown as their children.

A Family Rooted in Two Realms

By NEIL GENZLINGER, New York Times A lot of people in the television business are said to be curious to see how “black-ish,”ABC’s new comedy, is received when it has its premiere on Wednesday night. What they should really be curious about, though, is where the series goes after its funny but talking-point-heavy first episode. The sitcom…

A rain-soaked memorial on Sept. 10, 2014, at the location in Ferguson, Mo., where teenager Michael Brown was shot and killed by police Officer Darren Wilson in August. 
SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES

Michael Brown Memorial Rebuilt After Fire

One of the two memorials for Michael Brown built by the community burned completely this morning but was quickly rebuilt. Fergusson residents suspect arson.

John Ridleyyhyhs

Black Lens Program Schedule – Films by African Americans at the MKE Film Festival

Every year, Milwaukee Film Festival introduces its program of films by emerging and established black filmmakers Find 2014’s lineup.

MacArthur 2014 “genius” grant recipients Jennifer Eberhardt, Terrance Hayes, Steve Coleman and Rick Lowe 
COURTESY OF THE JOHN D. AND CATHERINE T. MACARTHUR FOUNDATION

4 Black People Receive the MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant

Four black geniuses – a social psychologist, an artist, a jazz composer and a poet receive $625,000, no-strings-attached, from the MacArthur Foundation.

Beating our black children furthers the legacy of slavery

In light of Adrian Peterson’s child abuse indictment, David Love opines, “We must break the cycle of trauma that passes from generation to generation and heal both the victim and the victimizer.”

Dr. Calvin Greene, the administrative director at the Regional Fertility Program, told the Calgary Herald that his stand on race mixing is firm and has been policy since the clinic opened in the 1980s.

No ‘Rainbow Families’: Canadian Fertility Clinic Refuses to Match White Patients With Nonwhite Donors

A white woman who was looking into in vitro fertilization was shocked when she was told she could only use sperm donors who were white,

Renisha McBride and the man charged with second-degree murder in her death, Dearborn Heights, Mich., resident Theodore P. Wafer (From the Dearborn Heights Police)

How Race, Gender And Fatigue Have Affected The Coverage Of Renisha McBride’s Death

The combination of sexism and racism has a real impact on Black women as exemplified by the silence around Renisha McBride’s death.

Rep Terri Sewell

For African-American Women—and All Women—Let’s Make Every Day Equal Pay Day

Black women make just 64 cents for every dollar earned by their white male counterparts and we need better policies and leaders to change this.