Atlanta civil rights leader C.T. Vivian dead at 95

Civil rights icon Rev. Cordy Tindell “C.T,” Vivian has died at age 95 of natural causes at his home in Atlanta, according to a report from CNN. Vivian worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and participated in the Freedom Rides to register Black voters. The Boonville, MO native, and his late wife, Octavia, had six children. He was a co-founder of the Nashville Christian Leadership Conference, an affiliate of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), which helped organi

THEO SHAW, ONE OF THE JENA 6 DEFENDANTS, SWORN IN AS A LAWYER

You may remember Theo Shaw as one of the six Black teenage boys whose lives were thrown into the spotlight in 2006 when their court case, known as the “Jena 6,” made media headlines. Inspired by that experience to help fix the criminal justice system, Shaw later went on to study law at the University of Washington on a full scholarship. After completing a clerkship with Louisiana Chief Justice Bernette Johnson, Shaw was recently sworn in to the bar of the District of Columbia

Pregnant woman dies in Mississippi jail

A family is distraught after learning that a pregnant woman who was taken into custody and awaiting trial after a traffic stop, died after complaining of stomach pains, WJTVreports. Lanekia Michelle Brown and Marcus Anthony Redrick of Hutchins were arrested in November when officers found 103 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop, according to the Madison County Sheriff’s Department. Brown was awaiting trial for a Trafficking of a Controlled Substance charge in the detent

‘Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland’ HBO Documentary TONIGHT

Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland debuts on HBO at 10 p.m. ET. @sayhernamefilm (IG & Twitter managed by the family for screenings. The family asks that you use the hashtag: #SayHerNameSandraBland tonight during the broadcast.) Sandra Bland hailed from a “girl family.” She was the fourth of five sisters. Her siblings’ names, like hers, all start with S—Shante, Sharon, Shavon, Sandy, and Sierra. They were a close-knit clan who always had each other’s backs, wheth

NYPD allows cop who was filmed planting drugs in Black teen’s car to keep his job

The Grio has launched a special series called #BlackonBlue to examine the relationship between law enforcement and African-Americans. Their reporters and videographers will investigate police brutality and corruption while also exploring local and national efforts to improve policing in our communities. Join the conversation, or share your own story, using the hashtag #BlackonBlue. A dramatic video that went viral showing proof that an NYPD cop planted drugs in a Black teen’s

Tennessee Mall Remains Quiet After Four White Women Call Their Bluff on Alleged Hoodie Policy

Four white women seem to be wearing hoodies without an issue in a Memphis mall that booted young black men for wearing similar attire. in Memphis, Wolfchase Galleria mall. (Fox 13 screenshot) Four white women from the Memphis suburb of Cordova, Tennessee, conducted a social experiment after a group of Black teenagers were targeted by Wolfchase Galleria’s alleged “No Hoodie” policy last week. Sherry Ennis and her three friends saw the viral video captured by former Journalist

Georgia Cop Who Lied About Black Man Shooting Her Gets 15 Years

Police officer Sherry Hall was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by 23 years of probation on Aug. 30 after fabricating a story that a Black man shot her while on duty, according to The Washington Post. In Sept. 2016 Hall said she was shot by a 6-foot, 250-pound Black man with dreads in a green shirt and black jogging pants. The then-rookie officer claimed she took cover and fired two rounds after she was shot without warning. A bullet was recovered from her protective

Dallas officer accused of killing a man after entering the wrong home has been arrested

The Dallas police officer accused of killing a man after entering the wrong home was arrested Sunday, the Texas Department of Public Safety said. The officer, Amber Guyger, 30, was booked into the Kaufman County jail on a manslaughter charge, authorities said. Her arrest came amid intensifying calls for her to be charged in the fatal shooting of her neighbor Botham Shem Jean, 26, on Thursday. Authorities said Guyger mistakenly entered Jean's apartment and killed him. The shoo

Texas Cop Who Fatally Shot Man After Entering Wrong Apartment Identified

Police in Texas have identified the officer accused of fatally shooting a man after entering his apartment, allegedly mistakenly believing it to have been her own. Dallas officer Amber Guyger, who has been a member of the local police force for at least four years, was in uniform but off-duty when authorities said she entered 26-year-old Botham Shem Jean’s apartment just before 10 p.m. Thursday. It’s not clear what, if any, interaction the two people had before Guyger dischar

Eric Garner's mother says she was let down by Mayor De Blasio's response to question about c

Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, addresses a City Hall rally calling for police accountability on June 17, the fourth anniversary of her son's death. (Jefferson Siegel / New York Daily News) The mother of Eric Garner gave Mayor de Blasio a thumbs down Thursday for his answer on whether he would push for charges against all the officers involved in her son’s death. “It was a long answer that he gave me, but it was incomplete,” Gwen Carr said. “It said nothing about what I

Black Panther Party co-founder Elbert "Big Man" Howard dies

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Elbert "Big Man" Howard, a co-founder of the Black Panther Party who served as newspaper editor, information officer and logistics genius behind the group's popular social programs, has died at age 80. His wife, Carole Hyams, says Howard died Monday in Santa Rosa, California, after a long illness. Friends and family described Howard as a "gentle giant" who could paint in words what a jazz song was saying. Howard was an author, volunteer jazz disc jockey,

Police chief, officers in Florida town accused of pinning crimes on blacks to help stats

MIAMI - The indictment was damning enough: a former police chief of Biscayne Park and two officers charged with falsely pinning four burglaries on a teenager just to impress village leaders with a perfect crime-solving record. But the accusations revealed in federal court last month left out far uglier details of past policing practices in tranquil Biscayne Park, a leafy wedge of suburbia just north of Miami Shores. Records obtained by the Miami Herald suggest that during the

Jury awards $4 to family of black man killed by sheriff’s deputies in Florida

A jury in Florida awarded just four dollars to the family of an African-American man who was shot in his own garage by a police officer. The New York Times reports that a jury concluded last week that the officer who fired the shots that killed Gregory Hill four years ago did not use excessive force, but that the police department was "one percent" at fault for the death. Hill was shot three times by an officer responding to a report of loud music. Officers said he was holdin

Colin Kaepernick honored by Amnesty International for inequality protests

Amnesty International gave former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick its Ambassador of Conscience Award on Saturday for his kneeling protest of racial injustice that launched a sports movement and might have cost him his job. Onetime San Francisco 49ers teammate Eric Reid presented Kaepernick with the award during a ceremony in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. In his acceptance speech, the award-winner described police killings of African-Americans and Latinos in the

#FreeSiwatu

Siwatu-Salama Ra, a 26-year old pregnant, Detroit mother and community leader was just sentenced to two years in prison. Last July, while she and her toddler were visiting her mother, Siwatu was confronted by a neighbor. The neighbor rammed her vehicle into Siwatu’s car while her two-year old was inside and then tried to use the vehicle to run Siwatu and her mother over. Fearing for their lives, Siwatu, who is a licensed concealed gun owner, held her weapon in plain sight, ho