There’s something happening in Oregon that Black America needs to know about.
An organization called "Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets," or CAHOOTS, is taking on emergency response as an alternative to the police - and it’s making a big difference.
Since cops are not trained medical professionals, calls regarding mental health crises and other emergencies often result in senseless police killings.
For 100 years, Black Muslims of Brooklyn, New York vanished without a trace.
At least, that’s what patrons of the 100-year-old Brooklyn Historical Society were led to believe.
Desperate to broaden the scope of stories told, artist Kameelah Janan Rasheed and BHS’s resident oral historian Zaheer Ali set out to curate a collection called “An Opening” that would get the facts straight.
100 years ago, Black people excluded from white social clubs banded together to create their own spaces to build community and support each other.
Despite being a world traveler, Jessica Nabongo is inspired by other young Black Americans doing creative things: “Lena Waithe… she is unapologetic... Issa Rae, Donald Glover… we’re just living in such a beautiful time where people are just out here, shining.”
Oklahoma voters did something major in 2016.
They approved a measure that reclassified low-level offenses as misdemeanors instead of felonies. But then lawmakers took things a step further… They voted to allow those changes to apply to people who are currently incarcerated.
The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee confirmed that Russian trolls used Facebook to influence voters during the 2016 election. They also hacked Democratic e-mails and targeted voting machines, but social media was a major focus. They used Facebook primarily to pretend to be Americans so they could spread misinformation.
After a racist false arrest, Dr. Obadele Kambon saved up for a year, then moved to Ghana to “escape racism” in the U.S. Many Black Americans feel the same pull - but where can we go? These four destinations may provide a welcome respite from being Black in America.
Ghana
Marquis Jefferson - father of Atatiana Jefferson, who was killed by police in October - just passed away from a heart attack.
“He ultimately just succumbed to… a broken heart,” said family spokesman Bruce Carter. “He just never recovered.”
It seems that no matter what harm white America causes us, many Black people choose to forgive time and time again - and this has plenty of folks asking an important question: Why?
After the world witnessed Brandt Jean hug Amber Guyger - the former Dallas police officer who killed his brother, Botham Jean - many praised the young man for choosing forgiveness, while others condemned him for doing so.
The history of oppression, survival, and forgiveness in our community can lend insight.
Voting is a pretty involved process. Keeping up with registration deadlines, paperwork, polling station hours, and more - who can navigate all that without getting discouraged?!
Instead, Black Voters Matter is using the platform Motivote to encourage real friends to team up with a voting action plan for success.