JOHANNESBURG (AP) — An anti-apartheid activist who died in 1971 was tortured and killed by South African police, a court said Thursday, a landmark decision that raised hopes that dozens of similar cases would be investigated. The inquest into Ahmed Timol’s death had riveted South Africans as legal experts said it could set a precedent … Continue reading
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nearly 150 years after he was killed on the streets of his adopted hometown, Octavius Valentine Catto was honored by a crowd of hundreds gathered in Philadelphia on Tuesday for the unveiling of a statue in his honor. The honor is the first such named tribute for an African-American on public land … Continue reading
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A 23-year-old white man was arrested Tuesday and accused of cold-bloodedly killing two black men and shooting up a black family’s home in a string of attacks last week that police say may have been racially motivated. A law enforcement official said authorities found a handwritten copy of an Adolf … Continue reading
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A descendant of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee says he stepped down as pastor of a North Carolina church after negative reactions to his comments supporting racial justice during an MTV awards show “made it clear that I was no longer welcome there.” The general’s distant nephew, the Rev. Robert W. … Continue reading
MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Milwaukee jury needed less than two days of deliberations to acquit a former police officer in the on-duty shooting of a black man last year that sparked two nights of violence on the city’s north side. Jurors found Wednesday that Dominique Heaggan-Brown, who is also black, was not guilty of first-degree … Continue reading
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The world learned of Philando Castile’s death through a grim livestream launched by his girlfriend seconds after Castile was shot five times by a police officer. Many were outraged by what they saw as Diamond Reynolds’ outwardly calm voice described Castile being shot after reaching for his wallet. But no … Continue reading
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota police officer who fatally shot a black motorist told a fellow officer afterward that he didn’t know where the motorist’s gun was, according to audio played Tuesday for jurors. The audio is key evidence in Officer Jeronimo Yanez’s manslaughter trial in the death of Philando Castile last July … Continue reading
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Tulsa leaders on Thursday called for a peaceful response to a jury’s decision to acquit a white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man, and said more must be done to fight racial divisions in Oklahoma’s second-largest city. The comments came after a jury on Wednesday found Tulsa officer … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — When he entered the recording studio this spring, Grammy and Oscar-winning rapper Common had plenty to vent about — and it all came out. Police shootings. Institutionalized racism. Mass incarceration. Fouled water supplies. White privilege. Wage gaps. Black Lives Matter. Inner-city violence. “Things just felt more urgent for me,” Common said … Continue reading
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Black Panthers emerged from this gritty Northern California city 50 years ago, declaring to a nation in turmoil a new party dedicated to defending African-Americans against police brutality and protecting the right of a downtrodden people to determine their own future. In the group’s short life, it launched an ambitious … Continue reading
NEW YORK (AP) — A searing new public service announcement starring Michael B. Jordan, Danny Glover and Michael K. Williams takes on the issue of racial bias in police shootings with a simple message: “Black is not a weapon.” The 4-minute, black-and-white PSA features the actors up against a wall to a soundscape of news … Continue reading
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Trayvon Martin has often been in the thoughts of playwright and activist Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj in the four years since the 17-year-old unarmed black boy was shot and killed after a confrontation with neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman. He has wondered about Martin’s dreams, his life and the moments before he died. Maharaj … Continue reading
BALTIMORE (AP) — In Baltimore, this year can be divided into two parts: what came before Freddie Gray died and what happened afterward. Gray, 25, suffered a mysterious injury in the back of a police transport van and died April 19, inspiring thousands to take to the streets to protest what they believed was the … Continue reading
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The president of the University of Missouri system and the head of its flagship campus resigned Monday with the football team and others on campus in open revolt over what they saw as indifference to racial tensions at the school. President Tim Wolfe, a former business executive with no previous experience … Continue reading
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic presidential candidates gave a meaningful public nod to the Black Lives Matter movement in their first televised debate, fully adopting its slogan and raising the core concerns stemming from police killings of African-Americans that protesters have articulated while disrupting some of their campaign events. The candidates were careful to avoid uttering … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 