By Christopher Bonastia | Originally Published at AlterNet. January 6, 2015 Touted as the cure for what ails public education, charter schools have historical roots that are rarely discussed. As a parent I find it easy to understand the appeal of charter schools, especially for parents [...]
It is Thanksgiving at Mike Brown’s house, three days after a grand jury declined to bring charges against the policeman who killed his son and his city exploded in riots. His wife, Calvina, and her mother and various daughters and sisters and cousins bustle around [...]
There is one criminal justice system for citizens – especially black and brown ones – and another for police in the United State. As a former cop, when I watch the video of Eric Garner being choked out, of him having his face smashed into [...]
In most of the liberal discussions of the recent police killings of unarmed black men, there is an underlying assumption that the police are supposed to protect and serve the population. That is, after all, what they were created to do. If only the normal, [...]
By Michael H. Carriere | Originally Published at Salon. December 23, 2014 2:58 PM EST | Dontre Hamilton's brother, Dameion Perkins and mother Maria Hamiton listen to speakers on the steps of the federal courthouse Monday, Dec. 22, 2014, in Milwaukee. (Credit: AP) The sad lesson of [...]
By F. Amanda Tugade | Originally Published at In These Times. December 17, 2014 | On Tuesday, Dec. 16, members of We Charge Genocide, Chicago Torture Justice Memorial, Project NIA and Amnesty International led a five-mile march from Chicago Police Headquarters to City Hall to show support [...]
Why are white cops shooting unarmed black men? On one level the story is simple: racism. Too many police officers fear people of color in the neighborhoods they patrol, and are likely to over-react with force during encounters. The local courts also engage in discrimination [...]
A White co-worker walks up to me as I arrive at my office and asks me accusingly, “Did you know that Antoine Walker’s broke?!” Antoine Walker played in the NBA for twelve years. He was selected to three All-Star teams, won one World Championship, and [...]
I am among the millions who have experienced the shock, grief, and fury of losing someone to racial violence. When I was 15, two close friends were killed in the Birmingham Sunday School bombing carried out by white supremacists trying to terrorize the rising civil [...]
