Breaking News! History in the Making

Woman Says She Endured 8 Days In Psych Ward Because Cops Didn’t Believe BMW Was Hers
Kamilah Brock says the New York City police sent her to a mental hospital for a hellish eight days, essentially because they couldn’t believe a black woman owned a BMW.

Michael Slager’s Lawyers Want Him Out Of Jail Because Walter Scott Had Drugs In His System
– An unarmed black man fatally shot by a white former patrolman in South Carolina in April had used cocaine and alcohol in his system when the police officer said he wrested control of his stun gun and pointed it at him, court documents filed on Tuesday show.

Baltimore reaches $6.4 million settlement with Freddie Gray’s family
Baltimore officials have reached a $6.4 million settlement with the family of Freddie Gray, an agreement they say is the right step for a city still recovering from riots and demonstrations sparked by the 25-year-old’s death from an injury suffered in police custody.

The Only Museum Solely Memorializing Slavery
America needs more symbols memorializing slavery and John Cummings, a white southerner, has helped to make that happen.

Slave Trade Video Game Edited After Backlash
The creators of “Playing History: Slave Trade” removed a level Monday which featured black slave characters being dropped into a ship.

Officials were wrong to jump to conclusions in deputy’s slaying
Harris County’s top law enforcement officials hadn’t turned a white deputy’s death, allegedly at the hands of a black man, into yet another wedge between police and communities of color.

Lawsuit: White Fla. Teacher Fired for Having Black Boyfriend
Audrey Dudek, a former math teacher at Edgewater High School, says she was fired in 2013 after school officials learned that her then-boyfriend, now husband, is black.

Commemorating 52nd Anniversary of the March on Washington
It is not an overstatement to remind the current generation in our country that Dr. King, and so many, many others, “marched” so that it would not be necessary 52 years later for our children and grandchildren to march to tell our nation TODAY, that “Black Lives Matter.”

10 Years After Katrina
Ten years later, it is not exactly right to say that New Orleans is back. The city did not return, not as it was. The city that exists now, a decade later, is a work in progress, an improvisation that is establishing a new normal.

Rhode Island Church Taking Unusual Step to Illuminate Its Slavery Role
One of the darkest chapters of Rhode Island history involved the state’s pre-eminence in the slave trade. That history will soon become more prominent as the Episcopal diocese here, which was steeped in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, establishes a museum dedicated to telling that story.

St. Louis Neighborhood Erupts Following Fatal Officer-Involved Shooting
Heavily armed police deployed tear gas into a North St. Louis City residential neighborhood last night (August 19) in an attempt to quell protests that incited after city police shot and killed an 18-year-old black man, Mansur Bell-Bey.

Black Lives Matter videos, Clinton campaign reveal details of meeting
Hillary Clinton and Black Lives Matter activists had a frank and at times tense discussion last week behind closed doors, and thanks to video released Monday, the American public is now hearing exactly what the two sides said to each other.

Racism in the Air You Breathe: When Where You Live Determines How Fast You Die
More African Americans will die from environmental causes than from police brutality this year, yet there is no movement to stop the environmental racism that invades our neighborhoods and homes.

In Ferguson, protesters challenge state of emergency
Police bolstered by emergency orders maintained close watch Tuesday over protest-wracked streets in Ferguson after another night of demonstrations saw multiple arrests and brought new potential flash points.

20-Year-Old Man Shot by Police in Ferguson, Mo., on Anniversary of Michael Brown’s Death
Police say the 20-year-old man began shooting Sunday evening during what had been a relatively calm protest.

A year after Ferguson, 6 in 10 Americans say changes are needed to give blacks and whites equal rights
A growing number of Americans say the country needs more changes to give blacks equal rights, according to a new Washington Post poll.

ABHM featured on Milwaukee Public Television
The August 5, 2015 MPTV program Trippin’ includes a virtual visit to ABHM and describes the rich historical and contemporary resources to be found on the site. Three other Wisconsin museums that exhibit local and national black history are also visited.

Man claimed he rammed St. Louis police car ‘for the black people’
A Bellefontaine Neighbors man was charged Sunday with ramming a St. Louis squad car and injuring two city officers on Friday night.

‘Fantastic Four’ Cast Handles Offensive Interview
Host Jason Bailey first asked what he claimed was an “obvious” question about how the two actors’ characters, Johnny and Sue Storm, could logically be brother and sister, as they have been in previous iterations of the story.