A Black Officer, a White Woman, a Rare Murder Conviction.

In this week’s edition of Race/Related from the New York Times, journalist John Eligon brings us the news out of Minneapolis, where police officer Mohamed Noor has been found guilty by a racially diverse jury for the shooting and killing of Justine Ruszczyk. Despite the relief that the justice system can actually hold its law enforcement officers accountable, some have found the circumstances of the verdict a bit ironic: the officer convicted is a black, Somali, Muslim man, and his victim was a white woman. With the tables of race turned in this case from the usual story (white cop shoots, kills black man), there are those who question whether the guilty verdict in this case can be chalked up to justice or hypocrisy. At the end of the day, all we can do is let the facts of the case speak for themselves – regardless of whose skin is what color – and let justice be served to all under the law, even those whose duty it is to enforce it.

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Was the Real Lone Ranger a Black Man?

Although born into slavery, Bass Reeves went on to gain a reputation for bravery and non-compromising honesty as a law man in Indian Territory after the civil war. The only thing that made him hang up his badge and gun was a new 1907 Oklahoma state law that banned this American Descendant of Slaves from holding office as a deputy marshal. Author Art T. Burton wrote the book, Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves and stated that Bass Reeves might have inspired the story of the Lone Ranger.

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This Could Be the First Slavery Reparations Policy in America

Georgetown University under-graduate students are taking the lead in addressing the issue of compensation for American descendants of slaves (ADOS). They will vote to tax themselves (reconciliation fee) to create a fund to benefit the descendants of 272 slaves sold to save the university.

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Elisa Shankle Is Encouraging Her Community To Be Brave And Heal

As Women’s History Month 2019 draws to a close, Huffington Post journalist Julia Craven brings to us the stories of 11 black women who are strong yet relatively unknown advocates for the encouragement of others in their community. One of these unsung heroes is Elisa Shankle, co-founder of Brooklyn’s “HealHaus,” a smoothie shop and community space where marginalized members of the community are welcome to come in, enjoy a smoothie, and improve their mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Though our world is full of many troubles, how encouraging it is to see folks still taking measures to help each other out!

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