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Henrietta Lacks’ family hires Ben Crump for legal battle
The family of the late Henrietta Lacks, who unwittingly spurred a research bonanza when her cancer cells were taken without her knowledge in 1951, has hired a prominent civil rights lawyer to seek compensation from pharmaceutical companies.
Emmy Awards still not winning at diversity
“The Proposal.” It was a 2009 movie starring Sandra Bullock, but now will forever be the informal title of the 2018 Emmys telecast, thanks to a memorable romantic gesture from Emmy-winning director Glenn Weiss — who summoned the courage during Monday night’s awards show to propose to his girlfriend.
Families want answers in latest police shootings in Va. and N.C.
Families in North Carolina and Virginia are still demanding answers from law enforcement authorities fol- lowing separate shootings by sheriff’s departments that left one man dead and another fighting for his life in intensive care.
No charges for Michael Brown’s killer
Michael Brown Jr.’s grieving parents likely will never see the killer of their teenage son face murder charges.
Plans advance to build memorial, museum to U.S. lynching victims
The Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit organization that provides legal representation to indigent defendants and prisoners denied fair and just treatment in the legal system, plans to open the first national memorial to African-American victims of lynching.
Lochte loses sponsors after Olympic embarrassment
U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte lost the last of his four major sponsors, Japanese mattress maker Airweave, days after he admitted to exaggerating his story about being robbed at gunpoint in Rio during the Olympics. The incident embarrassed the host city, angered the local police and government and dominated news coverage of South America’s first Olympics, leading the U.S. Olympic Committee to issue an apology.
Critics assail racial double standard in Kavanaugh case
Marcus Dixon was sentenced to 10 years behind bars in Georgia for having sex with an underage white girl when he was 18. Dayonn Davis, another black youth, got a five-year prison sentence for stealing a $100 pair of shoes at gunpoint when he was 15.
No charges in shootings of Jacob Blake and Tamir Rice
A Wisconsin prosecutor declined Tuesday to file charges against a white police officer who shot a Black man in the back in Kenosha, Wis., concluding he couldn’t disprove the officer’s contention that he acted in self-defense because he feared the man would stab him.
Kenyan marathoner breaks 2-hour barrier
Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge made athletics history on Saturday when he became the first person to run a 26.2-mile marathon in under two hours, stretch- ing the limits of human endeavor and passing a milestone few thought could be reached for decades if at all.
Funeral service Friday for Rep. Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland
Tributes continue to pour in for Congressman Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, a moral voice of conscience who fought for civil rights and took on the White House as a prominent figure in the impeachment inquiry of President Trump as chairman of the powerful House Oversight and Reform Committee.
Civil rights activist Vernon Jordan dies at 85
Vernon Jordan, who rose from humble beginnings in the segregated South to become a champion of civil rights before reinventing himself as a Washington insider and corporate influencer, has died at the age of 85.
‘America’s Dad’ Bill Cosby now inmate No. NN7687
“America’s Dad” Bill Cosby was marched out of court in shackles Tuesday after a judge branded him a “sexually violent predator” and sentenced him to between three and 10 years in prison for sexual assault.
Hip-hop artist Prince Markie Dee of Fat Boys dies at 52
Prince Markie Dee, a member of The Fat Boys hip-hop trio who later formed his own band and became a well-known radio host, died Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, the day before his 53rd birthday.
Attorney general: Hate crimes tear at the fabric of our communities
Hate crimes tear at the fabric of American communities and represent a stain on the country’s soul, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said at a mosque and Muslim community center on Monday.
President calls for criminal justice reforms at NAACP convention
“Mass incarceration makes our country worse off, and we need to do something about it,” President Obama told 3,000 cheering people at the 106th annual NAACP National Convention in Philadelphia this week.
Affirmative action hits Brazil’s runways
Bold styles are usually the talk of the town for Sao Paulo Fashion Week. This year, cou- ture connoisseurs in Brazil’s most cosmopolitan city have focused on the models—more specifically, the color of their skin.
‘Moonlight’ wins Best Picture despite major flub at 89th Academy Awards ceremony
And the Oscar for Best Picture goes to … “La La Land.
Trump uses Black people to defend him at RNC
President Trump has aggressively asserted control over the Republican National Convention, a four-day event that started Monday and featured African-Americans defending the president’s history of racist rhetoric and actions. Former NFL star Herschel Walker, speaking on the opening night, defended President Trump, whom he called a “personal friend,” and said he isn’t a racist.
Oprah sells majority control of her OWN network
Oprah Winfrey has sold control of her 6-year-old cable network for $70 million.
