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Showing posts with the label U.S.

Ferguson, Missouri

The U.S. Justice Department has concluded that the police and city courts in , Missouri, routinely engaged in a pattern and practice of discrimination against African Americans. Despite comprising about 66 percent of the local population, African Americans accounted for 93 percent of arrests, 88 percent of incidents where force was used, 90 percent of citations and 85 percent of traffic stops. The Justice Department, which launched its report after the police killing of Michael Brown, also uncovered at least three municipal Ferguson emails containing racist language or images. "The report does not give me hope. What gives me hope is that people across America are finally waking up," says Michelle Alexander, author of the best-selling book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. "There is a system of racial and social control in communities of color across America. … What we see now is that we do have the power to make things change. The qu...

Black History - Little Known Facts

The U.S. celebrates Black History Month in February to honor African-Americans' achievements and  contributions to society. People and organizations across the country hold events to recognize  pioneers such as Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshall and Jackie Robinson. In its earliest form, the  tradition is almost 90 years old, but some people don't know its origins. Historian Carter G. Woodson established Negro History Week, which began Feb. 12, 1926. He scheduled  it at that time to match up with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln,  according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 1976, Negro History Week became Black History Month. President Gerald Ford urged the public to  "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every  area of endeavor throughout our history," according to the International Association of Official  Human Rights Agencies. Nowadays, every Black History Mont...