Robert C. Koehler: The Courage to Disarm
The Ferguson tragedy, like all those that preceded it and all that will follow — involving the trivial and panicky use of lethal force, by the police or anyone else … Continue reading
Clifford Thompson: Improvising America
For years, as an African-American, I sought to figure out my cultural identity. My manner and lifestyle went against what many think of as the way a “real” black person … Continue reading
Bob Herbert: The Fire This Time
I remember the stunned reaction of so many Americans back in the summer of 2005 when legions of poor black people in desperate circumstances seemed to have suddenly and inexplicably … Continue reading
Jose Padua: Searching for the Young Soul Rebels
After writing an essay in my freshman English lit classin which I discussed James Joyce’s Ulysses as the nextlogical step for narrative after Ford Maddox Ford’sThe Good Soldier, my professor, … Continue reading
Video: “I Kill Everybody. I don’t care,” says Ferguson cop
A fourth police officer has been suspended in St. Louis, after a violent episode in which he pushed CNN reporter Don Lemon. After the incident, CNN reporters began looking into the … Continue reading
Homeless mom sentenced to 5 years in prison for “stealing” son’s education
A mother has been arrested and sentenced to jail time for sending her five year old son to a school district where she had no permanent residence. I can barely … Continue reading
Video: Police Beat Homeless Man, Attempt to Steal Witness Phones
There are dozens of videos on YouTube of police harassing, beating, and even killing unarmed citizens. Are American police out of control? Here, half a dozen cops are beating a … Continue reading
Nadia Prupis: Ferguson, Institutionalized Racism and the Militarization of Police
Will the tragedy in Ferguson be a catalyst for change? Police officers in Ferguson, Missouri arrested 31 people during protests Monday night (Photo: Michael B. Thomas/AFP/Getty Images) Last week, after … Continue reading
Michael Eric Dyson Spells It Out for White People: Police Won’t ‘Kill Your Child’
In an appearance on CBS, Dyson said that protests in Ferguson, Missouri after a white police officer shot 18-year-old Michael Brown while he was unarmed was a symptom of a … Continue reading
David M. Perry: Ferguson and the cult of compliance
When the police won’t take no for an answer… The protests in Ferguson, Missouri, set off by a policeman’s shooting of an unarmed black teen last week, appear to be … Continue reading
‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws Linked to Rise in Homicides, Extreme Racial Bias
Task force co-chair: “The more you look at them, the more problems you find.” States that have enacted “Stand Your Ground” laws have seen an increase in homicide rates and … Continue reading
John Samuel Tieman: Economic Justice and the St. Louis Riots
St. Louis is seething. A profound, inexplicable seething. A young man, Michael Brown, his hands in the air. Then eight shots. Graphic photographs of his body lying for hours on … Continue reading
Gail Langstroth: Muzungu, Muzungu!
Muzungu, Muzungu! Children scream as they touch my white skin and run. Muzungu, Muzungu! December, 2012, I am in Nakuusi, Uganda, a small African village, population 180. Early each morning … Continue reading
Ferguson Police Officer Justin Cosma Hog-Tied And Injured A Young Child, Lawsuit Alleges
According to a lawsuit filed in 2012 in Missouri federal court, Justin Cosma and another officer, Richard Carter, approached a 12-year-old boy who was checking the mailbox at the end … Continue reading →