You’ve seen the videos of deadly encounters. What effect can a witness have?
Tag Archives: Black Lives Matter Movement
‘Nobody Wants to Be the World’s Villain’
Inside the Louisville Police Department, where officers are reckoning with what it means to be a cop in a city that doesn’t trust them.
The Rocky Path to the College Board’s A.P. Black Studies Course
Over a year, the nonprofit dropped concepts favored by academics, held a frustrating meeting with Florida officials and left educators in doubt about the process.
Inside the College Board’s Revised African American Studies Curriculum
A guide to some changes in the curriculum, and how the new course differs from standard treatments of Black history in American high schools.
After Hollywood’s #MeToo Reckoning, a Fear It Was Only Short-Lived
The #MeToo movement led to increased diversity and representation in the entertainment industry, but now there is worry that it has begun to regress.
He Inherited a New Orleans Jazz Institution. What Does He Owe?
In the 1960s, Ben Jaffe’s family founded Preservation Hall to help keep a defining Black art form alive. In 2022, that’s a complicated part for a white musician to play.
The Safe Space That Became a Viral Nightmare
Video of a confrontation in a multicultural center at Arizona State University became a weapon in the war against universities.
Daring to Speak Up About Race in a Divided School District
What happened when a superintendent in northern Michigan raised the issue of systemic racism?
‘Defund the Police’ Is Dead. Now What?
Have we simply become inured to police shootings? Do these lives no longer matter?
Can Coco Gauff the Tennis Prodigy Become a Tennis Legend?
Since Coco Gauff went pro at 14, she has played under the weight of high expectations. Now 18, she has her own measures for greatness.
Four Officers Face Federal Charges in Breonna Taylor Raid
The police fatally shot Ms. Taylor during a nighttime raid on her apartment in Louisville, Ky. Officials said two officers had lied in order to get a search warrant for Ms. Taylor’s home.
Democrats Are Having a Purity Test Problem at Exactly the Wrong Time
“It has become too easy for people to conflate disagreements about issues with matters of identity,” one nonprofit official says.
Daunte Wright’s Family Reaches $3.2 Million Settlement With Brooklyn Center, Minn.
The settlement was reached months after a former Brooklyn Center police officer was sentenced to two years in prison for the fatal shooting of Mr. Wright during a traffic stop.
Why Students Are Choosing H.B.C.U.s: ‘4 Years Being Seen as Family’
Many in a generation that grew up with a Black president and Black Lives Matter are embracing Black colleges and universities.
Violent Crime Is Up as Cities Lose Police Officers. What Now?
Some urban police departments are struggling to keep their numbers up.
Democrats Face Pressure on Crime from Their Own Base
Not long ago, the party was focused on police reform, but rising fears of violence, especially among communities of color, have led candidates to change course.
Asian and Black Communities Have a Long History of Shared Solidarity
Stories of loss, struggle, change and hope are the most powerful tools we have to understand one another and bridge what divides us.
From Sandy Hook to Uvalde, the Violent Images Never Seen
Frustrated Americans ask whether the release of graphic photos of gun violence would lead to better policy. But which photos, and who decides?
‘Woke Capital’ Might Feel Inadequate. But It Is Still Progress.
It’s a sign that we at least agree that racism and homophobia are bad.
How Tucker Carlson Reshaped Fox News — and Became Trump’s Heir
As the host turned a civil war at Fox to his advantage, he found himself at the forefront of the nativist forces transforming conservative politics.
How Tucker Carlson Stoked White Fear to Conquer Cable
A string of setbacks made the pundit flee television, the Republican establishment and even his home. He re-emerged with what may be the most racist, and successful, show in the history of cable news.
On Crime, New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams Is Stuck in 1994
Tired ‘tough on crime’ rhetoric is not the solution to crime in 2022.
Justice Dept. Moves to Curb Police Abuses in Washington, D.C., and Massachusetts
The changes come as the Biden administration has struggled to make meaningful progress on a vow to crack down on police abuses.
Arbitrator Clears Buffalo Police Officers Who Shoved Protester
A video from June 2020 showed Martin Gugino, 75 at the time, motionless and bleeding after being pushed to the ground. The footage fueled outrage during a summer of unrest over police violence.
Federal Jury Awards $14 Million to George Floyd Protesters Injured In Denver
Jurors in the civil case found that the Denver Police used excessive force against the 12 plaintiffs.
Officers Said They Hoped Black Lives Matter Protesters Would Die, Suit Says
Mark Miles, a Black officer with the Maryland-National Capital Park Police, says in a lawsuit that his white supervisor and other officers made hateful comments in a work-related text chain.
The Police Aren’t Exactly Running Out of Cash
There is no real relationship between crime rates and police budgets.
Barack Obama: What Trayvon Martin Taught Us, 10 Years Later
Not every killing connects with the culture and activates a mass movement. This one did.
Three Officers in George Floyd Trial Finish Defense
With testimony concluded in the trial of three former officers for their role in George Floyd’s death, the jury is set to hear closing arguments.
As Crime Surges, Roll Back of Tough-on-Crime Policies Faces Resistance
With violent crime rates rising and elections looming, progressive prosecutors are facing resistance to their plans to roll back stricter crime policies of the 1990s.
Why Lauren Smith-Fields’s Friends Turned to TikTok
Ignored by the media and pushed aside by the police, the families and supporters of missing Black women are building their own missing persons operation online.
When ‘Freedom’ Means the Right to Destroy
Anti-vaccine economic vandalism and the right-wingers who love it.
Radical Ideas Need Quiet Spaces
Visibility is one thing. Actually mustering the power to fundamentally rearrange society — that is something else.
Who Else Is Culpable in George Floyd’s Death?
Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22 and a half years for the murder, but what about the other officers who were at the scene?
Police Killing of Amir Locke Brings Out Protesters in Minneapolis
Demonstrators march downtown days after the fatal shooting of Amir Locke, 22.
A Staunch Critic of the N.Y.P.D. Grapples With Deaths of 2 Officers
Harlem Councilwoman Kristin Richardson Jordan, who has equated the policing system to slavery, is now considering how to deliver her message in a district mourning for two officers.
Why This Liberal Mayor Doesn’t Want a Lecture From Progressives
London Breed has heard the wrath of progressives (and conservatives) on doing too much (and too little) to “clean up” neighborhoods in San Francisco struggling with substance use. She’s not backing down.
The Law of Unintended Political Consequences Strikes Again
Progressive philanthropists who fund groups that promote extreme views are “exacerbating intraparty conflict and stoking interparty backlash.”
Virginia Sues Town of Windsor, Accusing It of Discriminatory Policing
The suit comes after a monthslong investigation, which Attorney General Mark Herring said uncovered a pattern of “discriminatory, unconstitutional policing.”
Teen Girl Shot By Police Was Seeking New Life, Family Says
The family of Valentina Orellana-Peralta described the terrifying moments before the 14-year-old girl, who had recently moved to Los Angeles from Chile, was killed by a stray bullet fired by a police officer.
Despite Uproar Over Floyd’s Death, an Unceasing Tide of Police Killings
George Floyd’s murder set in motion shock waves that touched almost every aspect of American society. But on the core issues of police violence and accountability, very little has changed.
Texas Board Withdraws Clemency Recommendation for George Floyd
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles said it had made “procedural errors” when it issued a recommendation that Mr. Floyd be posthumously pardoned for a 2004 drug conviction.
The F.B.I. Deployed Surveillance Teams Inside Portland Protests
Federal agents infiltrated Portland’s unruly racial justice protests, dressing to blend in and capturing clandestine video. The tactics raised internal concern.
To Rein In the Police, Look to the States, Not the Court
The police almost always win in cases before the Supreme Court. Protections against police overreach will need to come from the state and local level.
In Fight Against Violence, Asian and Black Activists Struggle to Agree
Calls for unity have ebbed over disagreements on one main issue: policing.
The Biggest Black History Events in 2021
After the tumult and triumphs of 2020, here are the achievements that shaped the first year following the country’s racial reckoning.
What if There’s No Such Thing as Closure?
Many of us are taught that if we work hard enough we’ll be able to get over our losses. The social scientist Pauline Boss sees it differently.
Jussie Smollett Found Guilty: What Comes Next?
The actor who was found guilty of falsely telling the police he was the victim of a hate crime faces a possible sentence of up to three years, but experts disagree on whether the judge is likely to incarcerate him.
Columbus Reaches $5.75 Million Settlement Agreement With Protesters
Under the deal, which is subject to City Council approval, the money would go to 32 plaintiffs who said they were injured by the police during 2020 social justice protests.
Best Art Exhibitions of 2021
Ambitious museum shows in Tulsa, Richmond, and Louisville left an imprint. Jasper Johns, Maya Lin and Latino artists shone. And the high quality of gallery shows of women was dizzying and gratifying.