In a reassuring victory for assault victims everywhere, convicted rapist Brock Turner lost his appeal for another trial recently after his attorney, Eric S. Multhaup, argued that his client only sought to have “outercourse” with the former Stanford student he is convicted of assaulting — not intercourse.

For anyone wondering what that means, you’re not alone. The three-panel judges were at a loss as well.

“I absolutely don’t understand what you are talking about,” Justice Franklin D. Elia told Multhaup on August 8, according to Mercury News.

In 2016, Turner, then 20, was convicted of three felony counts of sexual assault: Assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated or unconscious person, penetrating an intoxicated person with a foreign object and penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object. Rape charges initially brought against Turner were dropped as no penetration by him took place, and therefore no actual rape took place according to the law.   [Read more…]

Hoping you can enjoy the day a little.

I find myself completely out of the spirit.

I feel as though celebrating independence while on the brink of losing it is somewhat naive and out of touch, to say the least. Can’t help but think of the lives lost fighting for ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” only to arrive at this questionable point in history.

“When fascism comes to America, it will come wrapped in the flag and waving a cross …” keeps running through my mind.

But then I think, “Hmm, am I being dramatic? Haven’t people throughout the course of American history felt we were on the verge of collapse?” Here’s to hoping this is just the latest in the phase of ever constant doom and gloom.   [Read more…]

The Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) was founded in 2006 in response to the negative perception toward immigrants, especially those of color, which was being reflected in the anti-immigration bills pushed by Congress at the time.

Now, in the era of Trump where the anti-immigration rhetoric is gaining momentum, the resources provided by BAJI are more necessary than ever as the organization continues to bring people together.

According to their website:

At the local and regional level, BAJI provides training and technical assistance to partner organizations to develop leadership skills, works with faith communities to harness their prophetic voice, and initiates vibrant dialogues with African Americans and black immigrants to discover more about race, our diverse identities, racism, migration and globalization.

  [Read more…]

Despite his incredible influence on the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, Bayard Rustin lived in the shadows. An openly gay man, he’d been arrested for engaging in public homosexuality, and, before his activist involvement, had identified as a member of the Communist Party — both of which offended the senses of society at the time and even fellow pacifists.

Still, without Rustin, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in August 1963 would not have been what it was.   [Read more…]

In response to the 2013 acquittal of George Zimmerman in the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, Black Lives Matter (BLM) was founded by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. It’s now comprised of 40 chapters globally, and continues to expand.

With the goal of intervening and campaigning against systemic racism and violence by law enforcement and vigilantes alike, Black Lives Matterf fights injustices against the black community in real time using social media to organize people to power. According to their website, BLM “is an affirmation of Black folks’ humanity, our contributions to this society, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.”

BLM first cemented national recognition by its part in orchestrating protests (and sometimes unrest) over the shooting death by police of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and the chokehold death by police of Eric Garner in New York City. Both of these deaths occurred in 2014.   [Read more…]

Annie Malone was a chemist and entrepreneur, and would go on to become one of America’s first black female millionaires — along with Madam C.J. Walker — a status she earned due the enormous success of her cosmetic and hair products designed specifically for black women.

She was born August 9, 1869, one of 11 children to parents who died when she was just a child. Raised by an older sister, Malone attended school long enough to discover her fondness for chemistry. It was this interest, plus a knowledge of herbs that led to her invention of products that could straighten African American hair.

By the 20th Century, Malone developed The Great Wonderful Hair Grower and the Poro Method, which she and her assistants had to sell door-to-door as Malone was denied access to regular distribution channels due to the color of her skin. Prior to her advancement of the beauty industry, black hair care methods of the late 1800s included using soap, goose fat, heavy oils, butter and bacon grease, or kerosene.   [Read more…]

Born the same year as the groundbreaking case of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, integration for Ruby Bridges and so many others was impeded by resistant southern states until early 1960 — the year the federal court formally ordered desegregation in Louisiana.

Bridges became one of six children in New Orleans to pass the entrance exams required to attend an all-whites school. Of the six children, two decided to remain at their current school, and three — who would become known as the McDonogh Three — were transferred to McDonogh Elementary School. Bridges was sent to William Frantz Elementary School by herself. Despite legal pressures, the school delayed Bridges’ admittance until November 1960.

Bridges father Abon at first was not supportive of the idea, fearing for his daughter’s safety; however, Bridges mother Lucille was adamant, saying it was important “for all African-American children.”   [Read more…]

In the early 20th Century, African Americans were primarily featured in stereotypical and unflattering roles, such as comic clowns or in black minstrelsy — shows performed primarily by whites which mocked and demeaned black people as inferior. The first all-black sitcom to appear on television in the 1950s, Amos ‘n’ Andy, is demonstrative of this racist trend, and was taken off the air after roughly 70 episodes due to protests by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and other groups.

It would be 20 years before black sitcoms would officially take root in American television. In the 1970s, That’s My Mama, Good Times, Sanford and Son, What’s Happening?, and The Jeffersons all appeared on major networks. In the 1980s, sitcoms such as The Cosby Show [sorry], A Different World and Frank’s Place in the 1980s worked to eliminate stereotypic portrayals of blacks, but were still very much seen as black shows despite featuring white actors in side character roles.

Dr. Alvin Poussaint, a psychiatrist who for years has studied the effects of racism in the black community, states that while black sitcoms became more common, the sharp image of segregation was still fostered. Furthermore, he says:

It is also telling that white Americans do not find all-black dramas appealing, even though the networks have tried to launch a number of such dramas over the years. White audiences apparently are comfortable seeing blacks in all-black sitcoms but not in all-black dramas, which depict the serious and human dimensions of the black experience, and do not reinforce common stereotypes.

  [Read more…]

One hundred and twenty years before Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States in 2008, Abolitionist Frederick Douglass received one roll call vote by a state representative after speaking at the 1888 Republican National Convention. This did not make Douglass a serious contender, but it serves as an incredible historical milestone.

In 1904 George Edwin Taylor would run unsuccessfully on the ticket of the National Negro Civil Liberty Party. It would take the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which allowed blacks to participate in politics and to run as major party presidential candidates, before the next landmark achievement would be made.

Shirley Chisholm became the first major party candidate for president on the Democratic ticket in 1972. She campaigned in 12 states and initially won 28 delegates. She would gain 124 more delegates from disaffected voters at the Democratic National Convention that same year for a total of 152.   [Read more…]

Phillis Wheatley was born in Senegal/Gambia around 1753, and captured and sold into slavery in the United States at the age of 7 or 8. Purchased by John Wheatley as a servant for his wife, Susanna, the young girl’s intelligence was impossible to miss. She was educated by the Wheatleys and quickly became fluent in Greek and Latin.

At the age of 13 she wrote her first poem, and by the age of 20 she had completed her first volume, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. The year was 1773, and Wheatley became the first African American woman and U.S. slave to publish a book of poems, and the third American woman ever. In order to prove her authorship of the book,a preface was included in which 17 Boston men, including John Hancock, declared that she had, in fact, written each of the poems.   [Read more…]

Cathay Williams decided to enlist in the Army alongside her cousin and a friend. Since women were prohibited from joining the Army, the 5-foot-9 Williams disguised herself a man and switched her first and last name to complete the rouse.

On November 15, 1866, Williams was considered fit for duty and assigned to Company A of the 38th Infantry, one of four all-black units newly formed that year. She became the first African American woman to serve in the U.S. Army, and the only black woman documented to serve in the Army in the 19th Century.   [Read more…]

John Woodruff was one of 18 African American athletes to take part in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, alongside renowned Olympian Jesse Owens. It was there, deep in Adolf Hitler’s Germany, that Woodruff won the gold in the 800-meter race.

“There was very definitely a special feeling in winning the gold medal and being a black man,” Woodruff said during a 1996 oral history interview for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. “We destroyed his master-race theory whenever we [started] winning those gold medals.”

According to an article in NPR, the 18 athletes together won 14 medals – eight of which were gold. That was a quarter of the 56 medals won by the entire U.S. team.   [Read more…]