trayvon martin
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Florida School District Drops Tamir Rice-Inspired Novel After Police Union Labels It 'Propaganda'
How dare we tell children anything close to the truth about race in America? That’s the takeaway after a Florida school district—the second-largest in the state—suspended Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes’ award-winning young adult novel Ghost Boys from a fifth-grade curriculum after a local police union complained it was anti-police “propaganda.” A partial synopsis of the…
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Signs Anti-Protest Bill Into Law
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a very undemocratic bill into law Monday that strengthens the power of law enforcement and makes it harder for residents to protest. CNN reports that the “Combating Public Disorder Act” creates several crimes connected to protest. One is “mob intimidation” and doxxing an individual or digitally publishing someone’s private information…
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'We Just Basically Share One Brain': The Root Presents: It’s Lit! Gets Collaborative With Maika and Maritza Moulite
If you weren’t one of the millions resigned to spend New Year’s Eve alone this year (thanks again, COVID), you may have placed special significance on who joined you to welcome in 2021, a year we hope will guide us out of the darkness, despair and disillusionment of that year (come through, Age of Aquarius!).…
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Naomi Osaka Stuns in Vogue Cover Debut, Centers Racial Justice: 'There Are Things Going on…That Really Scare Me'
In many respects, tennis player Naomi Osaka has grown up right before our eyes. Known for being understated and shy when she first emerged as a top contender in 2018 with her surprise upset over her idol, Serena Williams, at the U.S. Open, Osaka has come into her own as one of her sport’s brightest…
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Families of Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin Thank Naomi Osaka for Centering Their Loved Ones at U.S. Open
As with many prominent athletes this year, tennis star Naomi Osaka has felt compelled to use her platform to spread social justice messages. After sitting out a semifinal match tournament last month in support of the Milwaukee Bucks’ wildcat strike, Osaka chose to draw attention to the victims of police brutality and vigilante violence by…
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How This Week's March on Washington Has Adjusted Its Political and Social Justice Goals to the Coronavirus
On Friday, activists from across the country will commemorate the anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington with another demonstration in the nation’s capital, this time centering the victims of state-enabled violence. With police brutality and racial justice issues commanding an unprecedented amount of political and social energy—and with greater support for criminal justice reform…
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Kentucky Attorney General Denies Breonna Taylor Announcement Is Forthcoming: ‘The Investigation Remains Ongoing’
Five months have passed since Louisville Metro Police ambushed 26-year-old Breonna Taylor in her home, shooting and killing her. In the intervening months, her case was first met with silence, with her family, alongside local activists and journalists, fighting to share her story and demand accountability from local officials. But as September rolls in, Taylor’s…
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NBA Players Get the Green Light to Replace Names on Jerseys With Personalized Social Justice Messages
After the deaths of Eric Garner and Trayvon Martin, we saw NBA players don hoodies and T-shirts in order to create awareness around the injustices that befall our communities. And in looking to take those efforts even further, CBS Sports reports that the NBA has given players the green light to replace their names on…