Black History Month 2024
2008 2009-2017 2018
43 George W. Bush | 44 Barack Obama | 45 Donald J. Trump
Affirmative Action Mass Incarceration Reparations Movement
Mass Incarceration
United States - Whites began the process of putting Black Americans, mostly young men, in jail in massive waves of arrests. The pretense was that there was a crime problem and a drug problem. This combined with the supposed HIV/AIDS scare, which was targeted at Black American women.
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Oscar Grant Killed By Police
Oakland, California - Oscar Grant III was shot and killed by Johannes Mehserle, Thursday at 2:15 a.m. Grant III was shot point-blank and face down, with Mehserle on his back. Mehserle worked for the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police.
The round that Mehserle shot into Grant, bounced off the concrete, into Grant's lungs. Grant cried out immediately that Mehserle shot him. Less than seven hours later, Grant died at 9:13 a.m., at Highland Hospital, in Oakland, California.
On January 30th, 2010, Mehserle was charged with Grant's murder. Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and served 11 months in jail.
The last day of Oscar Grant's life was made into a movie, Fruitvale Station (2013).
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Aiyana Jones Killed By Police
Detroit, Michigan - On Sunday, in a midnight police raid, Joseph Weekley killed Aiyana Jones. It was part of a reality television show.
Detroit Special Response Team (SRT, aka SWAT) workers burst into the home of 7-year old Aiyana (pictured left). She slept next to her grandmother, Mertilla Jones.
Unknown to them, Detroit police prepared to raid the home. It was filmed for the reality television show on AMC, called First 48.
At 12:40 a.m., the police assault team threw a flash bang grenade. It went through the front window of the home, where Aiyana slept.
The grenade caused Aiyana's clothing to catch fire. As Mertilla tried to put out the fire, Weekley entered the home. He was armed with an MP5 machine gun and a ballistic shield..
Inside the home, Weekley shot and killed Aiyana. Weekley claimed Mertilla grabbed his gun. No fingerprints from Mertilla were found on Weekley's MP5 gun.
Weekley was not fired. Kym Worthy, the Wayne County Prosecutor, cleared Weekley of any charges for Aiyana's murder.
A protest was held in 2016, for Aiyana's murder. Weekley had been selected to co-chair the Detroit Police Department's Committee on Race and Equality.
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Trayvon Martin Killed
Sanford, Florida - Trayvon Martin was shot to death. Martin was a 17-year-old, from Miami Gardens, Florida. He was killed by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old white male.
At 7:00 p.m., Sunday, Martin walked, alone, to the house where he stayed. Martin bought a bag of Skittles and a can of Arizona iced-tea, from the local store. As he walked, Martin was unaware of George Zimmerman.
Zimmerman was a volunteer of the community watch. He saw Martin and called the Sanford Police. Zimmerman said Martin was suspicious. The police told Zimmerman to leave Martin alone.
Zimmerman disobeyed the police. He confronted Martin. Zimmerman then fired one gunshot to the chest of Martin. The shot killed Martin and he died on the street.
On July 13th, 2013, Zimmerman was found not guilty for the death of Martin. Protests soon followed. Martin's death launched a number of racial justice movements, in the United States.
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Christopher Dorner Manhunt and Killed By Police
Big Bear Lake, California - The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) searched for Christopher Dorner, on Sunday. It lasted nine (9) days. In the end, Dorner died.
The LAPD claimed Dorner targeted and killed police workers. The alleged motive was rampant and unjust violence against Black Americans, by Los Angeles police workers.
Dorner worked for the LAPD. His training officer was Teresa Evans. During one encounter, Dorner saw Evans abuse a suspect. Later, Dorner filed a police brutality complaint against Evans. Because of this complaint, the LAPD fired Dorner, in 2008.
On October 3rd, 2011, the California Court of Appeals dismissed Dorner's case. This covered Dorner's firing and his police brutality complaint.
On Tuesday, February 12th, 2013, the San Bernardino Sheriff's Office said they found Dorner. He was at a cabin, near Big Bear Lake, California. The Sheriff's Office set the cabin on fire, with Dorner inside. Dorner died inside the cabin.
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'12 Years A Slave' Shown
Telluride, Colorado - '12 Years A Slave' was shown at the Telluride Film Festival.
The movie began with a 'free' Black American man, in 1841, in Washington D. C. He was put into slavery by two (2) white males. This lasted 12 years. Finally, he got word back to New York, of his bondage. He returned to New York, 12 years later.
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Eric Garner Killed By Police
Staten Island, New York - Eric Garner was killed by New York police. Daniel Pantaleo, a New York police worker, had Garner in a headlock and suffocated him. As Garner suffocated, he cried out, 'I can't breathe.' Garner died for lack of oxygen.
At about 3:30 p.m., Justin D'Amico, worked as a plain-clothes police worker. D'Amico approached Garner. Moments earlier, Garner had just stopped a fight between two other people.
Possibly, because of the fight, Pantaleo approached Garner. Pantaleo accused Garner that he sold cigarettes. Pantaleo reached for Garner. Garner said, 'Please, don't touch me.'
Pantaleo grabbed Garner around the neck and restricted Garner's air. As Garner pled for his life, Pantaleo slowly choked Garner to death.
Garner's death led to national outrage. Video of the murder was seen across the country. The New York medical examiner ruled Garner's death a homicide. Despite this, no one was ever tried for Garner's murder.
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John Crawford III Killed By Police
Beavercreek, Ohio - Sean Williams killed John Crawford, III. Williams, a white male, worked for the Beavercreek Police Department. Crawford was killed as he shopped in a Walmart.
Crawford picked up a bb gun, off a shelf, in a Walmart store. As Crawford carried it, he talked on his phone. Ronald Ritchie, a white male, called the police, and said Crawford aimed the harmless item at people in the store. Video footage showed Ritchie had lied. Ritchie later admitted he lied.
In response, Williams entered the Walmart store and shot and killed Crawford. As customers fled the shooting, a woman died of a heart attack.
Neither Ritchie nor Williams were tried for any crimes that led to the two (2) deaths.
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Michael Brown Killed By Police
Ferguson, Missouri - Michael Brown was killed by Ferguson police worker, Darren Wilson. Brown was 18 years of age, when he died. At the time, Wilson was 28 years of age.
A store worker alleged Brown stole cigars. Wilson found Brown. As Brown ran, Wilson shot at Brown. Once Brown stopped and turned, Wilson shot him six (6) times. Brown was unarmed. Wilson quit the Ferguson Police Department later that year.
The day of the killing, the Black American community, in Ferguson protested. Further protests were in November of that year, and August of 2015.
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Chicago Police Kill Laquan McDonald
Chicago, Illinois - Chicago Police worker, Jason Van Dyke, shot Laquan McDonald, sixteen (16) times. Van Dyke was a white male. McDonald was a Black American male, and 17 years of age.
A report of property damage on cars was the reason the Chicago police came to the area. McDonald was seen and the police used their vehicles to block him. He got around the vehicles.
Van Dyke arrived, exited his car, and opened fire on McDonald. He was re-loading his gun as he was told to stop firing at McDonald. McDonald was walking away when Van Dyke shot him to death.
It took a year before Van Dyke was charged with the death of McDonald. The Chicago Police Department and Chicago prosecutor withheld video evidence that showed the shooting.
On October 5, 2018, for the first time in fifty (50) years, a Chicago police worker was convicted of murder. Van Dyke got six (6) years and nine (9) months in prison.
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Akai Gurley Killed By Police
Brooklyn, New York - Peter Liang killed Akai Gurley. Liang was a police worker with the New York Police Department. He shot and killed Akai Gurley, a Black Caribbean man, in a stairwell, near the 8th floor. It was in The Pink Houses, a high-rise residence.
Gurley had visited his girlfriend in the building. He was there to have his hair braided, before Thanksgiving. Liang was in the building on patrol. As he saw Gurley, Liang pulled his weapon and fired a shot at him. Gurley died in the stairwell.
On February 11, 2016, Liang was convicted of manslaughter and official misconduct. He faced 15 years in prison.
Chinese rallied in New York City and across the United States to defend Liang. This included WeChat, Facebook, Twitter, and email.
On April 19, 2016, Justice Chun reduced the conviction to criminally negligent homicide. Liang was given five years probation and 800 hours of community service.
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Tamir Rice Killed By Police
Cleveland, Ohio - Tamir Rice was killed by Timothy Loehmann (pictured left), a Cleveland police worker. Tamir Rice was a 12 year-old Black American boy. Loehmann was a 26 year-old, white male.
Saturday, November 22nd, 2014, a 911 call was made about a boy that pointed a pistol at random people. The caller was at a city park at a nearby gazebo. The caller said the gun was probably fake.
The 911 dispatcher asked the caller three times, if Rice was Black American or white. The caller described what Rice wore. The dispatcher refused to send police until the caller gave Tamir's race.
The caller left the gazebo. Later, Rice sat on a bench, under the gazebo, alone.
Around 3:30 p.m., Rice left the bench and began to leave the gazebo. The Cleveland police, Loehmann and Frank Garmback drove on the grass at Rice.
As the police car stopped, Loehmann got out of the car and shot Rice twice. The entire encounter took less than two (2) seconds. Rice collapsed to the ground immediately.
Two minutes later, the police arrested Rice's 14 year-od sister as she ran toward her fallen brother. As Rice laid on the ground, and suffered from the gunshot wounds, the Cleveland police gave no aid.
Later that day, Cleveland Deputy Chief Tomba said 'the child did not threaten the officer verbally or physically.'
On November 26th, Rice died at MetroHealth Medical Center. The cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest, with major internal damage.
Loehmann was not charged with the murder of Rice. In 2017, Loehmann was fired from the Cleveland Police Department.
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2015 Baltimore Protests
Baltimore, Maryland - A local protest began Saturday, April 18th, over the Sunday, April 12th arrest of 25 year-old Freddie Gray, for possession of a knife. The protests began outside the Western district police station, in Baltimore.
The following day, Freddie Gray was killed, while in police custody, on Sunday, April 19th. It was the day after the protests began. For the next 2 weeks, the protests intensified and became violent. Eventually, the Maryland National Guard would take the streets of Baltimore.
There were hundreds of injuries, arrests, fires, and some businesses were looted. The city of Baltimore imposed a curfew and some parts of Baltimore were effectively shutdown during this period.
6 employees of the Baltimore Police Department were arrested. 3 were tried and found not guilty. Charges were dropped against the other 3.
No one was held criminally responsible for the murder of Freddie Gray, while in the custody of the police of the City of Baltimore.
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Charleston Church Massacre
Charleston, South Carolina - Just before 9:00 p.m., a 21 year-old Dylann Roof murdered nine (9) Black Americans. The massacre took place at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. 5 survived.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015, at about 8:00 p.m., Roof came to the church. Inside, there were fourteen (14) people. They started a bible study. Senior pastor, state senator Clementa C. Pinckney ran the bible study.
Once Roof entered the church, he asked for Pinckney. Roof sat next to Pinckney. Once the bible study ended, prayer began. As people prayed, Roof stood, and began shooting people to death. Roof said, 'Y'all want something to pray about? I'll give you something to pray about.'
Roof reloaded his gun 5 times. Each victim was shot at least 5 times. He fired 70 shots. Roof shouted racial slurs at his victims, as he shot them.
All of the survivors were female. 2 survived playing dead. 2 survived, in another room, that Roof never saw. 1 survived because Roof wanted her to tell others.
On December 15, 2016, Roof was convicted on all charges. This included 9 counts of murder.
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New York Magazine Covers Cosby Accusers
New York, New York - New York Magazine published a cover with dozens of women who accused Bill Cosby. The women had no evidence, no one to back up their stories, but had bad things to say about Bill Cosby.
This cover story was an attempt to attack the most prominent and successful Black American entertainer in the country. Movements such as TimesUp, and MeToo sought to present Cosby as the Black American rapist. This was similiar to Jack Johnson, 100 years earlier. It drew parallels to Michael Jackson, 10 years earlier.
The constant media pressure got Cosby convicted of a crime, against a white woman. The crime never existed. Cosby was in prison for almost three (3) years. Finally, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court cleared him of all charges.
When the hysteria over Bill Cosby began, he was near 80, almost blind, and had not been in the public spotlight for years. Some speculate this was all a distraction from white killers of unarmed Black Americans.
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Cop Daniel Hotzclaw Raped Black American Women
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - Daniel Holtzclaw was convicted of 18 of 36 counts of rape. Also included were sexual battery, stalking, and forcible, oral sodomy. Holtzclaw was an active worker of the Oklahoma City Police Department went he committed the crimes.
13 women testified against Holtzclaw. All of them were Black American women.
Holtzclaw was sentenced to 263 years in prison, in Oklahoma. Holtzclaw was 28 years of age, at the time.
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Alton Sterling Killed By Police
Baton Rouge, Louisiana - Alton Sterling was shot at point blank range, by two white Baton Rouge police workers. Sterling died as a result of the shooting. The shooting was videotaped.
At 12:35 a.m., Monday morning, police arrived at 2112 North Foster Drive. The police were in the parking lot of Triple S Food Mart. A police call reported someone waved a gun and had threatened another. The store owner said Sterling had not caused any problems.
The two police workers saw Sterling, a large Black American man. They moved to arrest him. It is unclear what crime the two white police workers claimed Alton Sterling had committed.
The two police workers tasered and dragged Sterling to the ground. Howie Lake II placed his knee on Sterling's back. At the same time, Blane Salamoni grabbed Sterling's arms.
Lake shouted that Sterling had a gun. Salamoni pulled his gun and fired 3 shots into the back and chest of Sterling. Salamoni paused and shot Sterling 3 more times (totaled 6 shots), which caused Sterling's death.
The two white killers were never charged and kept their jobs with the police.
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Philando Castile Killed By Police
Falcon Heights, Minnesota - Philando Castile was murdered by Jeronimo Yanez, who worked for the St. Anthony, Minnesota police. Yanez fired 7 shots into a car with 3 people in it, including Castile.
Castile drove with Diamond Reynolds, and her 4 year-old daughter. He was licensed to carry a firearm and had no criminal record.
At 9:04 p.m., Tuesday evening, Jeronimo Yanez (pictured left) and Joseph Kauser, stopped Philando Castile (pictured right). Earlier, a police worker radioed that he wanted Castile stopped, 'just because of the wide-set nose.'
At 9:05 p.m., Castile told Yanez he was licensed to carry a firearm and that there was a firearm in the car. This was required by Minnesota law, for licensed gun owners.
The following exchange was said. Castile, 'I'm not pulling it out.'
Diamond Reynolds said, 'He's not pulling it out!'
Yanez, reached for his gun and yelled, 'Don't pull it out!'
Yanez pulled his gun and pointed it inside the car.
Reynolds was in the passenger seat, next to Philando Castile. Reynolds' daughter was in the back seat.
Reynolds yelled, 'No!'
Yanez fired (7) times at Castile, at almost point-blank range.
Five hit Philando Castile.
Reynolds live-streamed the aftermath of the shooting. She was arrested by the police and later released without charges.
Yanez was found not guilty of manslaughter. There were ten (10) whites and two (2) Black Americans on the jury. Initially, the jury voted 10-2 for not guilty. The two holdouts were pressured, and Yanez escaped punishment.
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Micah Johnson Killed By Police
Dallas, Texas - The Dallas Police Department claimed Micah Johnson killed several police workers. Johnson was killed by Dallas police. The police bombed Johnson to death, in downtown Dallas.
On Wednesday, July 7th, there was a protest against police violence, in Dallas. The previous two (2) days, white male police murdered Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. Sterling was killed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Castile was killed, in Falcon Heights, Minnesota.
In both cases, the victim was Black American and the police worker was white. Both times, the victim was shot at point-blank range, multiple times. Both times, the victim was killed. This started protests in Dallas, Texas.
It was alleged Johnson was angered over these murders of Black American men. Johnson responded and killed 5 police workers. He injured 11 others.
In the early morning hours, on Thursday, July 8th, it was claimed Johnson was in El Centro College. At 2:30 a.m., the Dallas police used a robot bomb, with C4, and killed Johnson. It was the first time a robot bomb was used, by police, for this purpose.
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Gavin Long Killed By Police
Baton Rouge, Louisiana - Gavin Long allegedly killed 3 police workers in Louisiana. Long was killed by the police. It was claimed Long was motivated by recent murders of Black American men, by police.
Sunday, 8:48 a.m., Long was shot and killed, from 100 yards away. He was killed by a Special Weapons Assault Team (SWAT) worker of the Louisiana State Police. It was near Benny's Car Wash, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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