When they feel threatened, they attack with what they know will make you “remember your place”.

Never mentioned by its full name, like the word that shall not be named (Lord Voldamort much?) is making its way into conversations on deep rooted issues in white America and the underlying wound it still has on Black citizens.  

N-I-G- G-E-R

Or the “N” word, better addressed by many, is labeled as one of the most controversial in the English language due to its history of verbal enslavement towards black people. This word is now reappearing in public conversation with recent incidences, but has society really redefined its meaning? 

Nigger: Joke
Comedian Bill Maher tried and failed miserably at a joke using the controversial slur in his response towards guest Sen. Ben Sasse:

Sen. Ben: "Would you like to come work in the field with us?"

"Work in the fields?" said Maher. "Senator, I am a house nigger."

The only thing that made his comment less offensive was the fact that he was referring to himself as the insult but the words origin is so deeply rooted, that it can never be made to be taken frivolously. Of course an apology was issued, but was it more offensive that he said niggER instead of niggA or that he thought it was okay to even use that word taken its history?

The problem is white people feeling entitled to use a word, knowing that it has a negative history for a particular group of individuals while claiming that it no longer holds the negative context, then turn around and use that same word to demean that very race. ​

Nigger: Hate
NBA star Lebron James recently fell victim less than a week ago, when his Los Angeles home was vandalized with the N-word. Spray-painted across the front gate to his house, was in no way anything other than a blatant hate crime.

​No matter your status, the word alone makes one feel reduced and rendered helpless at its derogatory connotation. 

​Lebron had a response that was all too real. A reality that black Americans can only nod in agreement too… 

Nigger: Fear

Allison Butler, a Black woman from Colorado claimed she’s been receiving racist notes under the door of her apartment and the property managers will not allow her to break her lease, according to BET. She reported that someone knocked on her door and left a note that read: "Nigger Bitch" and previous notes that said: "Niggers don’t belong”

Despite the hate mail, When Butler took her issue to her leasing agent; she was told she can’t break her contract because they can’t control what happens in the hallways of the complex.

Since Buttler she is not able to break her lease, she is finding alternative options to help her deal with the harassment by going to school to become a therapist.

Guess it takes something psychically happening to her before people will wake up and take action. 

Between these three unrelated cases, the central commonality is of course the usage of the word that so many of us are still afraid to say. NIGGER. Whites have no problem using it to get a rise, or to make a joke, or to make one feel like an outcast. The word is not just a slur, it was and continues to be a tool suppress an entire race. We know that niggER (not niggA) still holds a hateful message but can that word too be reclaimed to no longer hold its hateful meaning? 

​Yup…You read that right.

Stephan Mader, a Marine veteran who served in Afghanistan is suing his small city of West Virginia for firing him after attempting to de-escalate a situation instead of shooting and killing Ronald Williams Jr. during a domestic disturbance call.

He stated that his training in the service told him Williams was not a threat to others or to him, as to why he approached the situation as such.

Armed with a pistol that was NOT loaded, Mader stated that Ronald Williams was depressed but not aggressive, and appeared to be trying to commit “suicide by cop.” He repeatedly said to Mader: 

​According to the suit, as Mader was trying to get Williams to drop his gun, two other Weirton Police officers arrived. When Williams raised his gun, one of them "immediately shot Williams in the head, killing him."

Williams' girlfriend reportedly told 911 responders that her boyfriend had a gun but it wasn't loaded, according to the lawsuit stated by CNN. After Williams was killed, investigators also found that it wasn't loaded. It was unclear from the lawsuit whether 911 dispatchers relayed the girlfriend's message to first responders.

With so many “shoot first, ask questions later” cases of white cops kill black individuals, you would think this former officer would be praised for attempting to calm down a situation instead of shooting yet another black man out of ‘FEAR’.   

His decision to not pull the trigger only presents a deeper rooted issue in the police department, where shooting a black man gives you paid leave while deciding NOT to kill a man gets you fired.

​What is the real message the police department is sending?  

We know we’re a little late on the Jordan Peele “Get Out” movie train, BUT we can’t stop obsessing.

From the #GetOutChallenge that went viral, to the many hidden race related messages that you would only get if you ARE black or have an understanding of the black culture, is what makes this movie the hit that it is.

By not shying away from resurfacing black trauma and since the film just released to DVD on Tuesday, we decided to take a closer look at the horror Chris faced and the real life American horror story connection.

Organ harvesting and why it continues to go unnoticed in the black community.

When people speak of organ harvesting, it is spoken of as an old urban myth as to the reasoning for the many cases that go unnoticed placing their stories silenced in the ‘sunken place’.

For those that haven’t seen the film, the story focuses on using black bodies as a host for the white mind. In other words, what the white man, (or woman) is lacking they acquire from their black ‘source’ by any means necessary. 

Mirroring the reality of cases that go silent in mainstream media, Peele shed a light on a horrifying truth of cases of black individuals that go missing.

According to Kulturekritik.com, calling the phenomenon of organ harvesting a conspiracy merely steals attention away from a growing problem in the Black community.  “The illegal harvesting of organs and tissue from Black men, woman, and children who are kidnapped and murdered is not covered widely in the mainstream media and is many times written off has more of a conspiracy theory than fact.” 

Kendrick Johnson whose case is still unsolved like many others, body was found inside of a wrestling mat back in 2013 after Lowndes County sheriff’s determined he got stuck after reaching for his shoe in the center of the mat. Aside from his strange death being ruled an ‘accident’; the Johnson's family had a private pathologist conduct a second autopsy which concluded that Kendrick died from non-accidental blunt force trauma to the neck. Aside from the new discovery it was also revealed that his organs were missing and body was stuffed with newspapers in its place. What makes this case even more questionable is the fact that:

#1) Suspects in question Brian and Branden Bell school athletes, whose father is an FBI agent, once challenged Kendrick to come to his house to fight his son.
(Family business)

#2) The Department of Justice has asked a judge in Lowndes County to block the attorneys from collecting evidence in that civil suit.
(Rose '"defending" Chris was only an attempt to avoid a paper trail)

#3) The Johnson's’ wrongful death suit claims that an unnamed female lured their son into the gym where he was fatally beaten by the brothers by request of their father. 
(Rose)

#4) Are WHITE
(Garden party)

​Jordan Peele’s film is pure brilliance that has sparked conversation beyond the Hollywood stage into the homes of the black audience.

With numerous lives lost to such a big business, especially towards poor blacks who would never draw substantial media attention, continue to fall victim. Cases where black individuals are found with organs missing from their bodies, is not just a coincidence, we need to remember to ‘stay woke’.

When are we going to start classifying “alt-rights” by what they are…RACISTS!?

​Bowie State University lost a graduate this commencement ceremony, to a racist man who killed Richard Collins III for no other reason than being BLACK.

Sean Urbanski, a University of Maryland student who belonged to a Facebook group named “Alt-Reich” whose members post disparaging material about African-Americans and others of a racist attacked Collins as he waited for an Uber ride along with two friends at an on-campus bus stop. 
​
According to witnesses, Urbanski walked up to them, and said, “Step left, step left if you know what’s best for you.” Collins simply replied, “No.” He stood his ground. Urbanski then stabbed him in the chest and fled the scene. Collins later died at the hospital.

Richard was honored during the commencement at the historically black college Tuesday with a chair placed in the front row, draped with a cap and gown and a moment of silence for the student, the cadet, the son and friend to many who are mourning on a day that should have been a celebration. 

No matter how great, a hater isn’t too far behind Serena Williams.

The tennis star is in the headlines yet again but this time over discrimination she faced while shopping in a store.

​After shopping at Gianvito Rossi (GR) a NYC luxury shoe brand, Serena Williams was called “disgusting” and was refused the same courtesies given to white celebrities.

​When the company was later pressured to do so by a contact at Vogue (who we assume must be WHITE), she was only offered a fraction of the discount that white celebrities typically receive. 

This statement was made by former manager Whitney Wilburn in a racial discrimination lawsuit. She believes that their actions “made it clear that the company did not want African American women to wear its shoes.”

Just early this month, actress Gabourey Sidibe was almost turned away at Chanel, until the saleswoman figured out that she is famous… Gabby said it best in her open letter to Lenny.com: 

​​What is the next move when it comes to shopping while black…Can anything be done about reoccurring issue? 

A black female security guard from Chicago was viciously attacked, after asking a man if he needed help after throwing up early Mother's Day morning.

Caught on surveillance outside a residential building in Chicago, security guard Zoa Stigler, 46, had a water bottle thrown at her before being punched in the face by Matthew De Leon, 23. Who then simply walked away with his three companions (who did nothing to help Stigler).

The blow to her face was so forceful, caused fractures that may require surgery, and left her unable to spend Mother’s Day with her two daughters.

De Leon has since been charged with three felony counts of aggravated battery for his horrendous crime. 

aIs the underlying message black women shouldn’t have hair AT ALL?

​Natural hairstyles are the only option that we as black women have as opposed to altering our hair completely by straightening or relaxing in order to be deemed acceptable by societies standards.

Whether you have dreads,an Afro, and now box braids the topic of hair on black women always seems to be an issue. 

TFifteen-year-old twins, Deanna and Mya Cook were served multiple detentions and were threatened with suspension from Mystic Valley Regional Charter School because their hair violates school dress code.

Really!?

It always seems to be the schools that are predominately white with dress codes that ‘surprisingly’ target black students.

While the school maintains that the box braid ban is to insure equality amongst all students, the policy against hair extensions disproportionately affects black students, who reportedly make up 17 percent of the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School’s student body’ according to the HuffingtonPost. 

Unfortunately stories like this are not new to black girls, who chose to wear their fros, puffs or twists, but boys are too facing the same discrimination when it comes to their hair. They might as well just say they don’t want to see black people be great.  

Sorry we forgot, what does hair have to do with a student’s education again? 

The Bill O’Rielly Factor is not a factor for you!

O’Reilly has finally been cut from Fox News, not for his racially charged commentary, but for a series of sexual harassment allegations; a common trait among some of those with high authority at Fox (i.e founder and former Chairman Roger Ailes). 

​Reports against O’Reilly were raised by Perquita Burgess, a black woman who worked as a clerical worker at Fox News, “hot chocolate” during her time at the network in 2008. O’Reilly would reportedly make her feel uncomfortable in other ways as well.

According to The Daily Mail, Attorney Lisa Bloom told The Hollywood Reporter that Burgess worked for another network back in 2008 but had a desk near O'Reilly's office, and claimed that he would refer to the African-American woman as 'hot chocolate' when he walked by during the day.

​When Burgess appeared on The View,  Sunny Hostin asks about the “hot chocolate” incident, Burgess described a moment when she was sitting in the plaza of her work building and O’Reilly passes her yelling,

She stated to the Global Grind, “I didn’t respond. I was mortified because not only was it sexual, I took that as a very plantation-al remark.”

Burgess didn’t report her incidents to her employer, but she still vented about the situation via social media.

​We are so glad that this aggressive predator is out of a job at Fox we can only pray that he does not gain an position with a man who feels he didn’t do anything wrong. Inside the oval office…

​Two black judges murdered just days apart… why is this not on every media outlet?

Associate Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam, who was an associate judge in New York’s highest court, was found dead in the Hudson River on Wednesday afternoon.  

After she was reported missing from her home in Harlem, officers with the New York Police Department’s Harbor Unit responded to a report of a person floating by the shore in Upper Manhattan, according to cotocrew.  Salaam, 65, was pronounced dead by paramedics shortly after her body was recovered from the river.

Just days later news broke that another black judge was murdered.

Judge Raymond Myles of Cook County was gunned down along with his girlfriend. Myles’s girlfriend, who survived the shooting, was initially targeted for personal reasons. 

According to CNN, Myles was known for being involved in the case against William Balfour, who was convicted of killing singer and actress Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew.

These two cases, though so different yet seem to be linked. When hearing that there was a death of these two prolific black judges, it’s easy to think ethnic cleansing of the courts. What a “coincidence” that two BLACK judges end up dead just days apart. Coincidence? Tell us what you think in the comments below. 

Activists are rebels, radicals, rioters, extremists, THUGS!

Well, those negative stereotypes of what some perceive an activist to be, did not stop 18-year-old American-Muslim Ziad Ahmed from letting his voice be heard on his college application to Stanford University.

According to the HuffingtonPost, in answer to the question, “What matters to you and why?” he made his point over and over again.

#BlackLivesMatter was written 100 times which caught the attention of the University and made no hesitation in sending him a letter of acceptance which he posted to Twitter.

Ahmed’s qualifications for the prestigious university did however extend beyond his now-viral answer.

As stated on the Independent, Ahmed is also involved in combating racial stereotypes, as the founder of teen organization Redefy and the co-founder of the youth-focused consultancy firm JÜV Consulting, he is a very hands on activist for social justice.

"Furthermore, it's critical to realize that one-fourth to one-third of the Muslim community in America are black... and to separate justice for Muslims from justices for the black community is to erase the realities of the plurality of our community."

​As for his emphasis on #BlackLivesMatter in the application, Ahmed also told Mic,

“To me, to be Muslim is to be a BLM ally, and I honestly can’t imagine it being any other way for me.”

In addition to Stanford, Ahmed was admitted to Princeton and Yale!

This is one teen that we are certain will be making a difference towards equality.  

It looks like Rikers Island is on the verge of being shut down but it might be paying homage to one of its detainees soon enough.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has made a proposal to shut down Rikers and replace it with new jails in every borough.

​Upon this announcement, NYC Public Advocate Letitia James is advocating to rename the island after Kalief Browder, the teenager from the Bronx whose memories of brutality and solitude while behind bars drove him to suicide. 

According to The Daily News, Kalief's older brother Akeem stated, “It’s something we’d have to think over. The people should have this victory…Maybe people will look at the Kalief Island, if they want to dub it that, and remember the tragedy that my brother went through.” 

His tragic story recently drew more focus after Jay Z’s Spike TV docu-series, Time: The Kalief Browder Story told Browder’s full story. 

As The Daily News reports, James suggested that the rename of the jail complex would be a move to recognize Kalief Browder and his lasting impact on the national conversation surrounding mass incarceration.

We can only hope that this rename will be the driving force that this country so desperately needs towards change.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

One word that is such a crucial and powerful tool in life, without it what does one have really?

​In the black community, let alone any community there is an underlying issue of colorism. Where women of lighter skin tones are perceived as the ones who are sought after, “wifey material” while women with darker skin complexions are viewed entirely different. 

There have been countless studies, documentaries, and testimonials made surrounding this issue and artist Lawrence Lindell decided that it was time to let black girls know that they are worth more then what society chooses to spoon feed them to believe.  

Lindell created the children’s book “From Black Boy with Love” which contains 24 pages of illustrations of young boys expressing uplifting messages of love to young black girls.

According to the HuffingtonPost, Lindell, who is a Compton, California, native, is all too aware of the toxic mentality some black men and boys hold toward black women and girls. He told The Huffington Post last week that the book is actually an “alternative to what [he] learned as a young boy.”

As a youth art educator, he too frequently sees children berating others with one of the first targets of mockery being a darker skin tone.

Lindell told the HuffingtonPost,“The first thing they go for when teasing each other is hair, body shape and skin tone,” Lindell said. “’You ol’ nappy-headed, black-ass charcoal looking girl,’ ‘with yo ugly fat ass.’ We have to change the narrative that the more melanin you have means you’re uglier and that natural hair is bad or improper.”

​This message that Lindell is hoping the youth with catch onto is so crucial at an early age. Especially with our current political office, more racial disparities against black women are sure to be had. 

He wanted for the black boys reading the book, to learn to respect all women, but in particular, black women.

If not anything else, his message is, “Black and brown boys, treat all girls with respect, but especially the ones who look like you, sound like you, live where you live; we have to take care of each other.”

Black women deserve the respect they are expected to give out. Treat our black women with love in a society that was conditioned not to do so. 

Just days after making headlines for clashing with Press Secretary Sean Spicer for shaking her head, April Ryan will now be joining CNN as a political analyst. 

Ryan who reports on the White House for American Urban Radio Networks announced Monday morning on Twitter her new position. 

According to the Washington Examiner, she has covered the White House for more than 20 years, since President Clinton’s second term. 

Ryan has been doing her job for and only started getting ridiculed since the Trump election.

According to Axios, during a February press conference, Ryan asked Trump how he would tackle urban issues, as well as whether he was planning on meeting with the Congressional Black Congress. Trump told Ryan he'd be happy to meet with them, and then asked: "Are they friends of yours?" His answer quickly went viral. 

Between Trump and his minions, looks like Ryan will have the last laugh.

Shake your head at that Mr. Spicer!

​Bill O’Reilly is just another racist misogynist man to add to the extensive list. Comparing Rep. Maxine Water’s hair to a James Brown wig is beyond logical minds as to what he was thinking to even come for a woman of her caliber in such a manner. 

He needs to take several seats ASAP.

When asked to comment on a speech by Maxine Waters where she questioned Donald Trump’s patriotism, O’Rielly opted to focus on her appearance claiming that he was so distracted by her hair he was unable to listen to her speech.

Focusing on her appearance first as opposed to her words on a political matter only reinforces that a woman is still objectified no matter how educated she may be.

​If you’re a woman, a man feels that he is entitled to making the decision as to whether or not he wants to listen to you and that he can do or say whatever he wants (Our current president being a prime example)

But if you’re a person of color AND a woman…Good luck. The struggle of getting old white men who feel ‘entitled’ to listen such as O’Reilly is a battle within itself. They do whatever they can to break down and intimidate those they feel threatened by.

Would the same have been told to a white woman? There is a long on going history when it comes to black women and the topic of hair. This is a topic that stings all too much; the black community is constantly ridiculed for having hair that is different to the ‘norm’.

​Despite O’Rielly trying to veer the conversation another direction with his comments, they have not stopped Waters from addressing how she still feels about Trump and his administration.

The hashtag #BlackWomenAtWork began to trending on twitter not long after O'Reilly's comments, that discussed the challenges that black women face at work.

According to CNN.com Waters told MSNBC's Chris Hayes that she didn't care about O'Reilly.

These white men are on a roll this week!

From Bill O’Rielly and his sexist/racist comments towards Rep. Maxine Waters on live TV about her hair to Press Secretary Sean Spicer who demeaned and scolded April Ryan, a longtime White House correspondent during a briefing for shaking her head.

When Ryan tried to ask a question about Russia, Spicer constantly interrupted her to avoid having to answer her question.

Diverting the question is a trait all too familiar with these white men who feel they are ‘entitled’.

According to people.com, Ryan asked Spicer how the administration will “revamp its image” in regard to a variety of issues from the president’s first two months in office – including Trump’s connection to Russia. 

Interrupting Ryan, Spicer firmly asserted,

“I’ve said it from the day that I got here until whatever that there is no connection. You’ve got Russia. If the President puts Russian salad dressing on his salad tonight, somehow that’s a Russian connection.”

She tried to follow up with a question about Trump making amends with Condoleezza Rice when Spicer stated how Ryan is ‘hell-bent’ on trying to paint the White House in a bag image.

Who would have thought that doing your job would cause such controversy?

Spicer then spewed the phrase that was met with shock and fury from viewers on and off social media.

This is an act of dominance. Telling a grown woman to stop making a gesture because you don’t agree with her stance?

After the altercation between these two women in the workforce, twitter user Brittany Packnett started the #BlackWomenAtWork hashtag, which quickly started trending. With the hashtag, various black women tweeted out the many macro-aggression's they’ve experienced in the workplace.

According to the Baltimoresun, even Hillary Clinton chimed in on the issues that minority women have to face in the workforce.

“Now, too many women, especially women of color, have had a lifetime of practice taking precisely these kinds of indignities in stride. But why should we have to? And any woman that thinks these couldn’t be directed at her is living in a dream world.”

She mentioned the altercation, during a speech for a Professional Business Women of California conference in San Francisco Tuesday. 

This is the year of the women, we need to continue to stand up and speak out against injustices until we win the fight towards equality. 

A hate crime in the streets of New York leaves many unsure as to where America is heading.  

A white man from Baltimore told police that he traveled all the way to New York solely to KILL black men.

Sounds like modern day lynching in this Trump era America.
Carrying out acts of hate because someone is black, feeling need to make America a better place or "great again".

Sound familiar?

According to the Washington Post, police say James H. Jackson, 28, of Baltimore told detectives that he traveled to New York from Maryland on a bus last week “for the purpose of killing black men,” according to a complaint filed in New York Criminal Court.

​Jackson turned himself in about 24 hours after fatally stabbing a man he encountered on the street officials stated. The man Jackson encountered was 66-year-old Timothy Caughman, a former social worker who, in his retirement years, had taken to recycling to keep busy and help pay for his apartment, a room in a building for people transitioning from homelessness to permanent housing.

​Caughman was at the wrong place at the wrong time and being black only made him more of a target.

Being black and living in America is a crime in itself to racists like Jackson who targeted black men for death to make a statement about the kind of society that he wants to have.  

Motivated purely by hatred, he said to have settled on New York because of the flood of media there and his goal was to draw the widest possible attention to his murderous plan.

​Authorities described the suspected attacker as someone who had long harbored feelings of hatred toward black men before violently acting on them this week. 

This was nothing more than a message of hate that is all too familiar if you take a look back at America’s history with hate crimes against the black community. 

​Trump has yet to ‘tweet’ about the issue of the hate crime that occurred. Can’t say that we aren’t surprised that his little Twitter fingers have gone cold. 

​Have you received an amber alert on your phone lately about any missing girls of color? Or have you seen constant news coverage of any of these missing children? 

​Any? 

​ Just one? 

But we can remember missing cases like JonBenét Ramsey, who still to this day gets news coverage and her story occurred back in 1996!

Why is it that whenever missing children of color go missing, the media goes silent?

On social media, people are using the hashtag #MissingDcGirls to voice frustration over lack of media coverage in cases of missing black and Latina girls.

According to cnn.com In a letter Tuesday, the lawmakers asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director James Comey to "devote the resources necessary to determine whether these developments are an anomaly, or whether they are indicative of an underlying trend that must be addressed."

An outcry on social media has drawn increased attention to the issue this month and triggered the calls for federal law enforcement officials to investigate.

CNN stated that still, numbers alone do not tell the entire story, DC City Council member Trayon White told HLN's Michaela Pereira in an interview Friday.

"What the community is alarmed about -- we had a 10-year-old girl missing the other day, but there was no amber alert," White said. "We just feel like, you know if this was a white person or from another neighborhood, there would be more alarm about it."

This happens all too often where white children receive amber alerts while children of color seem to continue to slide under the radar.

According to journalismcenter.org, there is a system aside from Amber alerts that is used only for children of color called Rilya alerts. Rilya alerts are named in honor of Rilya Wilson, who disappeared unnoticed from Florida’s foster care system at age 4.

Why are there two separate systems for missing children, you might ask. When any child goes missing there should not be ranking order.

According to journalismcenter.org, the need for an extra alert system for racial minorities stems largely from a phenomenon known as “Missing White Girl Syndrome" — a tendency by the news media to cover the murders and abductions of affluent or middle-class white girls far more than those of boys, poor kids and kids of color, especially African-Americans.

​An estimated 42 percent of missing children are black.

This is why it is up to us to continue to use our social media platforms to bring awareness to issues that most of the time go overlooked.

For the people want to say ‘all lives matter’, if that statement is true…then why must we continue to prove that Black lives are worth saving too? 

Dear Ben Carson,

Mr. Carson…oh Mr. Carson…                             

As a newly elected secretary of Housing and Urban Development, you are definitely sparking attention after those remarks; you know the one where you referred to slaves as “immigrants”.

We know that with this new position, you may be busy researching what it actually is that a housing secretary does. Just don’t neglect time to actually process your thoughts before speaking to a large crowd.

You stated during your first speech to department employees, “That’s what America is about”. A land of dreams and opportunity.” Yes for SOME this is the land of opportunity, but not everyone is fortunate enough to reap the benefits of this American dream.

Many do travel to America in the hopes of seeking refuge, but is there such thing as an immigrant seeking refuge from America?

An immigrant comes to another land by CHOICE. A slave didn’t have that liberty of CHOICE, but was taken from a land that they were not asking to be ‘saved’ from. 

The story of the slave and the immigrant is not to be conjoined like the twins you successfully separated, but treated as separate entities as they indeed are.

Please don’t make the black community disown you.

Sincerely,

​Concerned citizens of the U.S.

Welcome to the beginning of Black History Month! Or is it now African-American History Month?

​We can all attest to freaking out a bit when we came across headlines such as this: 

But looks like it was all just a RUMOR…

Trump stated that the term ‘Black History’ was outdated and felt that African American History Month was better suited.

According to wusa9.com in 1986 congress passed the Public Law 99-244, which designated February in 1986 as "National Black (Afro-American) History month.

Trump is not the first president to make the proclamation of referring to Black History as African American History. Every president dating back to George H. W. Bush in 1992 has issued a decree about national African American History Month, according to wusa9.com.

The terms Black History Month and African American History Month have been used interchangeably since 1986 based on the congressional law.

So hold your stones Donald Trump did NOT change anything around, the name Black History will continue to live on.  

Since 2014 when the city water crises all began, nothing has yet to be done about the issue.

When the Flint River became the drinking water source for residents, almost immediately, residents of Flint a majority black community in poverty started complaining about the quality of the water. City and state officials denied for months that there was a serious problem.

​A federal state of emergency was declared just only in 2016 after over 100,000 residents were potentially exposed to high levels of lead.

According to dailycaller.com, residents of Flint, Michigan who say the Environmental Protection Agency mismanaged the water crisis that exposed thousands of children to lead poisoning have sued the U.S. government, seeking class action status for their claims.

State officials stated that the levels of detected led in Flint's drinking water supply had fallen below federal limits. Until the pipes can be replaced residents are urged to keep using filtered water for consumption and daily use.

It is believed that nearly 2,000 citizens in Flint, Michigan affected by lead poisoning have sued the U.S. federal government for its failure to handle the crisis.

As stated by the dailycaller.com, the lawsuit claims that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) failed to take the proper steps to ensure that state and local authorities were addressing the crisis. The defendants are seeking a civil action lawsuit for $722 million in damages. 

In the year of 1955 (only 62 years ago!) in racially segregated Money Mississippi, Emmet Till was brutally murdered at the hands of two white men for whistling at a white woman. Those men believed that he was guilty of a crime worthy of death.

Now, what is to be said if that story didn’t need to happen?

​That the brutal murder of 14-year-old Emmit Till occurred over something that didn’t even take place… because it was ALL A LIE!

Carolyn Bryant who accused Emmit of the supposed crime has only just admitted to lying about what took place that August evening in the store.
 
Bryant spoke to Timothy Tyson author of the new book ‘The Blood of Emmit Till’ admitting that her testimony against Till was ‘not true’ in regards to claims of Emmett grabbing and verbally abusing her, the most damaging part of her testimony.

According to Vanity Fair, Carolyn Bryant testified that Emmett “had grabbed her and verbally threatened her. She said that while she was unable to utter the ‘unprintable’ word he had used ... ‘he said [he had]’—done something—‘with white women before.’”

“That part’s not true,” Donham reportedly told Tyson about her claim that Emmett made verbal and physical advances toward her.
 
Vanity Fair also stated that Donham was the one to approached Tyson because she was writing her memoirs. Her daughter had reportedly admired Tyson’s earlier book Blood Done Sign My Name, which is centered on another racially charged murder committed by someone known to Tyson’s family.
 
Carolyn said the loss of her own son helped her to understand and feel a ‘tender sorrow’ for Emmett's mother, who died in 2003 after decades spent advocating for her son and civil rights.

​Though his murder was a catalyst for the American civil rights movement, it was an act that cost the life of a 14-year-old child. A child kidnapped and brutally murdered for supposedly whistling at a white woman. Funny…he may not have even whistled; he was said to have a lisp.
 
This unsettling revelation only further proves the amount of work that is left to be done to tackle the issue of racism.

Before leaving office in January, President Obama has signed a legislation that allows the Department of Justice and the FBI to reopen unsolved civil rights crimes from the 1960’s and earlier. 

The Emmet Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act got its name from the 14-year-old Chicago native who was kidnapped from his uncle’s home in Mississippi and brutally lynched in 1955 by two white men for whistling at a white woman.

This bill was created to seek justice for racially-motivated crimes.

According to TheHuffingtonPost.com, the bill was first introduced by activist Alvin Sykes in 2005 after promising Till’s mother that he would pursue her son’s case after the two men were acquitted, USA Today reports. 

The new 2016 version of this bill will call for “the full accounting of all victims whose deaths or disappearances were the result of racially-motivated crimes” and for authorities to hold criminals accountable. The law summary also states that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI will keep families regularly informed about the status of the investigations as well as making case information accessible to the public.

The original bill that was signed in 2007 that was set to expire next year, limited any investigations before 1970. With this new bill it is allowing more cases to be opened in the hopes of bringing justice to so many families. 

​The nearly 300 Nigerian school girls captured by Boko Haram back in April of 2014, endured leaving one capture to be held at the hands of another.

Despite being brought back from captors they have been kept in government custody since their release.

The 21 school girls that were released from their captors after Red Cross negations in October were unable to spend Christmas in their home towns.

​According to BBC.com, the girls were retained in a politician’s home and barred from going home to their families. It was stated that those released from captivity were being held at the capital for trauma counseling and rehabilitation.

The girls demanded to spend Christmas with their families but were appeased by the government with claims that their parents would be flown out to Abuja according to the human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe.

He said the girls insisted on being at home and arrived in Chibok on Christmas Eve but were held at a legislator’s house.

Even after Christmas they were not allowed to see their parents until Borno State Gov. Kashim Shettima arrived Monday, with cameras to have his photograph taken officially presenting the girls to their parents, Ogebe said.

"I can't believe my daughter has come this close to home but can't come home," said one father according to BBC.

The government is set to release the rest of the girls to their families but is taking extra precautions to ensure that this abduction never occurs again. 

In Monday night’s interview “Michelle Obama Says Farewell to the White House”  which aired on CBS,  Oprah Winfrey had the honor of giving the First Lady her final one-on-one interview inside of the white house.

Gaining insight from the first lady herself as to what the position meant to her and what she takes away from this experience.

Throughout her time in Washington as a now public political icon, she had her own share of ‘politics’ that she faced.

Being the first BLACK first lady, no doubt made a huge impact to the black community but that also meant facing challenges. Racially charged accusations have shadowed the Obamas through-out the entire political campaign and presidency, so it was no surprise when Oprah raised a question that reflected an assumption made about Michelle.

Oprah asked, “When you were labeled that angry black woman, was that one of the things that knocked you back?”

Michelle replied, “That was one of those things that you just sort of think, ‘dang, you don’t even know me’, you know? And then I thought, ‘OK, well. Let me live my life outload so that people can then see and then judge for themselves.”

She did just that.

​The doors of their home (the white house) were opened to those that are typically unwelcomed beyond the gates.

Entrance was granted to people of every ethnicity; their cultures were welcomed with open arms which lifted barriers that had yet to be raised. This approach of unity with no limitations created a sense of hope for those on the outside looking in.

Michelle and Oprah also touched on how much representation matters. Not only is she a beacon of hope for little girls and boys of color everywhere but she inspires those same children by the life choices she made before becoming first lady.

​​A Princeton and Harvard Law graduate (the ONLY First Lady to hold two Ivy League Degrees) shows that people that look like us CAN achieve great things and CAN reach high positions in life, that anything is possible. 

Despite her own achievements spectators still subjected her to racial stereotypes that challenged her qualifications of even being a first lady. She took this moment to address the underlying issue of the racial divide in the U.S.

Michelle stated, “You start thinking, oh wow, were so afraid of each other. You know? Color.  Wealth. These things that don’t matter still play too much of a role in how we see one another. And it’s sad because the thing that least defines us as people is the color of our skin.”

The issues that Mrs. Obama was subjected to, is in part why she decided to be open and show the world who she really is as not only just a first lady but as a wife, a mother, a friend.

The interview with Oprah revealed her aspirations for the future and her message for our country which is to simply have ‘hope’ which happened to be her husband President Barack Obama’s campaign slogan.

She stated how important it is to have this key element and for the first time in this country we will begin to experience what not having hope feels like (in reference to the president elect Trump)

​Moving forward she encourages everyone no matter the adversity that we may face that we are to stay vigilant and not let opposing opinions stop us from the fight of obtaining HOPE. 

​Two black men are left confused (not to mention racially profiled against) after cops are called on them for asking for sliced cheese in a local convince store.

Sounds a little too silly to be true right...well believe it because this is what happened to Rick Berry and his roommate Phillip Blackwell on a late-night food run to a CVS in Richmond, Virginia.
On Tuesday night after speaking to one of the store employees and being told that the store does not carry what they were searching for, the roommates carried on browsing. Moments later they realized all of the employees including the one they just spoke to vanished.

‘We looked around for probably 30, 45 minutes and we couldn’t find anybody.’ Berry stated.

According to nydailynews.com Berry explained that they were left alone in the store along with one other customer who was also searching for an employee that would be able to check them out.

Not long after, a police officer arrived to the ‘scene’ after receiving a call from inside the store from one of the CVS employee’s.

Berry stated that the officer was just as confused as them about the ordeal that was taking place.

'Sliced cheese, all I asked for was sliced cheese,' Berry told WRIC.

They later found the workers who ‘feared for their lives’ (sound familiar?) hiding in a locked room in the back of the store.

The officers then informed them that they needed to leave the premises or else they would be arrested for trespassing. (WHAT!?)

According to the huffingtonpost.com the CVS Communications Director Michael J. DeAngelis issued an apology stating that it is against policy for employees to leave the sales floor unstaffed during hours of operation and the company is “reinforcing the appropriate way for employees to respond to what they believe may be a security concern.”

​Acting as though every black person is a criminal is a disgusting stereotype that can ultimately put innocent lives at risk. All we can do is be thankful that these men were not harmed in this ridiculous call for ‘help’.