• A Petition Has Been Filed by National Bar Association to Strip Darren Wilson of His Police Badge in Missouri

    About a week after learning that he would not be indicted for the Aug. 9 shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, Darren Wilson ironed out the details and resigned from the Ferguson Police Department. Wilson agreed with the department that it is in everyone's best interest that he not serve and protect in Ferguson again.His being on the streets would only put him as well as other officers at risk. While it seems unlikely that Wilson will patrol anywhere again, he has still retained his badge — and that is something the National Bar Association is not happy about.The country's oldest and largest group of African-American attorneys and judges have filed a nine-page petition requesting that Wilson be completely stripped of his badge. The official petition is requesting that the Missouri Department of Public Safety revoke Wilson's badge. While under oath, Wilson insisted that during his altercation with Brown he had feared for his life, but some naysayers believe the officer got away with murder.

  • Jeanine Pirro of Fox News Claims that 'Minority Communities' Need to Be More Sensitive Toward the Police

    Fox News often finds itself under fire for the stance that the network appears to take on hot-button issues, and right now nothing is more volatile than the tension between police and their handling of the black community. Last night, Jeanine Pirro decided to ask for viewer feedback on whether or not police should be more careful in the way they deal with incidences occurring in black communities and the response was quite unified.In between people stating the obvious — that if you are not breaking the law then you are less likely to find yourself tangled in any sort of altercation — there was also the thinking that communities need to be more mindful of the police. Pirro backed up that notion and, interestingly enough, it Is a sentiment that even New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has echoed.Basically, the thinking is that there is a rift, and in order to fix it both sides need to take steps toward meeting in the middle. He also admitted last week, shortly after it was announced that NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo would not be indicted in the chokehold death of Eric Garner, that his own biracial son has been directed on how to carry himself if he should be stopped by a police officer.

  • Wu-Tang Clan 'A Better Tomorrow' Video Features Footage from Michael Brown and Eric Garner Protests [WATCH]

    Wu-Tang Clan dropped a video for the title track off their new album "A Better Tomorrow," and it is one powerful, political visual. The group used footage from protests revolving around the recent decisions to not indict police officers who killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York. Both grand jury verdicts have caused unrest throughout the country and political debates among friends, family and famous personalities.The video opens with a snippet of an address by President Barack Obama, who says the incidents are part of larger issues that have been in the public eye for four decades. Scenes from protests follow, with police sporting riot gear and citizens chanting "Hands up, don't shoot.""We want justice," Raekwon raps. "Police are supposed to protect and serve / And then they shoot us down like wild animals, the nerve / Of them cold-hearted killers with blue suits / Slaying our black youth."Check out the video below.

  • Peaceful Protest Over Eric Garner's Chokehold Death Turns Violent in California

    Thousands of protestors met up in big cities across the country yesterday for a fourth day of making their displeasure with law enforcement in NYC and Ferguson, Missouri known. Nearly two weeks ago Darren Wilson walked away indictment-free in the Ferguson shooting death of Michael Brown. This past weeks' decision of a grand jury not to indict Daniel Pantaleo in the Staten Island chokehold death of Eric Garner took things to a completely different level. After the video of Garner's saying that he couldn't breath moments before dying hit the internet most people expect some charges to stick to Pantaleo. When they didn't it prompted people that normally don't get involved to speak up and rally for change. The majority of the protests have been peaceful with the exception of one in California last night.

  • John Legend, Common Share New Song - "Glory" - From Upcoming 'Selma' Film [LISTEN]

    The nominees for the 87th Academy Awards will be announced on Jan. 15 and today, R&B singer John Legend has shared his Best Original Song hopeful -- "Glory" -- which will be featured in the upcoming Martin Luther King, Jr. drama, 'Selma.' The song features some socially conscious guest verses from Common, who references the recent unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, and joins the ever-growing list of artists to release tribute songs to Michael Brown.

  • Michael Brown, Eric Garner: 10 Tribute Songs From T.I., Alicia Keys, J. Cole, And More

    Following the grand jury decisions regarding the police-related deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO and Eric Garner in Staten Island, NY, plenty of musicians have expressed their outrage and calls for peace and unity by releasing songs inspired by these incidents. Here are 10 songs inspired by the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.

  • Peaceful Protests Erupt All Over NYC After the Grand Jury Decides Not to Indict Daniel Pantaleo in Eric Garner Chokehold Death Case

    Almost immediately after it was announced yesterday that NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo would not be indicted for the chokehold death of Eric Garner in July on a Staten Island street, the backlash and disbelief began. If you tuned in to any of the news stations, then what you saw was inevitably heated debates between journalists and legal analysts over whether or not an indictment for any charge at all seemed like a no-brainer. Then last night, the peaceful protests began.Smaller groups in Harlem and Staten Island and at Grand Central Terminal were later followed by a march 5,000 people strong down Broadway through Times Square. Protesters are still rallying for some type of justice for Garner, who, just minutes before his death, broke up a fight between a few other people and then found himself surrounded by NYPD. A video of the entire altercation was caught on a cellphone and Garner's hands were clearly up as he backed away from officers who were determined to arrest him for selling loose cigarettes — a summary offense.Pantaleo wrestled Garner to the ground in what appeared to be a type of chokehold, something that has been banned by the NYPD. Even as Garner expressed his inability to breathe and another officer directed Pantaleo to release him, he continued the maneuver until Garner eventually died on that sidewalk. Ironically enough, after it was announced that the grand jury would not be charging Pantaleo with a single crime, he issued an apology to Garner's family, something his widow, Esaw Garner refused to accept.

  • Grand Jury Decision Imminent in NYPD Chokehold Death of Eric Garner

    While the majority of America has been focused on the fallout in Ferguson, Missouri, after Michael Brown's killer Police Officer Darren Wilson was not indicted, another eerily similar case has been starting to grab real attention. In July, Eric Garner was stopped on a Staten Island street and accused of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes by NYPD officers. As they closed in on Garner, he resisted a bit while asking them not to touch him, but eventually Officer Daniel Pantaleo placed Garner in a chokehold while wrestling him to the ground.Garner died on that sidewalk and a New York City grand jury has been deliberating since late September over whether or not Pantaleo should be charged, and it looks like their decision is imminent.This altercation was captured on video and it is absolutely horrific to hear Garner pleading with the officers, telling them flat out, "I can't breathe."Garner had asthma, and it has been determined that the chokehold combined with that and heart issues ultimately lead to his death. Peaceful protests have been occurring quite regularly in Garner's neighborhood, with many calling for criminal charges to be filed against Pantaleo.

  • Michael Brown's Ex-Con Stepfather Louis Head is Being Investigated for Inciting Ferguson Riots

    By now I think nearly everyone has seen the video of Michael Brown's stepfather shouting into the crowd, "Burn this b**** down!" shortly after the grand jury announced its' decision not to indict officer Darren Wilson for the Aug. 9 shooting that killed the teen. While many have said that Louis Head, Brown's step-dad, wasn't actually inciting violence, he was just reacting to the pain in that moment, the Ferguson police department doesn't necessarily see it that way.

  • Run The Jewels Shares Trippy Music Video For "Oh My Darling (Don't Cry)" [WATCH]

    El-P and Killer Mike continue their reign of terror with the release of the new Run The Jewels music video, "Oh My Darling (Don't Cry)," which you can check out here. The Timothy Saccenti-directed clip finds the duo rapping while standing back to back in a dark room with some flashing red and green lights. There are some occasional shots of naked women every once in a while, so this clip is a bit NSFW.

  • St. Louis Rams Insist That They Did Not Apologize to Police for 'Hands Up, Don't Shoot' Gesture

    It looks like finding middle ground and a truce between the St. Louis Rams and the St. Louis County police department is not going to be easy. The issue began when five St. Louis Rams players walked onto the field before Sunday, Nov. 30's game with their arms making a "hands up, don't shoot" gesture. The police department took extreme offense at the gesture, which was in reference to Darren Wilson's not being indicted in the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Now team officials and the police department are at odds over whether or not an apology was issued.On Monday, Dec. 1, the Rams's chief operations officer Kevin Demoff reached out to law enforcement to try and make peace. Demoff reportedly told police chief Jon Belmar that he "regretted any offense the officers may have taken and regretted that any members of the [Rams's] organization would act in a way that minimized the outstanding work that police officers and departments carry out each and every day."Even though Demoff said he never apologized, the chief believed it to be enough of an apology to send an email about the phone call to his staff.
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