Obama, in Oklahoma, Takes Reform Message to the Prison Cell Block
EL RENO, Okla. (New York Times) — They opened the door to Cell 123, and President Obama stared inside. In the space of 9 feet by 10 feet, he saw three bunks, a toilet with no seat, a night table with...
View ArticleSaying You’re Sorry isn’t Sufficient
By Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. NNPA Columnist “That’s what strikes me. There for the grace of God.” That was President Obama’s reaction when he became the first sitting U.S. president to visit a federal...
View ArticlePilot Program to Provide Federal Student Aid to Prisoners
JENNIFER C. KERR, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Some federal and state prisoners could soon be eligible for federal student aid to take college courses while behind bars. The aid would come in the...
View Article‘Obama Eight’ Adjust to Life After Life Sentences
WASHINGTON (USA Today) — One is a high school counselor. Two or three work in restaurants. Some can’t find a job. Others have slipped into obscurity. The Obama Eight, as they call themselves, don’t fit...
View ArticleClosing of Baltimore Detention Center Marks a Milestone
BRIAN WITTE, Associated Press ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — An announcement by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan that he is closing the Baltimore City Detention Center marked a milestone in long-standing problems with...
View ArticleCongresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Unveils Legislation to Address Law...
By Jeffrey L. Boney Special to the NNPA from the Houston Forward Times Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on...
View ArticleMore People Are Dying in Custody. And More People Are Committing Suicide in...
(The Washington Post) – A lot of people die behind bars each year in the United States. And the number is going up, according to the Justice Department. The number of people who died in jail or prison...
View ArticleThousands of California Convicts to Regain Voting Rights
JULIA HOROWITZ, Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California restored voting rights Tuesday to tens of thousands of criminals serving sentences under community supervision, reversing a...
View ArticleMass Incarceration’s Failure: America’s Bias in Arrest, Conviction and...
(The Huffington Post) – Mass incarceration has become one of the most debated criminal justice issues in American media. Through this dialogue a movement to decrease the number of people imprisoned has...
View ArticleFoes of Solitary Confinement See Hope in Kennedy Comments
SAM HANANEL, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Prison reform advocates who have spent years campaigning against solitary confinement are counting on a powerful new ally in their quest to end the...
View Article‘Even Less Representative’ Than Cops: Why Prosecutors’ Offices Also Need...
(Salon) – The brutal and iniquitous treatment African-Americans suffer at the hands of their criminal justice system has been a chief topic of conversation in the American mainstream for much of the...
View ArticleCalifornia to End Unlimited Isolation for Most Gang Leaders
DON THOMPSON, Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California agreed Tuesday to end its unlimited isolation of imprisoned gang leaders, restricting a practice that once kept hundreds of inmates...
View ArticleBittersweet Reward for Brothers Wrongly Imprisoned 30 Years
JONATHAN DREW, Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Receiving $750,000 apiece for wrongful imprisonment is a bittersweet reward for two North Carolina brothers who suffered an emotional and physical...
View ArticleCalifornia Data Shows Racial Disparity in Arrests, Deaths
TAMI ABDOLLAH, Associated Press AMANDA LEE MYERS, Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Just 6 percent of Californians are African American, yet they are involved in 17 percent of all arrests in the...
View ArticleNYPD Officers Sue Saying They’re Being Punished For Refusing To Discriminate
(Think Progress) – More than two years after a class action lawsuit exposed the quota policy behind the NYPD’s rampant use of stop-and-frisk, new lawsuits filed this week allege the system requiring...
View ArticleFeds Launch Pilot College Program for Prisoners
By Jazelle Hunt NNPA Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) — Brandyn Heppard usually arrives 30 minutes early for his visits to Northern State Prison in Newark, N.J. He puts his pre-approved...
View ArticlePhiladelphia Corrections Officers Accused of Selling Drugs, Phones to Inmates
PHILADELPHIA (CBS News) — Four current and two former correctional officers within the Philadelphia prison system have been charged with supplying drugs and cell phones to inmates in exchange for cash,...
View ArticleReport Details Economic Hardships for Inmate Families
(New York Times) – A survey of families that have a family member in jail or prison has found that nearly two-thirds struggle to meet their basic needs, including 50 percent that are unable to afford...
View ArticleRep. Maxine Waters Wants to Rid Mandatory Minimums
“Mandatory Minimums: New Opportunities for Criminal Justice Reform” by Linda Poulson Special to the NNPA from the Afro-American Newspaper Mandatory minimum sentencing is an out-of-touch, unfair...
View ArticleAnother State Faces Allegations of Illegally Jailing Poor
(NBC News) – A growing movement against the jailing of poor offenders who cannot pay fines has hit New Hampshire, where the local American Civil Liberties Union says it has uncovered a pattern of...
View ArticleDocumentary Featuring Obama Prison Visit Debuts in Oklahoma
TIM TALLEY, Associated Press EL RENO, Okla. (AP) — Federal inmates at an Oklahoma prison said Wednesday they are hoping a documentary featuring President Barack Obama’s July visit to the facility and...
View ArticleBlack Lives Matter: National Town Hall Held at Congressional Black Caucus
By Jerry Ford II Special to the NNPA from the Houston Forward Times Hundreds packed the Washington Convention Center as an early crowd witnessed the “Black Lives Matter-Ending Racial Profiling, Police...
View ArticleJustice After Injustice
(Slate) – Early in the morning on Jan. 3, 1984, Janet Burke, a 20-year-old white woman, was opening the day care center where she worked at the East End Church in Richmond, Virginia. After she locked...
View ArticleThe Secret to Success for All Students Is Parental and Community Engagement
Dr. Elizabeth Primas says that the Every Student Succeeds Act places increased priority on parental engagement.
View ArticleCongressional Black Caucus Chairman Testifies EXACTLY what Kavanaugh...
AFRIAN AMERICAN NEWS & ISSUES— Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s record on criminal justice is “entirely...
View ArticleVoters will issue final verdict on Dallas District Attorney race
NORTH DALLAS GAZETTE — For months now, Republican Faith Johnson and Democrat John Creuzot have strenuously competed to serve as the Dallas District Attorney.
View ArticleThe Growing and Disproportionate Imprisonment of Black Women in America
NNPA NEWSWIRE — While Black women overall are twice as likely to be imprisoned as their white counterparts, Black women ages 18 to 19 are three times more likely to be imprisoned than their white...
View ArticleCOMMENTARY: Prison Reform Now!
DALLAS POST TRIBUNE — In the few remaining weeks of the 115th Congress it is imperative that we witness the passage of legislation that will, among other things, overhaul the nation’s sentencing...
View ArticleMpls & St. Paul NAACP chapters unite to target state’s racial wealth gap
MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN-RECORDER — A new plan is being formed to help address the racial wealth gap in Minnesota
View ArticleRussell Hornsby: “Proven Innocent,” Actor is a Proven Talent
NNPA NEWSWIRE — “A dear friend of mine used to say there was a time when boats were made of wood and men were made of steel. That’s what I want our people [black people] to see on this show,” says...
View ArticleCOMMENTARY: Experts: ‘Jury of your Peers’ Rarely Applies to African Americans
NNPA NEWSWIRE — “Race has a tremendous impact in criminal trials, at least one African American juror can help even the playing field when it comes to verdicts. Race matters in the courtroom and race...
View ArticleLee & DeSaulnier Host Town Hall about Race in America
OAKLAND POST — The panel tackled issued such as gentrification, mass incarceration, and immigration. Congresswoman Lee noted that this year marks 400 years since the first African slaves were brought...
View ArticleSPECIAL REPORT: Mass Incarceration of Women and Minorities a New Crisis
NNPA NEWSWIRE — Probation is often billed as an alternative to incarceration, but instead it is frequently set with unrealistic conditions that undermine its goal of keeping people from being locked...
View ArticleSenator Kamala Harris and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Introduce...
NNPA NEWSWIRE — On Wednesday, July 10, California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced the introduction of their Fair Chance at Housing Act to remove...
View ArticleBoudin Runs for District Attorney
OAKLAND POST — Running for San Francisco District Attorney to challenge the system of mass incarceration, SF Deputy Public Defender Chesa Boudin has gained the backing of civil rights attorney Pamela...
View Article‘Weeping Time’ Author, Historian Anne C. Bailey Discusses Slave Auctions and...
NNPA NEWSWIRE — An auction took place on March 2 and 3, 1859, at the Ten Broeck Racetrack, where slaves were housed in the stables. The auction resulted in the sale of 436 slaves for more than $300,000...
View ArticleThe Changing Demographics of Mass Incarceration
ATLANTA DAILY WORLD NEWS — The SPLC and many other advocates have shed light on how the criminal justice system criminalizes the poor and people of color and incarcerates them at disproportionate rates...
View ArticleTrump Delivers 2019 Second Step Presidential Justice Forum Keynote at HBCU...
NNPA NEWSWIRE — Hosted by the 20/20 Bipartisan Justice Center, a nonprofit founded by a bipartisan group of African American leaders from across the country who advocate for criminal justice reform,...
View ArticleCOMMENTARY: Racism and Sexism Help End Kamala Harris’ Presidential Campaign
NNPA NEWSWIRE — “I’m mad at the triple standard [Harris] has to face when it comes to her race and gender, putting food on the table and choosing a life partner. I’m mad that so-called allies are only...
View ArticleOP-ED: New York City is Moving on Up
NNPA NEWSWIRE — In December 2020, Mayor DeBlasio and the New York City Council announced more than 150 awardees of the Complete Count Fund. Each awardee received from $15,000 to $250,000 to engage in...
View ArticleOP ED: America Should Embrace Prison Returnees to Our Communities
NNPA NEWSWIRE — Many residents in DC share the conviction that we must do far more to lend a hand to the thousands of individuals — disproportionately black men aged 21 to 30 — who return to the...
View ArticleLEAP Warns Potential Menthol Ban Would Increase Police Interaction with Black...
NNPA NEWSWIRE — “There is truth to the fact that lives will be saved because of the number of African Americans who smoke menthol cigarettes, but that doesn’t address the black market it creates for...
View ArticleTrump Promises “Platinum Plan” for Black Americans
NNPA NEWSWIRE — Trump’s proposals for Black America include prosecuting Antifa and the the Ku Klux Klan, making Juneteenth a holiday on the federal level proposals focused on Black wealth. Trump’s...
View Article‘How Did 12 Percent of Black Men vote for Trump?’
NNPA NEWSWIRE — In Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign, 95 percent of Black male voters and 96 percent of Black women chose him, NBC News reported. Four years later, Black women’s support...
View ArticleCUNY Study Underscores the Enduring Vitality of the Black Press
By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia The racial awakening after the death of George Floyd didn’t prove as much of an arousal for mainstream media, after all....
View ArticleBlack Pastors and Churches Challenged, Mobilize to Brunswick, GA Ahmaud...
By Pat Bryant A modern-day lynching is what Civil Rights and Freedom Movement leaders are calling the death of Ahmaud Arbery and the trial of three White men accused of his murder. Black pastors,...
View ArticlePRESS ROOM: New N’COBRA Study Finds Genetic Damage from Historical Racism...
“The wounds inflicted by the legacy of slavery linger heavily in this nation.” — U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) CHICAGO – When the wounds are caused by generations of racism, it takes a group like...
View ArticleOP-ED: FDA — Smoking While Black and Brown in America
By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, President and CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association Whenever the history of racial discrimination in the United States appears to repeat itself, it produces...
View ArticleInstallation Invoking Black Struggle for Justice in Opens May 14 at Oakland...
By Randolph Belle A traveling exhibit that invokes the history of repression of Blacks in the United States arrived in Oakland for installation this week at Frank Ogawa Plaza. Support Oakland Artists,...
View ArticleCOMMENTARY: Juneteenth Holiday Touches Collective Memory of African American:...
By Wanda J. Ravernell It was a long time coming. For centuries, they had prayed, fought and died seeking freedom from slavery. The day they had awaited they called ‘Jubilee.’ Depending on where they...
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