Rick Iwanski was disappointed, but not surprised, when prosecutors announced that no charges would be filed against a Fayetteville, North Carolina, police officer who fatally shot his 22-year-old granddaughter, Jada Elizabeth Johnson, with 17 bullets to the back. Johnson was experiencing an undiagnosed mental health crisis when police were called to her grandfather’s home on […]
North Carolina
Posted inPolitics & Policy
North Carolina Judges’ Rulings Are a ‘Gut Punch’ to Black Residents
Voting rights advocates are undaunted by the blows that the Republican-controlled North Carolina Supreme Court has struck against access to the ballot box and fair representation — and that will disproportionately disadvantage Black people in the state. “This is where SNCC [the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee] was founded. This is where Ella Baker grew up,” […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Policing
Family of Black Mom Shot 17 Times in the Back by Police Sues
Last summer, Jada Elizabeth Johnson was shot in the back 17 times by a police officer after she was disarmed and pinned down by another officer during a mental health crisis, according to a federal lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed April 7, provides more details about what happened inside her grandfather’s Fayetteville, North Carolina, home on July […]
Posted inEducation, HBCUs
An HBCU Student’s Viral Classroom Arrest Sparks Alarm and Anger on Campus
Distressing cellphone video of police officers arresting a student at a North Carolina HBCU following a verbal altercation with her professor has reignited debate about the use of law enforcement in education and has some people wondering: Where are Black students safe? Police at Winston-Salem State University arrested the student in front of her class […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voices of Change
Will a Red State Elect a Black, Female Democrat to the U.S. Senate? Cheri Beasley Thinks So.
Cheri Beasley would make history this November if she wins the election to become North Carolina’s first Black U.S. senator. Beasley and a fellow Democrat, U.S. Rep. Val Demings of Florida, are two Black women vying for a seat in the Senate, which currently has no Black women after former Sen. Kamala Harris of California […]
