Free Republic

COLUMBIA, Md. — Please God, give me salvation — and a car. That prayer may have been uttered by more than a few people at a Maryland church on Sunday. That’s because Destiny Church in Columbia handed out five used cars to demonstrate God’s goodness and to attract new members. Pastor Stephen Chandler said the predominantly African-American church normally draws up to 1,100 people. This week, the church gave away 2,250 tickets in advance of three services.

For some descendants of persons held in U.S. chattel bondage, no monetary sum can compensate for the enslavement of their ancestors. However, for those looking for a number, there are various ways to calculate the value of involuntary servitude. Here’s one of them. Calculating Reparations: $1.5 Million for Each Slave Descendant in the U.S. by Denis Rancourt This article previously appeared on Mr. Rancourt’s web site, Activist Teacher. “This calculation includes only the money due to ancestors and their descendants, in terms of the stolen actual labor counted in person-hours.” It is not difficult to calculate a MINIMUM amount of...

A huge 88 percent of blacks believe more change is needed before they have equal rights with whites, and about half, 43 percent, don't believe racism will end, according to a sweeping new survey by Pew Research Center of race in America. In a three-month survey of 3,769 adults — 1,799 whites, 1,004 blacks and 654 Hispanics — Pew found that whites and blacks have starkly different views on race and race relations.

Your trip to the mall could leave you with a shopping injury. A new study shows Alabama is one of the most dangerous states for Black Friday shopping. The blog Estately ranks our state as the third most dangerous for Black Friday shoppers. Arkansas is ranked number one, followed by Tennessee at number 2. Louisiana and Missouri round out the top 5.

Jeb Bush’s recent comments in South Carolina about Democrats getting black people to vote for them by promising them “free stuff” during election season is a powerful reminder that a leading Republican presidential candidate is woefully ignorant about contemporary race relations and the history that’s shaped the racial-justice struggle. Ironically, the former governor of Florida’s statement echoed Mitt Romney’s infamous remarks about the 47 percent of Americans who longed for government handouts, said while discussing minority-voter outreach and the Republican Party. During an interview with Fox News Sunday, Bush doubled down on his comments. “We need to make our case...

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More people with low incomes now live outside of cities, and some areas are ill-equipped to deal with the influx of the poor. NORCROSS, Ga.—Every weekday around 3:15 p.m., a big, yellow school bus stops on Pelican Drive outside Norcross Extended Stay, near the intersection with Best Friend Drive. Dozens of children file out, carrying their heavy backpacks away from the Wendy’s and the AutoZone, towards the cluster of aging three-story yellow buildings where they live. Some are met by waiting parents, others trek by themselves to the shabby motel rooms, marching past broken-down cars, their tires flat, scattered around...

Rapper Azealia Banks took to Twitter on Monday to urge her followers to push for reparations for African-Americans after the hip hop star seemed to realize just how much of America’s wealth came from slave trade. “They Owe us Money,” one tweet read. Another similar tweet read, “ITS MY MONEY, AND I WANT IT NOWWWWW!!!!!” At first glance, people may be rolling their eyes and assuming that Banks went on yet another expletive-filled Twitter rant launched by her beef with some other artist. This time around, however, her so-called Twitter rant was a bit more like a Twitter lecture. While...

Thefts at San Francisco’s swankiest stores have reached an epidemic level, as bad guys and bad gals grab high-end fashion items with near-impunity — with the “Rainbow Girls” leading the way.

Looting and violence has broken out in Ferguson in the wake of the decision not to indict Darren Wilson. Jake Tapper reported that people tried to smash in windows with bricks and police have fired tear gas to disperse crowds. Don Lemon is reporting people throwing bottles and confronting police. You can see pictures below and video underneath them:

A 911 call went out Saturday in Ferguson, Missouri where Michael Brown’s mother Lesley McSpadden was allegedly involved in a violent brawl with her dead son’s grandmother and cousin. According to a Fox affiliate, the fight started a few blocks from the street where Brown was shot and killed on August 9. The altercation allegedly ensued from a dispute about who had the right to sell Mike Brown merchandise.

The Ebola hoaxes have begun. Authorities in Columbus, Ohio, received a call around 9 p.m. Thursday, according to NBC's WCMH, claiming a local woman was suffering from Ebola-like symptoms. ABC's WSYX reported it was also claimed the woman had recently traveled to West Africa, where the Ebola outbreak has lead to almost 9,000 cases and 4,500 deaths.

At the St. Louis Cardinals’ game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night, Cardinal fans came face-to-face with Ferguson protestors chanting for justice for Michael Brown outside Busch Stadium. Near the beginning, the video shows a small group of protestors chanting “Justice for Mike Brown,” as a large group of fans chants, “Let’s go Cardinals.” Some fans later switch the chant to “Let’s go Darren,” referring to Darren Wilson.

THE Red Cross is investigating whether 600 million gamers are violating the Hague and Geneva conventions when they kill and blow stuff up for fun. Delegates at the 31st International Conference of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Red Crescent raised the concerns over the potential “International Humanitarian Law” violations – which can constitute war crimes - during a workshop in Geneva. “Exactly how video games influence individuals is a hotly debated topic, but for the first time, Movement partners discussed our role and responsibility to take action against violations of IHL in video games,” the Red Cross wrote in its...