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I was born in Anniston, Alabama, in the 50s and had to fight for my equality most of my life. You see, there were many who thought I should be treated like a second class citizen, drink from a different water fountain, sit in the back of the bus, be counted as three-quarters of a person, go to a different school, eat and sit in the black section of restaurants, use a different bathroom; you know, be separate but equal.

On Tuesday, Georgetown University Professor Michael Eric Dyson told MSNBC’s Martin Bashir that he believes, if the racial distinctions were reversed in the case against George Zimmerman for the 2012 murder of Trayvon Martin, the public’s reaction to the cases would be dramatically different. He added that the “George Zimmermans of the world continue to get away” with “the killing of our children” without facing justice. Dyson began by lamenting the course of court proceedings in which, he said, Martin was “dying again the death of a thousand qualifications, which is what our legal system is about.” “I don’t have...

The markings the fatal bullet left on Trayvon Martin's sweatshirt and body supports George Zimmerman's account that Martin was on top and leaning over him when Zimmerman shot and killed Martin, a leading forensics expert testified today. "The medical evidence is consistent with his statement," Dr. Vincent Di Maio told the Florida court. Di Maio said that the pattern of powder burns on Martin's sweatshirt and skin indicated that the shirt was two to four inches away from Martin's chest when he was shot by Zimmerman. "Mr. Martin was over him, leaning forward," he said. "If you are lying on...

A forensic expert testified Tuesday that Trayvon Martin's gunshot wound indicated that he was likely on top of George Zimmerman when the neighborhood watch volunteer shot him. Forensic pathologist Dr. Vincent Di Maio, an expert on gunshot wounds who has written and co-authored several articles and a book on the subject, said the single shot that killed the Florida teen passed through Martin's clothing as it hung 2-4 inches from his skin, indicating that Martin was over Zimmerman and leaning forward. "If you’re lying on your back, the clothing is going to be against your chest," Di Maio testified. "So...

As the trial continues into its 11th day, forensic pathologist Dr. Vincent Di Maio took the stand to describe how and where Trayvon Martin was shot by George Zimmerman. An expert on gunshot wounds, Di Maio, hired by the defense, testified Tuesday that George Zimmerman's account of how he fatally shot Trayvon Martin is consistent with the forensic evidence. Di Maio said that the trajectory of the bullet and gun powder on Martin's body supports Zimmerman's version that Martin was on top of him when Zimmerman fired his gun into Martin's chest. The gun's muzzle was against Martin's clothing and...

George Zimmerman's "nose was very disfigured" and blood covered much of his face immediately after his deadly confrontation with Trayvon Martin, a woman who previously lived near him in their Florida subdivision testified Tuesday. Eloise Dilligard, whose testimony was beamed into the courtroom via the web because of an undisclosed health problem, said she said went to the crime scene immediately after the Feb. 26, 2012 incident, and saw several residents of the gated community milling around. She said a police officer came up to her and asked for help identifying "someone who may know the people involved in the...

The Trayvon Martin case has been nothing short of heartbreak from the very beginning. Regardless of what anyone believes about Trayvon's past, his innocence or George Zimmerman's, the fact remains that a teenager is dead. I honestly didn't think I would get emotionally broken up more than I was over the story that Rachel Jeantel's friendship with Martin stemmed from the fact he was one of the only people who never picked on her. The story painted such a tragic picture of friendship and two people whose lives will never be the same. Then came this week's testimonies and reactions...

The woman who intervened when an officer pulled over one of her sons, leading to a racially-charged scuffle that set off the 1965 Watts riot, has died. The Los Angeles Times reports Saturday that Rena Price died of natural causes on June 10. She was 97. …

A 33-year-old Michigan woman and convert to Islam has been killed in Syria while fighting with opposition forces against the government of President Bashar al-Assad in the country's civil war, her family said on Thursday.

Charley Reese, a retired Orlando Sentinel columnist known for his conservative voice, has died, according to a Facebook post by his daughter. Reese, who was 76, died Tuesday after a long illness, according to the post. He was admitted to a hospital in February and later was transferred to a rehabilitation facility.

One day before President Obama is due to deliver a major speech on national security, his administration on Wednesday formally acknowledged that the United States had killed four American citizens in drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan. In a letter to Congressional leaders obtained by The New York Times, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. disclosed that the administration had deliberately killed Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Muslim cleric who was killed in a drone strike in September 2011 in Yemen. The American responsibility for Mr. Awlaki’s death has been widely reported, but the administration had until now refused to confirm...

Head of the NBC News Group Pat Fili-Krushel announced late Friday afternoon that the news magazine "Rock Center with Brian Williams" would be cancelled after its final airing on June 21. “I would like to thank Brian, Alex, David and the entire 'Rock Center' team for their efforts. The show will be missed,” Fili-Krushel wrote in an email released after a very busy news day heading into a weekend. The timing suggests the 4th place (and sometimes 5th place) peacock network was hoping to minimize the public relations black eye associated with the failure of such a high-profile show. The...

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Bill Moser, who has been a scout leader in Clarksville for many years, has resigned his post Wednesday, May 8 after the Middle TN Boy Scout Council voted against allowing openly gay members. The following is Moser’s letter of resignation, obtained by ClarksvilleNow: "The Boy Scouts of America provides a program for young people that builds character, trains them in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and develops personal fitness. I have been actively involved with scouting for over 50 years, and my personal experience with Scouting has reinforced my belief that helping youth is a key to...

Venezuela's Hugo Chavez slid into a coma the day before he died of respiratory failure after cancer spread into his lungs, sources say. Chavez's precise condition was one of the world's best-kept secrets since his cancer was announced in June 2011. Since his death this week, however, details have emerged of the 58-year-old president's battle with cancer and the last moments in the hospital with close family and senior aides.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez died of a massive heart attack after great suffering and inaudibly mouthed his desire to live, the head of the country's presidential guard said. "He couldn't speak but he said it with his lips … 'I don't want to die. Please don't let me die,' because he loved his country, he sacrificed himself for his country," General Jose Ornella said. The general said he had spent the past two years with Chávez, including his final moments, as Venezuela's president of 14 years battled an unspecified cancer in the pelvic region.

One of the deputies involved in a gun battle Tuesday afternoon with fugitive former police officer Christopher Dorner has died of his wounds, law enforcement sources told The Times. The San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy was airlifted to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, according to the sources. Another deputy was also wounded in the shootout near a cabin where Dorner was believed to be holed up in the snow-covered mountains near Big Bear. His condition was not immediately known. The afternoon gun battle in which hundreds of rounds were exchanged was part of a quickly...

While the title says it all, I thought a goodbye was in order. While I've been a FReeper for well over a decade, I must declare that it is time to part ways. While I have the greatest respect for a great many of you, the days where I can in good conscience remain silent about the issues that set me apart from the rest of FReeperdom have past. For clarity, or perhaps catharsis, I'm not entirely certain which, I'll lay them out on the table an call the ZOT™ down upon myself. The racism: I just can't handle it...

Tony Zerilli, alleged to be the underboss of Detroit's biggest crime family, is breaking his silence on one of the greatest unsolved crimes in American historyA man who federal agents say is a main character in the infamous unsolved mystery about the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa is breaking his silence after decades of refusing to answer questions. The reputed gangster says the union leader was buried in a field in suburban Detroit -- about 20 miles north of the restaurant where he was last seen. Eighty-five years old and barely able to walk, Tony Zerilli never thought this day would...

A federal judge in Manhattan refused on Wednesday to require the Justice Department to disclose a memorandum providing the legal justification for the targeted killing of a United States citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki, who died in a drone strike in Yemen in 2011. “I can find no way around the thicket of laws and precedents that effectively allow the executive branch of our government to proclaim as perfectly lawful certain actions that seem on their face incompatible with our Constitution and laws while keeping the reasons for their conclusion a secret,” she wrote. “The Alice-in-Wonderland nature of this pronouncement is not...

Former Democrat Joe Lieberman used his last speech on the U.S. Senate floor on Wednesday to call for bipartisanship and get in a last dig over the controversial result of the 2000 election, when he was the Democratic vice presidential nominee. Lieberman, 70, announced in January 2011 that he would retire when his fourth term ends next month rather than seek re-election. He reflected on his career in remarks that lasted for about 20 minutes, recounting landmarks in his career and changes in society since he became a U.S. senator in January 1989. “When I started here in the Senate,...