Free Republic

A Seattle elementary school canceled Halloween activities over concerns about student equity and inclusion. Specifically, Seattle Public Schools says Black males do not celebrate and, more generally, students of color feel marginalized by the holiday. One parent, however, thinks this is an “exercise in affluent white vanity that is wokeism.” Benjamin Franklin Day Elementary typically hosts Halloween festivities each year. They include a “Pumpkin Parade” where students wear costumes if they choose. But the school administration changed its focus to “foundational beliefs around equity for our students and families,” and, consequently, they’re canceling Halloween. This year the only thing spooky...

* Santiago's Plaza Italia has been used for three weeks as the main gathering site for the mass demonstrations* But yesterday the protest escalated as a hooded group began to loot the La Asuncion church in the area* Church pews, pianos, religious paintings and iconography were all carried out of the door and set alight * Nationwide protests, which have a range of demands, have so far left 20 dead and a further 2,500 injured Demonstrators have started looting churches in Chile as the long-running protests continue. Thousands of people had gathered near the site in Santiago's Plaza Italia that...

Philadelphia police were called Sunday night to break up an enormous, roving crowd of teens and young adults in North Philadelphia.

Close to four years after George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin in 2012, and over two years after Zimmerman was acquitted in a criminal trial, an attorney for Martin’s family is still cashing in on the case with speaking engagements. Later this week, on Sept. 10, attorney Jasmine Rand will deliver a lecture entitled “I Am Trayvon Martin: Hoodies Up” at the taxpayer-funded University of Georgia, reports The College Fix. Rand will receive $3,500 for her speech, a school spokeswoman indicated. The personal injury lawyer appears to have a standard “Hoodies Up” spiel that involves the “use of the media to...

Donald Trump is not the most cautious speaker in the Republican presidential primary field. The Donald speaks his mind -- and it is this personality trait that often lands the red-topped billionaire in political, and often legal, hot water. The outspoken real estate mogul, whose net worth is currently valued at US$4.1 billion, has most recently been on the receiving end of a torrent of criticism over comments suggesting Mexican immigrants are “rapists” and drug dealers. Speaking at the New York launch of his presidential run on June 16, Mr. Trump said: “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending...

The co-owner of a Shawnee gun store was fatally shot and three suspects were wounded during an attempted robbery Friday afternoon. The gunfight broke out after four robbers entered She’s A Pistol, at 57th Street and Nieman Road, about 2:10 p.m., according to Shawnee police. Jon Bieker, 44, of Gardner, who co-owned the business with his wife, Becky Bieker, died later at a hospital, police said. “Jon was a kind of a quiet guy, very conscientious,” said Sandy Kaspar, who for several years operated a sign language business on the lower level of the building. “He and Becky took great...

An Oklahoma lawmaker has introduced a bill that would make wearing a hoodie — the popular cold-weather garment that protects your face and head from the elements — a crime punishable by a fine of up to $500, KFOR (Oklahoma City) is reporting. Ostensibly, the proposed hoodie ban is meant to make Oklahoma safer from people who would conceal their identity, but civil liberties groups argue the ban is little more than another means of racial profiling.

ROCK HILL — Three Rock Hill teens have been arrested in the alleged gang assault on two other teenagers, one of whom police say was shot in the leg with a flare gun two weeks ago. Police on Thursday arrested Malik McCullough, 18, Thomas Hagins, 17, and Dontavious Gordon, 17, charging them with third-degree assault and battery by a mob, armed robbery and criminal conspiracy, according to Rock Hill police documents. By Friday morning, they were held at the city jail awaiting afternoon bond hearings. At about 8 p.m. Mar. 13, police were sent to a Highland Street home after...

This is the dramatic moment a mother-of-two opened fire with an assault rifle on intruders who tried to smash their way into her home. The woman took action after three hooded individuals kicked down the door of her Detroit home on Monday night where she lives with her two young children. She fired off rounds in a bid to deter the would-be burglars, later saying she 'didn't have time to get scared'. The unnamed mother told WXYZ Detroit: 'I let them know I had a gun once they were in the house and they challenged me and said "no you...

Portland is in the middle of a nasty bout of black mob violence. This time directed at bicyclists. But Tim Oberlander does not want us to know. Oberlander says he wants to be able to live in a city that does good things for good people. So what’s wrong with that? Everything. Oberlander is a news editor at KGW TV in Portland. His city is under attack from black mob violence centered around Martin Luther King Boulevard. This mob has been attacking bike riders, housewives, students, seniors, you name it. These attacks are part of a long — but quiet...

On Saturday, a couple walking through the French Quarter was severely beaten in what appears to be yet another act of violence, motivated by racism. Around 6 a.m., the couple was approached by three young black men near the intersection of Iberville and Dauphine Streets. The suspects quickly surrounded the couple and without warning, physically assaulted both of them, according to police. The Times-Picayune reported: The woman was punched in the mouth, police said, and her male companion was struck several times by the group. The man was beaten so badly that his jaw broke, requiring him to be hospitalized...

The hooded sweatshirt Trayvon Martin wore the night George Zimmerman shot him to death could end up on display at the Smithsonian Institution. The shirt became a powerful symbol of the case after Zimmerman described Martin as wearing a "hoodie" the night he killed the teen, claiming self-defense. Protestors across the country wore hoodies in support of Martin as they called for Zimmerman's arrest, prosecution and conviction. A Florida jury acquitted Zimmerman last month, finding too little evidence to convict him of second-degree murder or manslaughter.

Police said a preliminary investigation shows the two victims were walking when they were approached by two males wearing hooded shirts; one of the men brandished a handgun. The suspects took personal property from the victims and fled the area, heading Northbound on Gulf Street toward New Haven Avenue. A police K9 team conducted a search of the area which terminated in the area of Bedford Street, police said. No one was injured during the incident. The victims told police the robbers were wearing dark jeans and dark, zipped up hooded jackets.

"I am hurt. I am sad. I am shocked, but I shouldn't be," preached the Rev. Valarie Houston of Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church in Sanford's historic Goldsboro area. Several times during her impassioned Sunday-morning sermon about George Zimmerman's acquittal, Houston's words brought church members to their feet. "We are African-Americans. We are people. We are allowed to go the store and buy Arizona Ice Tea and a package of Skittles and go home," she said, recalling Trayvon Martin's trip to a convenience store that ended in his death. "Now is the time to lift our national policy from the...

A Minneapolis rally to support Trayvon Martin in the not guilty verdict of George Zimmerman is slated for Monday night with help from a group that supports Uptown shooting victim Terrance Franklin. MN Neighborhoods Organizing for Change calls it the #HoodiesUp for Trayvon Rally which is set to begin at 6 p.m. at the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis. The Justice 4 Terrance Franklin Committee is also helping organize the event, among others. SNIP Terrance Franklin, 22, was fatally shot by Minneapolis police in Uptown on May 10 after allegedly shooting two cops. According to the Minneapolis Police...

The New Year's Eve fireworks celebration in Old Sacramento ended tragically before it had even begun: Someone pulled a gun during a fight inside the Sports Corner Cafe around 9:40 p.m., and now two people are dead three more have been shot, according to police. The midnight display was cancelled. An eyewitness, who provided her name but asked not to be identified, was walking outside the bar when said she heard several gunshots. She said she ducked under a stairwell, turned, and saw a young man in a white hoodie run outside the door, pull out a handgun, turn it...

Killings are double the figure for Memorial Day 2011 A man was shot dead near a raucous outdoor holiday party in the South Shore neighborhood late Monday night, bringing the number of homicides to 10 during a warm and violent Memorial Day weekend. More than 40 shootings were reported during the four-day weekend. The city has had more homicides and shootings so far in 2012 than during the same time last year, according to unofficial briefing summaries prepared by the Chicago Police Department. A department spokesman would not confirm the tally, saying several incidents were still under investigation and could...

<p>FIRST ON FOX: It now appears that a vicious brawl at a south suburban restaurant on Saturday involved hammer-wielding "anti-fascists" attacking a group of self-professed "white nationalists."</p> <p>The attack occurred at 12:45 p.m. Saturday, according to Tinley Park police. Ten were injured, with three taken to local hospitals. Among innocent bystanders terrified by the bizarre explosion of violence were several dozen women there for a wedding shower.</p>

STANTON (CBS) — Authorities believe a man wearing a hoodie during a Stanton convenience store robbery is the same robber arrested for a holdup at a nearby store. In the latest holdup, a suspect described as a black man with a mustache about 6 feet tall and 160 pounds walked into a Shell convenience store at 8971 Katella Ave. about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, grabbed a soft drink and took it to the register, sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said. When the clerk, who happened to be working his first shift at the store, opened the register, the man pulled out a...

Obama Campaign decides that hawking hoodies during Trayvon controversy is as tawdry as it appears. The sale is off— Team Obama canceled their shameless hoodie sale this past week. Yahoo reported: President Obama recently said that if he had a son, he’d look like murder victim Trayvon Martin. And in what some conservatives see as a direct connection between the national controversy surrounding the teen’s death, the Obama 2012 re-election campaign announced via Twitter on Monday that it was putting its collegiate hooded sweatshirt on sale.