Philip Lewis

As the years go by, certain words and phrases take on new meanings. But some seemingly harmless terms actually stem from hurtful, racist origins.  "Understanding where these words and phrases come from is an important part of understanding how…

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been criticized heavily for his protest of the National Anthem. But the young athlete has plenty of supporters alongside him, ranging from singer John Legend to dozens of military veterans and…

Brandon Dean isn't your ordinary politician.  The 24-year-old made history on Aug. 23 when he became the city of Brighton, Alabama's newest mayor-elect.  Dean defeated five candidates, which included incumbent mayor Barbara E. Watkins. He is the…

The extraordinarily high levels of lead in the water in Flint, Michigan, attracted national attention earlier this year. Now, hundreds of residents in East Chicago, Indiana, are leaving after discovering that the soil around their homes contains…

Childhood bullying is a serious issue plaguing our schools and has been proven to be the cause of long-term issues in adulthood. But Zaire Downs wants to do his part to put an end to this problem.  Downs, 13, has organized a "Back 2 School" sneaker…

In the wake of the Wednesday hack that leaked Leslie Jones' most sensitive personal information  — including her license, her passport, and her nude photos — to the general public, many Twitter users rallied in support of the beloved comedienne…

An Austin, Texas, city councilman has come under fire for racially insensitive comments made toward a group of mostly Latino children during a council meeting Thursday evening.  The children accompanied their parents to the council meeting, which…

According to Brazil police, the alleged robbery at gunpoint of U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte and his three teammates in Rio de Janeiro was a "fabrication" to cover up an altercation in a gas station.  "Unfortunately, the swimmers told one lie after…

After an hours-long standoff with police, an armed suspect who fired at officers was arrested Monday evening, KABC reported. The man, who was arrested at the Hyland Motel in Brea, California, shot at officers through the door.  A SWAT team helped…

The Pentagon has reported that senior ISIS leader Hafiz Saeed Khan was killed by U.S. and Afghan Special Operations Forces in an airstrike on July 26 in Afghanistan. Khan was believed to have been killed in 2015 by a drone attack in Afghanistan's…

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department admitted Tuesday that Donnell Thompson, a 27-year-old unarmed black man who was shot and killed by a SWAT team member, was not connected to a nearby carjacking with a suspect who shot at the officers.  "We…

Kenneth Walker is a volunteer firefighter in North Tonawanda, New York. He and his family are homeless after a fire destroyed their apartment on Wednesday.  Two nights earlier, on Monday night, Walker reportedly received an anonymous letter that…

Fadumo Dayib wants to be Somalia's first female president — and the stakes are high.  The African country has not only seen decades of civil war, violence and political instability, but was also considered one of the top five most dangerous…

Lezley McSpadden, the mother of Ferguson teenager Michael Brown, was invited to the Democratic National Convention alongside the other "Mothers of the Movement" to speak on Tuesday. However, a St. Louis city officer and a Fox 2 News reporter…

Remember the PBS Kids animated series Arthur? For some reason, Arthur the aardvark broke the internet early Thursday morning and completely took over Twitter timelines well into the day.  While some of the jokes were funny and some inappropriate, a…

A dating app for black people came under fire on Twitter late Sunday evening for hosting some very problematic preferences. Smoochr, an app which allows you to pick your potential mate based on skin color or hair texture, has some calling the app…

Several WNBA teams and their players reportedly have been fined for wearing black warm-up shirts in solidarity with the victims of recent police shootings, such as Philando Castile and Alton Sterling.  Indiana Fever, New York Liberty and Phoenix…

After a Thursday morning standoff, New York police have arrested a suspect who allegedly threw a suspicious object into a police car and prompted a bomb scare by Times Square. According to Chief of Police James O'Neill, an object was thrown into…

New cell phone video released Wednesday evening reportedly shows an unarmed black man laying in the middle of the road begging police officers to not shoot, but getting shot anyway.  Charles Kinsey, a therapist who works at an assisted living…