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Hillary Clinton accused of race smear against Bernie Sanders by hinting he is calling gun violence a 'black problem' Hillary Clinton seems to have a new critique of Bernie Sanders' gun stance. While not naming her Democratic rival directly, Clinton said before the Charleston, South Carolina, branch of the NAACP Friday that talking about 'urban' gun violence, as Sanders did at the first debate, was simply code for 'black.' 'There are some who say that it is an urban problem,' Clinton stated. 'Sometimes what they mean by that is: It's a black problem. But it's not. It's not black. It's...

In President Obama’s hometown of Chicago on Halloween night Saturday, a robbery was thwarted when a concealed carry permit holder with a valid firearm owner’s ID card under Illinois law shot the thug dead. It showed that even in Obama’s Chicago, more guns mean less crime and, in this case, one less career criminal. It also shows that opponents’ fears that concealed carry laws will mean carnage in the streets as garden-variety disputes escalate into a proverbial gunfight at the OK Corral are false. Since the U.S. 7th Court of appeals struck down Illinois’ ban on concealed carry as unconstitutional...

Spike Lee’s new movie “Chiraq” has an interesting take on how to end the violence in Chicago: Withhold sex from men to stop the carnage.

St. Sabina holds ‘Chiraq’ block party Posted 5:20 PM, June 13, 2015, by Erik Runge CHICAGO — Permit or not, Father Michael Pfleger’s St. Sabina block party was going to happen Saturay. The alderman who first tried to block the permit, because Spike Lee and his cast of “Chiraq” was involved, ended up changing his mind. The star of this year’s St. Sabina block party may be film maker Spike Lee, but it’s the name of his new film that’s really been hogging the spotlight.

Chicago (CNN)Violence in this great American city matures so notoriously that film director Spike Lee now purportedly seeks a new nickname for the Windy City: Chiraq. The name merges Chi-town with Iraq -- as if Chicago sinks like the godforsaken Iraq, a hopeless war zone to the world.

A reference to the gun violence that has left parts of Chicago feeling like a war zone to many residents, the word is believed to have been coined by local rappers years ago. But it is taking on another life as the working title of a new Spike Lee movie that is expected to be filmed here this summer. Local politicians have lined up against the title. Mr. Lee has been confronted by Chicago’s mayor, Rahm Emanuel, who told him in a meeting last month that he was “not happy” about the name.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Mayor Rahm Emanuel says he told film director Spike Lee that he's not happy the working title of Lee's upcoming motion picture is "Chiraq." The word suggests the city is as dangerous as the war zone in Iraq. "We had an honest, frank conversation," Emanuel said. Emanuel said he suggested the name would be offensive to the many good people who live in the Englewood neighborhood where the film takes place. The mayor says he thinks that the subject Lee told him his film would deal with - black-on-black violence - is an important topic that...

The Black Brunch movement wants us to get uncomfortable with law enforcement violence in communities of color.Weekend brunch is usually the time for Americans to kick back and enjoy a mimosa and a slice of a savory veggie frittata (watch out for those spiking egg prices) with friends or family. But on Sunday, diners in several New York City and Oakland, California, restaurants got a hefty serving of anti–police violence activism alongside their meals. Dozens of participants in the grassroots Black Brunch movement walked into restaurants that tend to serve a predominantly white customer base. The activists weren’t there to...

Well-known activists, politicians and celebrities were gathering Monday at a St. Louis church for the funeral of Michael Brown, the unarmed 18-year-old shot dead by a police officer two weeks ago. The list of VIPs expected to attend the service includes director Spike Lee, rapper Snoop Dogg, music mogul Diddy, comedian Nick Cannon.

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: The first African-American president in history. This is why he was elected! Grab the audio sound bites. Let me prove this to you. It's not just me saying it. This is Spike Lee, sound bites two and four. Last night Spike Lee, Anderson Cooper 95, and Cooper said, "Look, a study came out yesterday," Spike, old buddy, old pal, "about how people's perception of what happened here Ferguson and how radically they differ among African-American and Caucasian Americans. "Does it still surprise you," Spike, old buddy, old pal, "that there's a divide in perception and how Americans...

After a week of rioting and confrontations in Ferguson, Missouri, filmmaker Spike Lee said he hoped that "things will really blow up" if Officer Darren Wilson is tried and the people of Ferguson are unhappy with the verdict.

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)Filmmaker Spike Lee weighed in on the death of Michael Brown and said the “uprising” in Ferguson, Mo., is in response to years of racial tension and mistreatment towards the black community in the United States. “When people get to a point — to that tipping point — they can’t take it anymore,” Lee said on CNN on Tuesday, listing the tragedies involving Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Rodney King, and others. While he seemed to disapprove of looting and burning property, Lee also said that he “just hope[s] that things will really blow up if people aren’t happy with the...

On Tuesday #Anonymous released the private information of St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar and his wife and children. The group posted a link to the information in a tweet.

Via Variety: Spike Lee has been sued by an elderly couple in Florida, whose address he incorrectly identified as the home of Trayvon Martin killer George Zimmerman, according to court documents obtained by the Smoking Gun.

Although he no longer lives in the borough, anti-gentrification spokesperson Spike Lee insists, "Brooklyn is still going to be inside of me." And he inside of it: Lee's Do the Right Thing may be immortalized in true NYC-style — with a street sign. Brooklyn Community Board 3 has voted to approve renaming the Bed-Stuy block of Stuyvesant Avenue between Lexington Avenue and Quincy Street, where the movie was filmed, “Do the Right Thing” Way, in time for its 25th anniversary. The City Council has the final say, and it could be tough. "It's a bit complicated, because the City Council's...

With the lifetime ban by the NBA of despicably racist Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling, the door is wide open to further sports bans on people who say offensive things in private. That, of course, is why Sterling was ousted. Everyone knew for decades that Sterling was a disgusting pig racist – he had federal lawsuits led by the Department of Justice against him for discriminating against blacks, Hispanics, and Asians in housing (one allegation in the 2006 DOJ lawsuit: he said black people “smell”). That would have been an excellent reason for ousting Sterling years ago. The NBA...

Spike Lee is likening Donald Sterling's racist and inflammatory remarks to those of a slave owner. Lee, speaking to CNN's Anderson Cooper, said that he believes the owner of the L.A. Clippers should be removed from his position within the NBA.

*Famed film director Spike Lee has expressed his desire to see the Trayvon Martin story told on the big screen. During an interview with theGrio, Lee commended 27-year-old new director Ryan Coogler for bringing his acclaimed independent film, “Fruitvale Station,” the Oscar Grant story, to the big screen. He expressed his admiration for the film while stating that the film business isn’t built in favor of young directors like Coogler to succeed. “Love it…. It’s great,” Lee said of Fruitvale Station. “But it’s something that I have been doing for 15 year [sic]. I teach film. That is my job...

The rise of Asian-Americans and their dominance in academia may be exemplified by the extraordinary performance of Asian-American students in New York City. How A Chinese Solar Giant Was Snared In An Italian Fraud Scandal According to recent media reports, Asian-American students account for almost three-fourths of the enrollment at Stuyvesant High School, one of the city's eight specialized, elite public schools that strictly use test scores for admission. Asians represent less than 14 percent of the city's entire public school student body, meaning they are disproportionately represented at Stuyvesant by a magnitude of about five. (In 1970, Asians accounted...

PEOPLE FROM all over Philadelphia came together Saturday to tell their stories about gentrification at the Church of the Advocate in North Philadelphia. Organizers had issued fliers calling for an "emergency town hall" to confront a "crisis facing black Philadelphia: the demise of our neighborhoods." In gentrification, some neighborhoods are targeted for revitalization - but the new development leads to huge rent or property-tax increases that often force longtime residents out.