Interested in observing the media at its least attractive? Watch the feeding frenzy over the smallest development in the saga of Rachel Dolezal, a white woman who has identified as or passed herself off as black.
In the days since Dolezal first came under fire for misrepresenting her race, and then resigned as the president of the Spokane, Washington, chapter of the NAACP, reporters have feasted on intimate details from her personal life, picking over "revelations" from her divorce file and speculating about her relationship with her parents. And how exactly is a discussion of her sexuality germane to the issue at hand?
While there has been some considered coverage that used the Dolezal news as an entrée to talk about race and (the limits of) self-definition, much of the coverage has had that creepy voyeuristic feel.
Black lives matter? It appears that this matters more.
Here are some stories you may want to follow instead:
1. Kalief Browder
Kalief Browder, who endured three years on Rikers Island without trial, has committed suicide: http://t.co/8dnhPe5Zzu pic.twitter.com/TgMtPVpPSA— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) June 8, 2015
Before he killed himself, Kalief Browder, a teenager, was physically abused by prison guards on Rikers Island, where he was held for three years without trial. Charges against him were eventually dismissed.
2. Tamir Rice
Eyewitnesses recently contradicted the police officer who shot and killed 12-year-old Cleveland boy Tamir Rice. Officer Timothy Loehmann said he warned Rice, who was playing with a toy plastic gun in a park, to put his hands up. No witnesses in a recent report confirmed his claim.
3. John Crawford
A police officer shot and killed John Crawford, a 22-year-old black man, in a Walmart store in Ohio. Crawford was holding a toy air rifle when he was shot. Police said Crawford was shot after demands that he drop the rifle while a video of the shooting contradicted the official version of events. As the Washington Post noted, the video "strongly suggests that they shot him almost immediately after encountering him."
4. Martese Johnson
“Doesn't matter what I do in this world I'm still an African American man.” @UVA student Martese Johnson to @WyattCBS pic.twitter.com/R3sRYTqTNd— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) June 12, 2015
Charges were recently dropped against Martese Johnson, a black University of Virginia student, after agents with the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control arrested him after he was not allowed into bar. They slammed him into the ground, bloodied his face, and shackled his legs.
5. Freddie Gray
After six Baltimore police officers were criminally charged in the death of Freddie Gray who died in police custody, the city's mayor has become concerned that some police officers have stopped doing their jobs.
6. #SayHerName
The hashtag #SayHerName recently brought attention to black women who are victims of police brutality. These stories often receive less attention than similar stories involving black men.
7. Police pepper spraying a teenager at a pool party in Cincinnati
White cop grabs black tween by her neck—and slams her against his squad car http://t.co/7lkDAiC2Iy pic.twitter.com/zreRQjt1fE— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) June 17, 2015
First there was the news of the Texas cop who pointed his gun at unarmed black teens, now there's news of a video showing police pepper spraying a teenager at a pool party in Cincinnati and possibly using excessive force.