Blog Archives - 2 BLACK Girls

Teen Asked to Leave Prom for "Revealing" Dress

4/30/2015

Mireya Briceno in prom dress which supposedly violated the dress code. (Photo: Connie Briceno)

High school prom is a major milestone just before graduating. It is a time to celebrate all of your high school memories with one big fashionable party. It is supposed to be a joyous occasion, but the fun and excitement was stopped for 18-year-old senior Mireya Briceno.

Briceno, who attends Muskegon High School, along with her mother thought she took precaution and followed all rules when picking her prom dress. Unfortunately, Mireya was kicked out of her high school prom some time after being let in. Her mother, Connie Briceno, recently spoke out about the incident.

The dress code for the Muskegon High School Prom specifically stated check mark oneunder ladies that backless dresses were acceptable (Photo: Connie Briceno)

Police Commission Approves Policy Rules for LAPD Body Cameras

4/29/2015

LAPD Officer Jin Oh displays video from a body camera (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

On Tuesday the Los Angeles Police Commission voted to approve a policy requiring officers be equipped with body cameras. The 3-1 vote happened after great debate over whether or not officers should be allowed to review video footage from the cameras prior to writing reports or giving statements to investigators following severe force incidents.

After about 18-months of effort this vote moves the LAPD a bit closer to becoming the nation's largest law enforcement agency to adopt the widespread use of the body cam devices.

“It’s an exciting start to history,” said Commission Presidetn Steve Soboroff. “But with that comes a really big responsibility for this department to do this correctly.”

via KTLA.com

Civil libertarians opposed allowing officers to review the footage, though LAPD officials said investigators may prevent officers from looking at the video in some cases where serious force is used.

On another contentious issue, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck also told the commission that the department generally does not release video evidence before the end of an investigation. He anticipated using the same standard with body camera footage “in the vast majority of cases,” he said, but raised the possibility that he may reconsider.

WRITTEN BY: VIOLA CONSTANCE | @Voila_its_Viola

Nepal Earthquakes: Death Toll nears 5,000

4/28/2015

Nepal was rocked by an earthquake measuring a 7.8 magnitude at noon local time on Saturday. Following Saturday's quake, another aftershock produced a 6.7 tremor on Sunday. The death toll has now risen to 4,800. The death toll is expected to rise after the clearing of ruble and destruction.

Sushil Koirala, the Nepalese Prime Minister said on Tuesday the death toll could reach 10,000. On Mount Everest, the earthquake triggered an avalanche killing 17 people on the mountain. Historic temples and key cultural architecture has also been destroyed.

Recovery from this quake is difficult. Access to roads has been near impossible. This has caused remote villages to suffer from not receiving key aid. Hospitals are overcrowded and lack some fundamental resources. Unicef said nearly 1 million children are currently at risk.

The Nepalese government has appealed for international aid, and relief workers said they are in need of supplies, food, and water.

Written By: Lauren B. I @laurenbeal

Baltimore Protests Turn Violent; State of Emergency

4/27/2015

Credit: Anadolu Agency / contributor

Protests in the city of Baltimore turned violent late into the afternoon on Monday. While there were several peaceful protests, they were far outshined by the violent images we see of chaos, fire, and battles.

Monday's violence correlated and almost simultaneously lined up with Freddie Gray's funeral. The 25-year-old was arrested on April 12 and died one week later from a fatal spinal cord injury while he was in police custody.

At least 27 individuals have been arrested in the protests. At least 15 police officers have needed medical attention. Building have been both looted and burned in the wake of this protest. The mayor of Baltimore had this to say:

"What we see tonight that is going on in our city is very disturbing," Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake told reporters. "Too many people have spent generations building up this city for it to be destroyed by thugs who -- in a very senseless way -- are trying to tear down what so many have fought for."

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency and has activated the national guard. The National Guard will act in a supporting role to the Baltimore Police Department and will be armed while patrolling the streets. Police warned that tear gas and pepper spray would be deployed to disperse crowds. A weeklong curfew has been issued from 10pm to 5am.

Story Developing...

Written By: Lauren B. I @laurenbeal

X-Men's Iceman Comes Out In New Comic

4/23/2015

Iceman comes out as gay in newest issue of the All New X-Men #40. (ABC News from Marvel)

An "X-Men" legend comes out of the closet in the "All-New X-Men" #40. In the new comic, which debuts in stores and online today, Iceman says he's gay.

via Yahoo

In a statement to ABC News, Brian Michael Bendis, the writer of the book, said, "There are thousands if not millions of stories of people who, for many different reasons, felt the need to hide their sexuality. The X-Men, with the conceit of time travel, give us a fascinating platform in which to examine such personal journeys. This is just the first little chapter of a much larger story that will be told.”

According to the book, Jean Grey is talking with her friend Iceman as teens (via time travel). Iceman is talking about his teacher Magik and saying how hot he thinks she is. That's when Jean (who can read minds by-the-way) cuts in to let her friend know she knows the truth, he's gay and she doesn't care.

Protestors In The Streets Of Baltimore After (Another) Man's Death

4/22/2015

"The world is watching. The world is watching, and the world needs to see that black Baltimore is unified."
- Pastor Jamal Bryant of the Empowerment Temple

Demonstrators poured into Baltimore streets carrying signs with the name of a man who died from a spinal injury he suffered while in police custody. Tuesday's demonstration marked the start of a week of protests and rallies planned across the city according to the Associated Press.

A civil rights investigation has been opened into the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who suffered a fatal spinal-cord injury under mysterious circumstances after he was handcuffed and put in the back of a police van, said The Justice Department.

More than a thousand demonstrators gathered to remember Gray at the site where he was arrested. Friends and relatives say was kind, funny and generous, and call for police reform.

via the Associated Press

"I want this to be a sign to the Baltimore Police Department that this is not an act of surrender," said Pastor Jamal Bryant of the Empowerment Temple, one of the rally's organizers, as he called on those in the crowd to raise their hands. "It's a sign of strength, of one unity and one commitment that we will not rest until we get justice for Freddie Gray.

Young Woman's Tragic Diet Pill Death

4/22/2015

Photo: Eloise Aimee Parry (Facebook)

With Summer around the corner and some places already heating up, people all over are trying to get beach bodies. Some opt for rigorous work-out routines, others choose dieting methods including pills. Diet pills may seem harmless enough, but a recent tragedy has shown how dangerous they really can be.

A 21-year-old British woman died on April 12 after accidentally overdosing on diet pills. Eloise Aimee Parry bought the dietary pills online which contained the toxic ingredient dinitrophenol (DNP). In a statement posted online by Parry's mother Fiona Parry, she said that her daughter took eight tablets that contained the drug.

The dietary pill containing DNP

Parma, MO: First African American Female Elected, Cops and City Officials Resign

4/20/2015

Parma, Missouri elected it's first African American, female mayor. Tyrus Byrd, a Christian missionary and city clerk was sworn in Tuesday on April 14, 2015.

Byrd was born and raised in Parma and beat the imcumbent mayor Randall Ramsey. Ramsey had served the city of 740 people for 37 years.

After Byrd was sworn in, Five of the six officers quit immediately and three other city employees also vacated their positions. All individuals who resigned cited "safety concerns" as the cause of their resignation.

Byrd would not comment on the resigned officers until she collected more information. Byrd said her first order of business was to clean up the city.

Written By: Lauren B. I @laurenbeal

Parents of Boston Bombing Victim want Life in Prison

4/17/2015

Martin Richard, aged 8, was out with his parents enjoying a day at the Boston Marathon when convicted bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev planted a bomb along the end of the route. Richard was killed in the terrorist bomb, his sister maimed, and his parents left to struggle to resemble their lives. The Richard's story is not unlike the other countless victims that were directly affected by this evil.

Credit: Facebook

Tsarnaev was convicted of all 30 charges against him, which also includes the death penalty.

Martin's parents, Bill and Denise wrote to the court urging them to give Tsarnaev life in prison without the possibility of appeals or parole. They reasoned that they should never have to relieve the horror of recounting the death of their son for decades to come. Bill and Denise both appeared in court at the trial.

But now that the tireless and committed prosecution team has ensured that justice will be served, we urge the Department of Justice to bring the case to a close. We are in favor of and would support the Department of Justice in taking the death penalty off the table in exchange for the defendant spending the rest of his life in prison without any possibility of release and waiving all of his rights to appeal.

We understand all too well the heinousness and brutality of the crimes committed. We were there. We lived it. The defendant murdered our 8-year-old son, maimed our 7-year-old daughter, and stole part of our soul. We know that the government has its reasons for seeking the death penalty, but the continued pursuit of that punishment could bring years of appeals and prolong reliving the most painful day of our lives. We hope our two remaining children do not have to grow up with the lingering, painful reminder of what the defendant took from them, which years of appeals would undoubtedly bring.

Sentence hearings are set to begin on April 21st. The 2015 annual Boston Marathon will be hosted on April 20, 2015.

Written By: Lauren B. I @laurenbeal

Feminist Apparel Turns NYC Into NO CATCALL ZONE

4/16/2015

Photo from Nora Crotty via Yahoo!

Photo from Nora Crotty via Yahoo!

In support of Anti Street Harassment Week (Apr 12-18) Feminist Apparel put up street signs around New York City to bring awareness to catcalling.

The signs reading “NO CATCALL ZONE” include the subtitle: “End street harassment.” The imagery features the silhouette of a feline being yelled at by two figures in the background, including the figure on the right groping itself.

According to Alan J. Martofel, production coordinator at Feminist Apparel, the goal was "simply to raise awareness of Anti-Street Harassment Week and create some further dialogue surrounding the issue.”

via Yahoo.com

“This is the first community-based activist campaign we’ve been able to fund through the sale of t-shirts on our website. There are currently over 50 signs up, we do have a few more we’re meaning to sneak up throughout the week, as well as sticker versions of the sign designs. We hope to get at least one sign up in each borough by the end of the week as street harassment and catcalling is obviously a universal issue not contained to any one neighborhood.” - Alan J. Martofel

WRITTEN BY: VIOLA CONSTANCE | @Voila_its_Viola