An Assault Over Dogs in Brooklyn Calls Into Question Hate Crimes Criteria

This story and video first published Feb. 25, 2026, on OffBeat Research’s website and Instagram. Troy McLeod’s stained yellow gloves kept his hands warm as he powered his wheelchair forward on a chilly afternoon in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. He was walking his muzzled dogs, passing by brownstones and parked cars under a cloudy sky. A man suddenly confronted him, yelling that he should not be … Continue reading An Assault Over Dogs in Brooklyn Calls Into Question Hate Crimes Criteria

Randi RichardsonJune 18, 2026June 18, 2026Leave a comment

What Might New York City’s Education System Look Like Under Zohran Mamdani?

The city’s $40 billion K-12 public education system has been under mayoral control since 2002. Mamdani wants to end that. Continue reading What Might New York City’s Education System Look Like Under Zohran Mamdani?

Randi RichardsonJanuary 3, 2026January 3, 2026Leave a comment

Illinois Senators call for monument of a 1908 riot that launched the NAACP

In 1908, from Aug. 14 to 16, a mob of about 5,000 white people stormed Black neighborhoods to find and lynch two Black men. Continue reading Illinois Senators call for monument of a 1908 riot that launched the NAACP

Randi RichardsonJanuary 14, 2025Leave a comment

Michelle Obama chastises ‘infantile and unpatriotic’ Trump over Capitol riots

In a statement posted to social media, the former first lady said the riots were a “fulfillment of the wishes of an infantile and unpatriotic president who can’t handle the truth of his own failures.” Continue reading Michelle Obama chastises ‘infantile and unpatriotic’ Trump over Capitol riots

Randi RichardsonJanuary 14, 2025Leave a comment

Undergraduates at Brown vote for university to offer reparations

The students voted for reparations in multiple forms, including preferential admission for descendants of enslaved people, direct payments to descendants and targeted investments in Black communities, according to the Undergraduate Council of Students. Continue reading Undergraduates at Brown vote for university to offer reparations

Randi RichardsonJanuary 14, 2025Leave a comment

A wave of Black students takes presidencies at top-tier universities

The uptick coincides with the racial and political interlockings of Covid-19, the Black Lives Matter movement and a surge of political polarization on and off college campuses, the Black student presidents said. Continue reading A wave of Black students takes presidencies at top-tier universities

Randi RichardsonJanuary 14, 2025Leave a comment

Beyond the Ivy League: How HBCUs have groomed prominent politicians like the vice president-elect

HBCU representation in politics is not new, but after a contentious electoral season during a year when racial justice was front and center, students and graduates say it’s heartening to see other alumni reach some of the highest echelons of political office. Continue reading Beyond the Ivy League: How HBCUs have groomed prominent politicians like the vice president-elect

Randi RichardsonJanuary 14, 2025January 14, 2025Leave a comment

States revive push to crack down on protests after Capitol riot

In the weeks since the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, at least 13 states have taken up legislation to crack down on protests. Continue reading States revive push to crack down on protests after Capitol riot

Randi RichardsonJanuary 14, 2025Leave a comment