Ebony on the scene

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1. In New York City, a young boy perched on his father's shoulders holds a sign as they march to protest the acquittal of the three New York Police Department detectives on all charges that stemmed from the November 25, 2006, shooting of Sean Bell. The 23-year-old Bell, scheduled to be married the next day, was unarmed and leaving his bachelor party in Queens when he was shot and killed. Two other men were wounded by plainclothes officers in the hail of 50 bullets. Three of the five detectives involved in the shooting went to trial on charges that ranged from manslaughter to reckless endangerment. The shooting prompted heated criticism of the police from the public, citing comparisons to the 1999 shooting of Amadou Diallo, also 23 and unarmed. Those four officers, who fired 41 rounds, also were exonerated.

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2. In Chicago, family members of Alton Logan--including (l. to r.) Pauline Buccanan, Janet Logan and Eugene Logan--were overcome with joy when Alton Logan left Cook County Jail after a Cook County judge ordered a retrial for Logan, who has served 26 years in prison for a murder another inmate has confessed to committing.

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3. In Detroit, the Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., the former pastor of Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), speaks at the Detroit NAACP's 53rd annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner. After 36 years, Wright recently retired as pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.

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4. In Philadelphia Mary J. Blige performs her opening number at the Wachovia Center before an energetic and responsive crowd.

COPYRIGHT 2008 Johnson Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning