Help keep Salon independent

Sharon Cohen

Advertisement:

FILE - In this Friday, June 26, 2009 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks about the passage of the Clean Energy Act by the House of Representatives in the Diplomatic Room of the White House in Washington. As Obama took office, race became a focal point in a way that was unprecedented in American history. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) (Associated Press)

WATCH: Journalist April Ryan asserts race relations will begin a new chapter in the “post-Obama era”

Sharon Cohen, Deepti Hajela

Forensic analyst India Henry examines cotton swabs from a sexual assault evidence kit in the biology lab at the Houston Forensic Science Center in Houston on Thursday, April 2, 2015. A dramatic shift is taking hold across the country as police and prosecutors scramble to process these kits and use DNA matches to track down sexual predators, many of whom attacked more women while evidence of their crimes languished in storage. Lawmakers, meanwhile, are proposing reforms to ensure this doesn't happen again. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) (AP)

Will new focus on rape kit tests put thousands behind bars?

Sharon Cohen

In this Nov. 19, 2014 photo, Lakeview High School teacher Kristin Hu, right, who attends the LaSalle Street Church, poses for a portrait with student Lucy, outside the school in Chicago. In September, members and regulars at the church each received $500 checks from the church. Hu plans to give $500 to a Dreamer organization or start a scholarship foundation for the kids. Lucy, a Mexican-born Dreamer in her class, inspired Hu after she spoke of how she and others want to attend college but dont qualify for financial aid because of their immigration status. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) (AP)

Church members each get $500 to do good for world

Sharon Cohen

Church members each get $500 to do good for world

Sharon Cohen

Troubled vets of all ages find comfort at refuge

Sharon Cohen

In this May 10, 2014, photo, Rayvaughn Hines stands in the doorway of his bedroom where a photograph of him and his little brother Willie Brown Jr., hangs on the wall and a military funeral flag for his grandmother, Elaine Hines, sits in his mother Shireille's home in Chicago. At 22, Hines, a Gates Millennium scholar and Urban Prep class of 2010 graduate, recently earned his psychology degree from the University of Virginia. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) (AP)

Inner-city school applauds first college graduates

Sharon Cohen

Inner-city school applauds first college graduates

Sharon Cohen

At 21, recovering heroin addict starts over

Sharon Cohen

Hip-hop remix of “Othello” strikes a chord with prison inmates

Sharon Cohen