President Obama has been criticized a lot lately for neglecting to address the issues that his black constituency deems important. However, a recent announcement (which has pretty much flown under the radar) just might be the key to swaying the opinions of some disgruntled folks in the black and minority communities.

In what some are calling a drastic shift from the Bush administration, President Obama’s Justice Department has initiated several investigations into charges of systematic civil rights abuse in some of the country’s biggest urban police departments. In just the past few months, the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ has announced “pattern and practice” investigations into allegations of police brutality, such as harassment of racial minorities, false arrests and excessive use of force, in a handful of cities including Newark, New Jersey; Seattle and Denver.

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