27 Percent of Blacks Below Poverty Line

27 percent of blacks below poverty line: According to a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau today, the number of blacks living below the poverty line — which is $11,139 for an individual in 2010 — has risen to 10.7 million, up 1.6 percent. In all, 27.4 percent of blacks were living in poverty at the time of the study. Meanwhile, NPR has taken a look at two families whose experiences illustrate how the racial wealth gap is perpetuated by deeply ingrained differences in things such as inheritance, homeownership, taxes and even expectations.

South Africa: dark clouds in the Rainbow Nation: Foreign Policy's Eve Fairbanks argues that punishing a South African youth leader for hate speech won't do anything to suppress the anger of a generation.

True Blood's Rutina Wesley heads to Broadway: Wesley will soon take on a new role in an off-Broadway production of The Submission, the story of a white playwright who pens a play about an African-American woman and her cardshark son.

Video: Kmart's Public Enemy Ad: The Public Enemy tune "Harder Than You Think" is a surprising choice to accompany Kmart's new campaign, titled "Money Can't Buy Style."

In other news: Ruth Simmons to Retire as Brown President.

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Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported that 27 million blacks were below the poverty line. It should have read 27 percent or 10.7 million.