Essence magazine has done what some call the unthinkable: hired a white woman fashion director. It seems that some people believe that a white woman can’t celebrate black beauty and fashion in the way that a black woman can. Gasp and swoon, because we thought it was 2010, not 1910. At least give Editor-in-Chief Angela…

A federal judge blocked part of Arizona’s immigration bill. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton sets up a lengthy legal battle as Arizona fights to enact the toughest-in-the-nation law on immigration. Republican Gov. Jan Brewer said the state will likely appeal the ruling and seek to get the judge’s order overturned. The provisions that angered…

Jack Tatum, 61, a defensive back for the Oakland Raiders whose bone-jarring tackles earned him the nickname “the Assassin,” died of a heart attack on July 27 at a hospital in Oakland, Calif. A three-time All Pro player with the Raiders during his 10-year career, he is considered to be one of the top defensive…

Move over, Rosewood and Black Wall Street, and make room for Timbuctoo. In the 1820s, freed and escaped blacks formed the self-sustaining town well before the Civil War and emancipation. Timbuctoo survived through the end of slavery in New Jersey, the Fugitive Slave Act and the Jim Crow era. The last families didn’t leave until…

Surprise, surprise. BP is using inmates from the Louisiana prison system to clean up the oil spill. The words “Inmate Labor” are emblazoned on their backs as they toil in record heat, cleaning up the mess that BP has made. Local residents are angry that the company is using cheap labor instead of employing local…

An excerpt from “The Conversation on Race”: I keep hearing people bantering about this notion of a national conversation on race, and I have finally figured out why it rankles so. This is a country where any variant of the phrase “slavery caused the Civil War” is still considered controversial, and where respectable intellectuals believe…

Former Ohio State University football star Maurice Clarett has re-enrolled after serving more than three years in prison. Clarett led the Buckeyes to the 2002 national championship in his only season in college. In 2006 he pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and carrying a concealed weapon and served 3-1/2 years in a Toledo prison, where…

Retail giant Wal-Mart is expanding exponentially. It is increasing the number of financial centers by 50 percent. The expansion will result in 1,500 stores that have the financial centers located inside them, which gives the retailer a financial presence that only a few banks have. If you’re fed up with the banks, you may want…