Colorlines‘ Jamilah King was spurred to round up actual facts about the abolitionist in response to the “Harriet Tubman Sex Tape.” Russell Simmons’ All Def Digital YouTube channel has now removed the video, on which comedians joked about how Tubman used sex to blackmail “her master into letting her run the Underground Railroad.” 1. Harriet…

Jay-Z’s latest business deal with Android involving his upcoming album is a win for the company, the rapper and African Americans, writes Jamilah King for Colorlines. The business mogul clearly knows his audience: Young black consumers love their smartphones, and blacks are more likely than other groups to report favoring Android. Jay-Z is teaming up…

Assata Shakur is just the latest in a long list of black revolutionaries who have been among the FBI’s most sought-after criminal suspects, Jamilah King writes at Colorlines. History of the Lists To understand how the FBI’s Most Wanted lists work, it’s important to know how they were developed. At their core, the lists are…

Colorlines‘ Jamilah King presents a 1998 letter by Shakur, who was recently placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list. In her letter, Shakur provides her own account of the events leading up to her arrest and 1977 conviction. She also details the extent to which the media played a role in her prosecution. Shakur…

Writing at Colorlines, Jamilah King says that this movement has been in the works for years and has a diverse set of characters. Sexuality and sports make for a complicated mix. Throw in race and the persistent obsession with what it means to be a man in America, and the conversation becomes impossibly loaded. That’s…

How things have changed in women’s basketball since the “nappy-headed hos” controversy. Colorlines‘ Jamilah King examines the media’s current fixation with the looks of the No. 3 pick in the WNBA draft.  Six years ago, the biggest story in women’s basketball was about Don Imus calling the predominantly black Rutgers women’s basketball team “nappy headed…

Colorlines‘ Jamilah King points out that the baseball legend’s fight for racial justice was always tempered by a degree of pessimism about the realities faced by black people in America. Almost 66 years to the day that Robinson made his Major League Baseball debut, the new biopic, “42,” offers an opportunity to examine the racial…

While issues like poor graduation rates and unpaid players provide plenty of fodder for interrogation within college basketball, there’s also a lot to be excited about, writes Colorlines‘ Jamilah King. 1. It’s a family affair. If you grew up a basketball fan in the ’90s, you’ll immediately recognize the surnames of some of the top…

Colorlines‘ Jamilah King issues a strong rebuke to New York City’s mayor for launching an ad campaign aimed at shaming teen moms of color. The ads feature images of babies in various states of distress, accompanied by text explaining how hard their lives will be because of their parents’ age. A 27 percent drop in…

“If you have your child, you’re shamed and seen as an irresponsible decision-maker. If you choose not to have your child and have an abortion instead, you’re shamed for that, too,” a reproductive-justice advocate says about a new campaign aimed at preventing teen motherhood. Jamilah King takes on the messaging in a piece for Colorlines.…