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In Florida, New Trial Granted to Marissa Alexander
On Thursday Marissa Alexander, 31, was given a second chance by an appellate court, which ordered that she be granted a new trial. According to CNN, Alexander’s case will be retried largely because the jury in her original trial was given the wrong instructions. Alexander was sentenced in March to 20 years in prison for…
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Cory Booker's Twitter Messages With a Stripper
The hits just keep on coming for Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker. As he runs for the U.S. Senate in a special election, he has had to answer questions about his sexuality, tall tales in his speeches (remember T-Bone and Wazn Miller?) and even his growing gut. Now the New York Times is reporting on private Twitter…
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Samuel L. Jackson on Spike Lee and Quentin Tarantino
If Spike Lee and Quentin Tarantino ever decided to have a face-to-face conversation about their thoughts on each other’s work and respective careers, the best person to moderate the discussion would have to be Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson has appeared in more than 100 films, but arguably his most memorable roles have been in movies…
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President Obama Endorses Dante de Blasio's Hairstyle
Earlier this week, President Barack Obama gave a spirited endorsement of Bill de Blasio, who is running for mayor of New York City. In a statement released by the de Blasio campaign, Obama said that the Democractic nominee would make “a great mayor.” On Tuesday, at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in New York City,…
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Black 2013 MacArthur Fellows
(The Root) — A photographer-video artist, a dancer-choreographer and a playwright are the three black people among this year’s group of 24 MacArthur Fellowship recipients. Carrie Mae Weems, 60, from Syracuse, N.Y., was awarded for her work in the field of photography and videography. Of Weems, the MacArthur Foundation writes: Her intimate depictions of children, adults,…
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Racist Texting Scandal Rocks School District
The departures were sudden. After eight years serving as superintendent of the Coatesville Area School District in Pennsylvania, Richard Como announced his retirement. Athletic Director Jim Donato’s resignation soon followed. Their actions were a surprise, but nothing was more shocking than the reasons behind their swift departures. According to Action News/WPVI, Como and Donato were…
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Misty Copeland Brings Diversity to Ballet
In her national Diet Dr. Pepper commercial, ballerina Misty Copeland, 31, declares, “I am one of a kind.” Indeed, the black ballerina, who is Italian, African and German, looks like no others in her peer group at the American Ballet Theatre. But as proud as she may be to be one of a kind, she…
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4 Men Charged in Chicago Mass Shooting
Four men in their early 20s have been charged in last week’s mass shooting spree in Chicago that injured 13 people, including a 3-year-old boy. Tabari Young and Brad Jett, both 22, along with Bryon Champ, 21, and Kewane Gatewood, 20, have been charged. Young is being singled out as the shooter, according to the…
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What's Hillary Clinton Up to These Days?
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is on the cover of this week’s New York magazine, is also the focus of a sprawling interview and profile by Joe Hagan in the issue. By all accounts, it’s the first interview she’s given the press since resigning as President Obama’s secretary of state in February. The entire…
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Canceled Wedding Feeds the Homeless
(The Root) — Carol and Willie Fowler had reservations for 200 at the high-end fine-dining Italian restaurant and special-event space Villa Christina in their hometown of Atlanta. The dinner was originally intended to celebrate the wedding of their daughter, Tamara, but 40 days before the planned nuptials, Tamara told them the wedding was off, leaving them with…
