Collectively known as the Divine Nine, black fraternities and sororities have long been central to the African-American college experience—standing as vanguards of social justice, community service, black excellence and achievement. So it has been surprising and, to many members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., disappointing that they’ve been…

As many African Americans struggle to absorb the shocking deaths of Michael Brown, 18, and Eric Garner, 43, and subsequent decisions by separate grand juries not to indict officers involved in those killings, details are emerging in Phoenix that an unarmed black man taking food to his family was gunned down by a white police…

Known for being the beloved darling of the Grand Old Party, Dr. Ben Carson has a penchant for pathologizing blackness that dovetailed last week with his blatant misogyny, causing the good doc to blame the extrajudicial killing of African-American boys and men on—wait for it—the “women’s lib movement.” “Certainly in a lot of our inner…

Despite the looming specter of police brutality, which casts shadows over street corners, neighborhoods and homes across black America, 56 percent of black voters in New York City support “broken windows” policing tactics, compared with 61 percent of the city’s white voters, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll. The controversial policing style frames community…

Kirsten West Savali, writing at News One, tackles the recent claim of black Tea Party activist Kevin Jackson that America needs a white, Republican president to solve its race problems.  In an article on his blog, The Black Sphere, Tea-Party activist Kevin Jackson opines that intra-racism has intensified in the United States since the election of President Barack Obama and,…

Lolo Jones’ recent inflammatory tweet about Rachel Jeantel, witness at George Zimmerman’s trial, to Madea, says a lot more about the running star than its does about Jeantel, writes Kirsten West Savali at NewsOne.   There are many cultural critics and scholars who  tackle the dysfunction inherited from Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome. And the same…

Clutch magazine‘s Kirsten West Savali says that “pimps masquerading as corporations” are proud stakeholders in the degradation and endangerment of women and must be held accountable. When the laser sharp backlash finally grew too intense to ignore, Reebok severed ties with spokesperson Rick Ross for his failure to sincerely apologize for glorifying rape in the…

Clutch magazine‘s Kirsten West Savali responds to a Wall Street Journal op-ed about the college-admissions process. When I read the Wall Street Journal op-ed written by graduating high school senior Suzy Lee Weiss, I was immediately floored by her intelligence, fearlessness and sheer commitment to exposing the discriminatory inequities inherent in the college admission process. Many students rejected…

Clutch magazine’s Kirsten West Savali says that Rick Ross is a “joke” and shouldn’t be treated with any more sensitivity than other enemies of the black community. Marc Lamont Hill’s HuffPost Live conversations, known among other things for their analytical critiques on issues that matter to the Hip-Hop community and urban culture at large, are often fiery…