Embattled New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, which has been under media scrutiny since four young men accused pastor Bishop Eddie Long of seducing them, is facing more heat this week, this time from a female employee who says that she was sexually harassed by another employee in Long’s inner circle. In the civil lawsuit Tama…

Tommie Smith, who, along with John Carlos, made history at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics when he raised his glove-covered fists in a Black Power salute during his medal ceremony, is selling the items that helped make him famous. Bidding starts at $250,000 for his gold medal, which Smith won in the 200 meters, and…

Creators of a new star-studded online show called No More Down Low, which launched this week, hope that the show will dispel myths about the LGBT community and show its various members in a more balanced light. Hosted by Jonathan Plummer, the Jamaican native infamous for giving author Terry McMillan her groove back (and summarily…

South Carolina’s infamous Democratic senatorial candidate Alvin Greene isn’t taken too seriously by the public at large as a viable candidate, but that hasn’t stopped him from occasionally pleading his case on national media outlets. Greene, who was indicted in August on a felony obscenity charge, gave an interview to MSNBC’s The Last Word Monday,…

Washington, D.C.’s controversial schools chancellor, Michelle Rhee, stepped down today after what she and the city’s presumptive Mayor-elect Vincent Gray called a “mutual decision.” Rhee had been a divisive figure in Washington, D.C., especially among residents who felt she unfairly fired low-performing teachers, many of them black. Many speculated whether or not Rhee would step…

In this lovely clip from Sesame Street, a self-loving puppet, in a song clearly geared toward little black girls, teaches kids to love their hair just as it is. It’s a pretty fabulous message for young black girls, who are bombarded with messages, both subtle and overt, that tell them their natural hair texture is…

With marriage equality — in precious few localities, of course — comes wedding photos featuring beautiful same-sex couples. Essence.com highlighted its very first lesbian couple on the site’s Bridal Bliss feature today. The story on the couple, who married in Washington, D.C., is accompanied by a gallery of the glamorous event. Brides Aisha Mills and…

This Saturday is the 15th anniversary of Louis Farrakhan’s Million Man March, and The Loop 21 marks the occasion by analyzing how much of the “promise” of that fall day in 1995 held true. According to writer Cindy Barnes-Thomas, not all that much. She points to the alarming murder and incarceration rates of black males,…

It’s time to bring out the big guns. Michelle Obama will do the most extensive campaigning she’s done since she helped get her husband elected in 2008 and will hold rallies and fundraisers for seven candidates across the country over the next two weeks. The popular first lady’s strategic tour will be across the midterm-election…