Cheryl Boone Isaacs, a marketer and longtime Hollywood insider, has been elected the first African-American president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the group that gives out the Oscars each year, the Los Angeles Times reports. Isaacs, a longtime academy insider who most recently held the job of first vice president, will serve a…

The Washington Post is reporting that a Bethesda, Md., man was beaten and robbed early Saturday morning in Washington, D.C.’s trendy neighborhood of Adams Morgan by three men who yelled, “This is for Trayvon Martin,” before attacking him, police said. The victim suffered minor injuries and declined medical attention. The incident is being investigated as…

Embattled New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner said Sunday that he would not pull out of the race, even as he confirmed that his campaign manager had quit amid a mounting scandal, and that his chief opponent called him unfit to run the city, USA Today reports. Weiner said that campaign manager Danny Kedem…

Since becoming Italy’s first black minister in April, Cecile Kyenge has had to put up with a welter of racist remarks from citizens and colleagues alike. The latest came on Friday when a heckler threw a banana at her while she was making a speech, Reuters reports. Integration Minister Cecile Kyenge, who is originally from…

President Barack Obama told the New York Times that he was worried that years of widening income inequality and the enduring effects of the financial crisis had torn the nation’s social fabric and undercut Americans’ faith in greater opportunity. Upward mobility, Mr. Obama said in a 40-minute interview with The New York Times, “was part and parcel…

CNN anchor Don Lemon on Saturday defended Fox News host Bill O’Reilly’s highly contentious remarks about crime in the African-American community and the disintegration of family. Lemon says the conservative pundit did not go far enough, which drew fire from critics on the left, according to the Raw Story. “In my estimation, he doesn’t go…

Entertainment Weekly is reporting that 10 former American Idol contestants have filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the show, claiming they were mistreated and unfairly disqualified from the competition due to their race. Each plaintiff seeks $25 million, minimum, in damages. Former American Idol contestant Corey Clark is suing Fox again… and this time, he’s not alone. EW…

The Ku Klux Klan has been distributing neighborhood-watch fliers in Springfield, Mo., in an effort to recruit potential members, according to KY3 News. Residents woke last week to find recruitment fliers from the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in their yards, Salon reports. The flier, which features an array of bold text in different…

The U.S. Department of Education is investigating a controversial “Redneck Day” celebration at an Arizona high school after civil rights leaders said that it created a racially hostile environment, the Associated Press reports. The Rev. Jarrett Maupin says the DOE will “determine the remedy, including moderating conversations between school administrators and civil rights community leaders…

In a landmark move by lawmakers, North Carolina on Wednesday passed a budget that includes $10 million to compensate the state’s victims of forced sterilization, NBC News reports. “There were challenges, we had to better educate our members — and then of course we had to work through the fiscal challenges — but at the…