Lauryn Hill gave birth to her sixth child the same week that Twitter-fueled rumors broke that Rohan Marley (the father of her first five) was leaving her for a Brazilian model. She has now issued a statement to clarify things and do some repair work on her on-again, off-again romantic partner’s rep: Mr. Marley and…

African American, 15 years old and from Oakland, Calif.: Tyler Thompson is a surprising star in the world of Chinese opera, but he’s impressed audiences in the U.S. and China with his ability to sing in pitch-perfect Mandarin. He’s part the Purple Silk Music Education program, which teaches children and youths — mostly from low-income…

The mom who potentially faced more jail time for jaywalking than the man who killed her 4-year-old son in a hit-and-run accident has been sentenced to community service and probation instead, MSN reports: On July 12, [Raquel] Nelson was convicted of second-degree vehicular homicide, reckless conduct, and failure to use a crosswalk during an incident…

The Huffington Post reports that 13-year-old Jimmell Cannon was in serious to critical condition late Monday after being shot eight times by Chicago police officers, who say he was holding a BB gun. His family tells a different story: The 13-year-old boy, whose parents describe him as a fun-loving, “straight A-B student,” wasn’t the victim…

The Washington Post reports that nearly 170,000 Somalis have fled to packed refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia since January. In Kenya, about 1,300 people are arriving daily, while an average of 1,700 enter Ethiopia. Most are arriving after grueling journeys along what officials call the “roads of death.” Somalis have endured two decades of…

There’s a reason we’ll never come to a consensus on the most accurate racial classifications for Barack Obama or Tiger Woods. There’s a reason questions about ethnicity on the census and college applications feel impossible to an increasing number of Americans. There’s a reason you can be black in the United States, colored in South…

Redistricting worries California black leaders: California’s African-American leaders will be nervously watching Friday when a citizens commission releases its final redrawing of California’s political map for the next decade. Many are concerned about loss of black political power as the African-American population dwindles in some areas of the state and disperses from larger cities to…

Mary J. Blige has opened up to VH1‘s Behind the Music about the sexual abuse she suffered as a child, New York’s Daily News reports. “When I was 5 years old I was molested and just, you know. I remember feeling, literally right before it happened, I just could not believe that this person was…

35 arrested in “transit racism” protest: Tension among community members and San Francisco police is rising this week following the July 16 killing of 19-year-old Kenneth Wade Harding by SFPD officers in the city’s black Bayview district, ColorLines reports. Residents took to the streets in protest of what they’re calling “transit racism” and heightened police…

Seventy-six countries still consider being gay a crime. Now, in Ghana, people found “guilty” of homosexuality may also face jail time, Foreign Policy reports. “All efforts are being made to get rid of these people in the society,” said Paul Evans Aidoo, an MP from the western region. Ghana’s Bureau of National Investigations has been directed…