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‘Mississippi Baby’ Still Represents Hope—and Heroism—for AIDS Community
It’s no surprise that the so-called Mississippi Baby was a hot topic at an international gathering of AIDS experts. Earlier this month, the world learned that the child, thought to have been cured of HIV after her July 2010 birth, had detectable levels of the virus in her blood. Quick as a heartbeat, “cure” was downgraded…
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HBCUs Grapple With Uncertainty
Dipping rates of student enrollment have placed the future of HBCUs in jeopardy. For generations, these institutions of higher education have played an instrumental role in educating black students, especially first-generation college students and low-income students. But in the last 20 years, five of them have shuttered their doors, and a dozen others have dealt…
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Why I Spoke to This Year’s Urban League Convention
Today, America is facing a crisis of joblessness and lack of access to quality education, especially in minority communities. The National Urban League has rightly called it the crisis of “one nation underemployed.” When I addressed the Urban League’s conference in Cincinnati this week, I spoke of Whitney Young, the civil rights leader and head…
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Blacks Fined Disproportionately for Publicly Smoking Pot in Seattle
One would think that Seattle, as a city that’s at the forefront of the marijuana revolution, would be more progressive when it comes to racial equality. The numbers beg to differ. Based on their representation in the population, African Americans received a disproportionate number of fines for smoking cannabis in public compared with whites and Asians…
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Why Won’t More Wealthy Black Celebs Dig Deeper in Their Wallets?
Though the outsized influence of wealthy conservative donors like the Koch brothers tend to dominate debates about the role of money in politics, a new report indicates progressives now appear to have a fundraising advantage. According to the Sunlight Foundation, the top donors to super PACs for the past year have leaned progressive. But none…
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The Bad Best Friend Is Back With a Shocker Update to Her Tale of Betrayal
I’m back! Remember me? Bad BFF? Well, quick update … I am engaged to the ex of my ex-BFF. Crazy how things work out, right? I hope all women learn a lesson from this: Never, ever pass up true love. Loyalty is essential but has its limits. I’m glad I was brave enough to make…
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What if the Video of Eric Garner’s Choke Hold Didn’t Exist?
Ramsey Orta could have been arrested for recording what police were doing to Eric Garner. That would have changed everything. According to the New York Daily News, the internal police report about the incident doesn’t even mention that Garner was put in a choke hold, a maneuver prohibited by New York Police Department policy. That…
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Was My Great-Grandfather Part of Civil War History?
I have hit a wall while researching my paternal grandfather’s parents. My great-grandparents Joseph and Queen Wiggins were from Milledgeville, Ga., in Baldwin County. They are mentioned in the [Daughters of the American Revolution] chronicles of Anna Maria Green Cook, titled History of Baldwin County, Georgia [pdf]. My great-grandparents were listed under “Faithful Negroes” in…
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15 Slang Terms and How to Use Them in a Sentence
Time magazine has once again “Columbused” a slang term that originated in the black community. Its explanation of the term “bae” is a poor attempt to explain black terminology to the masses. The magazine is a repeat offender in this area, since it has also “explained” the term “twerking” to its readership. It’s almost as…
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‘Shopping While Black’ Vine User Rashid Polo: If Profiling Keeps Happening, I’ll Have to Record It
Rashid Polo, who made waves on the Internet last week after his Vine video of convenience store employees following him drew 30 million views, has no plans to stop filming his racial profilers. “If it keeps happening, I’m going to be forced to record it,” he told the Hollywood Reporter. “Hopefully it doesn’t happen again,…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
