-
My Son’s 14-Year-Old Killer Deserved a 2nd Chance
My only son, Ronald D. Simpson III, was murdered on Father’s Day 13 years ago. Ronald was 21. His killer was a 14-year-old boy. We were devastated, as any parents would have been. Despite this, my son’s mother and I did not want our son’s killer to spend the rest of his life in prison.…
-
Learning to Live With Internet Haters
Judge me. Last night I watched VH1’s Love & Hip-Hop: Atlanta. When it comes to the image of black people on TV, it gets no worse than most—but not all—of the cast. (Exhibit A: This season’s leading storyline involves an allegedly homemade sex tape that really resembles a slickly produced porno.) Let me plead my…
-
Gay Black Men’s Salaries Are on Par With Those of Straight White Men. Progress?
Anyone who knows anything knows that it is hard to be a black man in America. There’s endless data that backs up this declaration, from the disproportionate number of men of color targeted by law enforcement to programs like stop and frisk and the shooting of unarmed black boys like Trayvon Martin. Because of the…
-
In Brazil: ‘White People Running Are Athletes; Black People Running Are Thieves’
Whether it’s a mural in Salvador, Brazil’s Barra neighborhood with the message “– copa + educacao” (less cup, more education); street art in Sao Paulo that reads “A Copa Pra Quem” (The Cup for Who?); or a message on Rio de Janeiro’s main highway, scrawled in black spray paint, that says simply, “Foder-se FIFA” (F—k…
-
Sculpture of an African Fire-Maker Isn’t as ‘Real’ as You Might Think
This image is part of a weekly series that The Root is presenting in conjunction with the Image of the Black in Western Art Archive at Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Research Institute, part of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. A native of the African Congo squats before a log, his…
-
Freedom Summer Style: The Looks of an Unforgettable Era
In 1964, Freedom Summer was a campaign to register African Americans to vote in Mississippi, where blacks had historically been prohibited from the ballot. Even amid that intense racial and political climate, style served as a form of self-definition and expression as much as it has during any other time since. Fifty years later, take a…
-
More Bad News for Voting Rights: Supreme Court to Hear Alabama Case
Alabama Plays Both Sides of Voting Rights, With Blacks in the Middle The News: The Supreme Court will consider whether Alabama illegally redrew its legislative districts in a way that weakens minorities’ voting power, taking up the first such case since striking down a section of the Voting Rights Act last year. Black state lawmakers…
-
Was the Author of The Three Musketeers a Black Man?
Editor’s note: For those who are wondering about the retro title of this black-history series, please take a moment to learn about historian Joel A. Rogers, author of the 1934 book 100 Amazing Facts About the Negro With Complete Proof, to whom these “amazing facts” are an homage. Amazing Fact About the Negro No. 83: Which famous 19th-century French…
-
Jermaine Jackson Slams New MJ Album: ‘I’m Not Happy’
On Thursday, Jermaine Jackson will return to Motown along with his brothers Jackie, Marlon and Tito to launch a nationwide reunion tour of the Jacksons. Jermaine is also promoting a nonmusical, philanthropic business venture—a bottled-water company that promises to use a percentage of its profits to build wells to provide clean water in Ethiopia and…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
