In music, they call laying the lyrics from one song over music from a different genre a "mash-up." My favorite example is "Collision Course," the effort from rock group Linkin Park and Jay-Z that resulted in the song "Numb/Encore," used in the 2006 movie re-make of Miami Vice. Like these

One of the really unfortunate aspects of the current battle for the Democratic presidential nomination is the apologetic position many blacks are taking regarding Barack Obama's candidacy. It goes something like this: "We shouldn't press him too much to talk about black issues because that might mess it up for

In the midst of Obama's unimaginable ten-state sweep, with everyone talking about unity — black and white, blue and white collar, old and young — black-brown unity regrettably lags behind. Tensions between blacks and Latinos, painfully hyped by the media in the run-up to the California primary, could be fatal

How's this for an example of erasure?I was chatting on the phone with an editor at a media outlet which regularly features my writings. Having worked together for years, he and I have managed to move past professional diplomacies and platitudes to fashion something of a friendship.Because of the nature

A friend of mine once referred to a prominent black conservative writer as a "blackface mercenary." In kind of a knee-jerk response, I agreed, since I disagree with most so-called black conservatives.On deeper reflection, I asked myself: is that really a fair characterization? And then I recalled a curious little

I still remember the sore elbows I got snuggled up to our fuzzy 19-inch to watch three nights of Alex Haley's "Queen." That was 15 years ago.On Monday, Feb. 25, a new generation of 12-year-olds will suffer their boney joints watching ABC's "world premiere movie event" — Lorraine Hansberry's "A