Chicago Black Man’s Face is Forever Changed After Being Tased By Police, But That’s Not the Worst Part…
These Black Democrats Were Allegedly Next on the Minnesota Gunman’s Hitlist
Why the Black Internet Believes Grammys Just Threw Shade at Beyoncé
Proof The ‘Absent Black Father’ Was a Big Lie
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Lynn Nottage's "Ruined" Wins Pulitzer Prize
Ruined, the Off-Broadway play that examines the lives of Congolese women, has won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. I’m especially stoked: I know Lynn as well as most of the cast of the current Off-Broadway production. So I’m throwing up a toast for them and Ms. Nottage’s beautifully written and provocative play. If you’re in…
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NBA Playoffs Off to Upsetting Start
Pat Riley was always fond of saying that a playoff series doesn’t begin in earnest until the road team wins a game; his rationale is that home court is a huge advantage in the NBA. Riley probably liked the action this weekend in the NBA playoffs; four road teams won. The first round of the…
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Eugene Robinson Wins Pulitzer Prize
The winners of the 2009 Pulitzer Prizes announced Monday: JOURNALISM: Public Service: The Las Vegas Sun. Breaking News Reporting: The New York Times staff. Investigative Reporting: David Barstow of The New York Times. Explanatory Reporting: Bettina Boxall and Julie Cart of the Los Angeles Times. Local Reporting: Jim Schaefer, M.L. Elrick and staff of the…
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The End of the Age of Douchebags?
ESQUIRE’s Stephen Marche has written a hilarious piece detailing the end of the “douchebag” era: The departure of W., that backslapping, nickname-calling, know-nothing M.B.A. failure, is the cue for… the expense-account-abusing, bottle-service-ordering, Ayn Rand-quoting embarrassments of the American banking sector: Your relevance is dwindling, your presence no longer required. [W]e are seeing the return of…
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Fantasy and Fact Still at War on Pirates
Time for some pirating darts and laurels. TIME gets out in front of mainstream American media (and catches up with the Brits) by reporting the full context of the purportedly sudden pirating menace. High-seas trawlers from countries as far flung as South Korea, Japan and Spain have operated down the Somali coast, often illegally and…
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Young, Gifted and the Niece of Angela Davis
So there’s this really interesting play happening in NYC right now. Stay with me, folks. I know most of you are not in NYC, but this is worth unearthing some lively discussion. The play’s called Angela’s MixTape. It’s produced by New Georges and the Hip Hop Theater Festival. Angela’s MixTape is an autobiographical musical/poetic/comical/dramatic odyssey…
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Flying While Fat
United Airlines is instituting a “flying while fat” policy and it concerns me for a few reasons. While I don’t think anyone would describe me as “fat,” I am certainly wide in the shoulders. I am about the same size and girth as a heavy-weight boxer –will I get bumped from a plane for being…
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Obamaism: Charm and Disarm
The Barack Obama global charm offensive continues unabated as he returns to Washington from Trinidad and Tobago where he spent two days as the main attraction and the great hope at the Fifth Summit of the Americas. In a single weekend, Obama completely transformed the diplomatic landscape of the region, by saying the most reasonable,…
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Forfeit on the Race Conference
The United Nations World Conference Against Racism begins today in Geneva, Switzerland—without the Obama administration in attendance. The United States decided on Saturday to boycott the conference, just as the Bush administration did in 2001, when it was held in Durban, South Africa, amid a firestorm of controversy surrounding elements of the conference charter viewed…
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‘Trouble’ Hits HBO
New Orleans is my city Katrina had to move me… I’m the Ninth Ward, for sure -Kim “Black Kold Madina” Rivers Roberts, “Ninth Ward” To watch Kim Rivers Roberts rap toward the end of the Oscar-nominated Trouble the Water, which debuts on HBO on Thursday, is to see the whole nightmare of Katrina crystallized in…