The Very Short List of Black Celebs Speaking Out Against Trump’s ICE Raids
White George Floyd Advocate and Husband ‘Target of Political Assasination’ but It Gets Worse
Fans Get Too Close to Rumi Carter at the ‘Cowboy Carter Tour’ Until They See …Jay-Z
Behind Florida’s Sheriff’s ‘We Will Kill You’ to Anti-Trump Protesters
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Nothin' But a G20 Thang
The condensed history of the Western world goes something like this: Achilles slays Hector, Charlemagne conquers Saxony, Anne Boleyn, Martin Luther, Waterloo, May Day, Versailles, The Beatles on Ed Sullivan, and Queen Elizabeth II hugs Michelle Obama. Can you say “road trip”? Halfway through their trip to the G20 summit, NATO and beyond, it’s safe…
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If We Ruled the (Literary) World
Natalie Hopkinson is a Washington, D.C.-based author whose current projects deal with the arts, gender and public life. She is the author of Go-Go Live: The Musical Life and Death of a Chocolate City. Follow her on Twitter. If I ruled the literary world, the African-American fiction section of bookstores would smell like cookies. Every time someone entered the…
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Malawi Judge Says No! to Madonna
So here’s the latest: Madonna had her eye on a three-year old Malawi girl to bring home. You know, so the little bloke David could have a playmate. [Why does this sound like activity at a slave auction]? Anyway, a Malawi judge thwrated Madonna’s gaze by saying “NO” to her request to adopt another child…
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Is Anything Black About the American West?
Reading obituaries about John Hope Franklin reminded me about a long-standing beef I have with a certain limited way of thinking about who African Americans are. For me, though, the telling biographical fact was where he was born—Oklahoma. In its obituary, the Raleigh News & Observer said the eminent historian “gave definition to the African-American…
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M. Nahadr's Eclectic Artistry
With her alabastrine skin and magnificent mane of dreadlocks, the performance artist M. Nahadr has a presence on stage that is hard to ignore and even harder to forget. Recently featured in Elle and Maxim magazines, the Maryland native combines music, poetry and theatre to create stage pieces such as MADWOMAN: A Contemporary Opera or…
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Baseball: A Season Preview
Baseball gets its 2009 season underway this weekend, and rather than break out a crystal ball about all 30 teams, let’s look at a few key flashpoints. There won’t be a “this year’s Rays.” Last season, the Tampa Bay Rays stunned the sports world by going from a perennial cellar dweller, 66-96 in 2007 for…
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Are We In For A "Double Dip Recession?"
The good news: If the stimulus plan works, there might be light at the end of tunnel and this evil recession (I don’t know about ya’ll, but I’ve made the recession my arch nemesis) will end soon. The bad news: The bulb on that light could go out quickly and we’ll have to deal with…
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Friday's Headlines
CNN: Casualties, Up to 40 Hostages in Upstate New York Siege AP: Jobless Rate at 8.5%; 91.5% of America Real Shook Right Now American Prospect: Terence Samuel Discusses New $1T Man, the IMF; Ted DiBiase Jealous AJE: Sarkozy Rejects Obama’s Afghan Plan, Forgets French Could Have Been His 2nd Language NYT: Iowa Courts Lifting Ban…
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The Presents of Your Company
Hard to be the most-scrutinized glamour couple in the world: everybody has an opinion about what you say and wear—even what you give as presents. That’s the unenviable position in which the Obamas have found themselves—twice—when exchanging the ritually-expected presents between the President and foreign dignitaries and heads of state. When English Prime Minister Gordon…
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talk like sex: Pop stars as Pied Pipers
I read a joint some time ago about a study that suggested that sexual lyrics make kids horny, as opposed to, say, HORMONES. Looking for reasons to explain teen sexual behavior, the culprit, some would have you believe, is obviously pop music. For me, there isn’t enough meat on that argument —- I don’t see…