culture
-
Hip-Hop, Mental Health and Telling Our Stories: Combat Jack Talks the Life and Death of Chris Lighty
“Powerful black men like Chris Lighty don’t shoot themselves. It makes no sense, but somehow there he was, lying in the casket with a bullet in his skull.” This statement, shared by Reggie Ossé, captured many of our original thoughts when learning that hip-hop mogul Chris Lighty died from an apparent suicide in 2012. Even…
-
This Lying, Murdering Whore Called America
Today—almost a year after a man who took an oath to protect and serve sent a bullet into the skull of another human being at point-blank range who was absolutely no threat to anyone on earth—12 jurors, a judge and and the entire American justice system stood on the grave of Philando Castile, took an…
-
#TheRootTrip: Don’t Expect to Be Welcome at This Old-School Pool Hall Without a Little Home Training
I know these black men. I’ve known them all of my life. That was my first thought after I’d walked down the darkened hallway, past Stamper’s barbershop in Monroe, La., and into the pool hall where a dozen black men—ranging in age from mid-30s to “he been here forever”—sat around enjoying each other’s presence. Bones…
-
#TheRootTrip: Good Times and Good Vibes at Shreveport, La.’s Bon Temps Coffee Bar
Nothing against Starbucks because Lord knows that over the years, I’ve spent a mortgage payment on venti iced chai lattes, but when I saw that Shreveport, La., had a black-owned coffee bar in its Red River District, well, I just had to make a stop and visit. Welcome to Bon Temps Coffee Bar, owned by…
-
#TheRootTrip: Where a La. Hotel Once Stood, People From the Past and Present Have Been Forgotten
The next spot on my 1957 Green Book list was the Will Steward Hotel. I wasn’t able to find anything about Will Steward himself, but there were a number of Will Stewards who lived in the Shreveport area in the mid-1950s, although none of them seems directly connected to the building above. Now apartments, the…
-
#TheRootTrip: To Experience This Shreveport, La., Dining Spot, You’ll Have to Use Your Imagination
As I rolled into Shreveport, La., my first Green Book location was simply noted in the guidebook as the intersection of Pierre and Looney, where the Grand Terrace Restaurant once stood. Remember, as part of #TheRootTrip, I’m not preselecting these locations, so what I find is what I find, and I do my research after…
-
#TheRootTrip: Fill ’er Up Quick at Swift, One of the Few Black-Owned Gas Stations in Texas
Guess what, guys? I found another black-owned gas station! Swift Fast Food & Gas at 801 W. Kearney St. in Mesquite, Texas, is ready for your business. Not only do they have gas like any other gas station, as well as a full convenience store where you can buy all the chips, sodas and candy…
-
Tracing Your Roots: Were Slaves’ Surnames Like Brands?
We made a surprising discovery while addressing a question about how slaves got their last names. Dear Professor Gates: Were the surnames of enslaved people changed when they were sold, or were they allowed to keep the surnames of their former slave owners? It would seem plausible that a slave’s name was like a brand…
-
All Eyez on Me Star Demetrius Shipp Jr. on Being Tupac, a Role He Seemed Destined to Play
To say that a Tupac biopic has been a long time coming is an understatement. Perhaps few know that as well as Demetrius Shipp Jr., the icon’s “blink twice” doppelgänger who was originally cast in the role in 2011 and waited through a handful of directors, including John Singleton and Carl Franklin, before Benny Boom,…
-
Black Music Month Playlist No. 3: All Eyez on Me
Editor’s note: Every Friday for the month of June, aka African-American Music Appreciation Month, aka Black Music Month, we’ll be creating a Spotify playlist based on the news of the week. Check out the stories behind playlist No. 1 and playlist No. 2. This week began with Bill Cosby’s legal team delivering a six-minute defense…