culture

Fighters from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) set fire to Chevron’s Otunana station in Niger Delta late on Tuesday, according to AL JAZEERA. MEND, who declared all out war on Nigeria’s army after last month’s naval attack on fighters in the delta region, said in a statement: “As forewarned, a…

9-year old A-Darrious Finley of Mississippi is dead from a shotgun blast after a dispute with his brother regarding a video game. According to the ASSOCIATED PRESS, the 9-year old retrieved the gun from his father closet after being beaten at video games by his 11-year old brother, De-Andre. The older boy initially claimed he…

Is the recent Newsweek cover featuring Oprah offensive? Claire Shipman of TRUE SLANT seems to think so: “First of all, whatever case the reporters were trying to make about Oprah, it would have helped them tremendously to have done it in a dignified manner. That photo was just in horribly bad taste. Picking a photo…

A thirteen-year old girl died after being shot in the back Sunday evening by a drive-by shooter. The incident took place during a block party. BET reports the block party was being held for North Ward city council candidate Divine Allah, who said the gathering was peaceful until shots rang out. No suspects have been…

Anytime you get to help people while engaging in non-mortal combat and partying afterward, you pretty much have to.

A flashmob clad in gold Hammer pants comes flying into an LA clothing store and surrounded the innocent hipster bystanders. This is what ensued…

So much for hoop dreams. For some young men and women in Harlem, the program StreetSquash has promoted achievement through squash’s athletic rigor and a focus on academic excellence. With affiliate groups in the Bronx, Philadelphia and Boston, the National Urban Squash and Education Association is focused on a commitment to urban youth. As one…

Facing 286 felony counts against him, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani arrived in federal court this morning to stand trial for a rash of bombings in Tanzania and Kenya stretching back a decade. Ghailani, who was previously in the custody of New York Metropolitan Correction Center—a holding tank for numerous accused terrorists—had been at Guantanamo since 2006.…

I should have known our efforts at family reunions were in trouble when members of the New York chapter of my family decided to boycott the reunion over a minor family dispute the year we planned it in New York. As the host family that year, we kept having to explain to visiting relatives why…

Stanley Crouch has long been a  critic of hip hop, sometimes unfairly, but often time making stellar points regarding the art form and its troubling place in Black culture. In a New York Daily News article published recently, Crouch goes in on Kanye West and his seemingly proud flaunting of anti-intellectualism vis a vis not…