culture

Ciara can wear the hell out of some Louboutin pumps and YSL booties. She could possibly rock a Glad trash bag. Her pop-star façade, on the other hand, is ill-fitting. R&B singers tend to come wrapped in a nice, predefined persona— for better or worse—but Ciara’s was always vague and undefined. She wasn’t a Bohemian…

NO: So…Dave…You’re the Mayor of Detroit Now BET: Man Throws Infant from Car; Buzz Hates Due Process ESPN: Usain Bolt Back Training; Asafa Powell, Tyson Gay Sad CNN: Roland Martin Reminds Deadbeat Dads that They Aren’t Tight DB: Does Kanye West Dress As Though He Likes Fishsticks? BSP: Chris Brown Turns 20, EVERYONE Clamors to…

“San Francisco is beautiful. You shouldn’t have to be upper-middle class to be a part of that.” —Micah in Medicine for Melancholy In April 1858, perhaps as many as 700 black settlers—about 14 percent of the blacks then living in California—began an exodus from San Francisco to Victoria, British Columbia, 750 miles north, in a…

Dancing With the Stars would never have happened without Frankie Manning. One of the greatest dancers in American history passed away last week at age 94, but the swing dance craze that he helped to inspire is a testament to his contribution to American culture. What is perhaps most remarkable about Manning is that he…

Mamas, let’s be honest for a minute: Although the card companies would have us thinking otherwise, just having a child of one’s own is a present in itself, right? Well, it is to me. The sound of my kids’ laughter is more melodious than anything I could download onto my iPod. And as much as…

Cinco de Mayo is one of those holidays that many use as a time for celebration, while knowing very little about the holiday and its importance to the people of Mexico.  The holiday commemorates the Mexican army’s unlikely defeat of French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of…

WP: DC Votes to Recognize Other States’ Same-Sex Marriages RD: Cinco de Mayo: Discovering more about Blacks and Mexicans AJE: Judges Reject Former Liberian President’s Request for War Crimes Acquittal BET: School Bus Driver Accused of Punching Student NO: Oprah, KFC Team Up to Give Away Chicken HP: Race and Obama: 390 Years Minus 100…

The silences in Marion Jones first public speech since she was released from prison last fall were as percussive as the words she actually spoke. Since serving six months for perjury after being convicted of fraud and the use of performance enhancing drugs, the disgraced Olympian has been interviewed by Oprah and Good Morning America’s…

If the Mall in Washington, D.C., is the “nation’s lawn,” then the institutions that line it must be the national lawn ornaments. It is a motley architectural collection, ranging from standouts such as John Russell Pope’s National Gallery of Art and I.M. Pei’s East Building to the distinctly pedestrian museums housing natural history, American history,…

The first round of the NBA playoffs did little to dispel the notion that the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers are fated to meet in the NBA finals next month. But if you missed the games of the last two weeks, you might not be a big fan after all. The drama and…