culture

Former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card went reverse uppity this week, appearing on Inside Edition to scold President Barack Obama for relaxing George W. Bush’s Oval Office dress code, mandating coats and ties at all times for gentlemen (and Burkas at all times for ladies, we presume?). Although coverage of the new rules,…

Somewhere out there is a biopic worthy of the many talents of pediatric neurosurgeon, author and motivational speaker Ben Carson, he of the spectacular surgeries and the bestselling books. The man’s got a story to tell, and in this age of Obama, stories that celebrate the life of black intellect are welcome, indeed. Too bad…

Barack Obama stood, jacket off and sleeves rolled, shouting into his mic and straining to be heard over the roaring crowd that turned up to welcome him back to Kenya. It was August 26, 2006, and the world was already watching. The young senator was just a few months away from launching his improbable bid…

One thing is clear about the new Congress and the Obama administration: They agree on the fact that health care reform, broadly, must be among the first policy challenges tackled in 2009. Indeed, the first nomination hearing the new Congress held upon convening in January was for Tom Daschle, Obama’s choice to lead the Department…

There is little doubt that Barack Obama’s election presents not only a historic moment for black America, but one filled with enormous potential for change. As outlined in the State of AIDS in Black America section of this report, the new administration and Congress face grave challenges, but also great opportunities to revive black America’s…

The 2009 edition of the Black AIDS Institute’s annual State of AIDS in Black America report lays out both the promise and the peril of the unique moment at which we’ve arrived in this epidemic. On one hand, the historic election of Barack Obama and a congressional majority that has been more supportive of the…

Who will ever forget the first moment Barack and Michelle Obama took to the dance floor on the evening of the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball? Our president, dashing in his tuxedo, and our first lady, a vision of loveliness in white, were serenaded by Beyoncé to Etta James’ famous “At Last.” The rest of us reveled…

The Buzz gets no satisfaction player hating those who regularly spark the leaf. But we’re in favor of a just application of the law when it comes to marijuana. As Stanton Peele writes in today’s Wall Street Journal, “Arrest Michael Phelps!”—unless the kid glove, superstar treatment is going to be applied equally to African Americans…

This morning’s lead story in The New York Times addresses President Obama’s efforts to change corporate culture by caping executive salaries to $500,000. Now, as much as The Buzz loves the Big O, we can’t help but say, “Whatchu talkin’ bout, Bama?” They’re even astounded Down Under, where the online newspaper The Australian makes note…