culture

Meet the Press, the crown jewel of the Sunday morning talks shows, determined yesterday that the future of black America was topic worthy of discussion and invited a panel of black luminaries, most of them from the past, to talk about the future. The panel included Bill Cosby, Dr. Alvin Poussaint, Washington D.C. Mayor Adrian…

Roland Burris’ plaintive, doth-protest-too-much mantra—“I am the junior senator from Illinois” (“…and I drive a Dodge Stratus!”)—is getting that slightly overplayed feel along the same lines as Barack Obama’s go-to line, “South Side of Chicago,” and Hillary Clinton’s sing-songy, “Hillary…Clinton…dot…com.” Here’s the thing—Burris has almost managed to maneuver into a U.S. Senate seat by pitching…

Madea Goes to Jail coming to a theater near you on Feb. 20th. So, what should you expect? Well, like all the Tyler Perry movies thus far, you’re sure to see a few familiar faces. Derek Luke (Antoine Fisher) and everyone’s favorite Huxtable kid, Rudy a.k.a Keisha Knight Pulliam have both been cast. You should…

Barack Obama and D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty grabbed a bite to eat at Ben’s Chili Bowl, the famed half-smoke and chili eatery in the historic U Street corridor on Saturday. Obama, who enjoyed his first taste of Ben’s, ate a half-smoke with chili and chips. So if the president-elect is making stops at restaurants around the…

Very quietly, the Southeast Division is making an uprising in the NBA. Long thought to be the weakest of the six divisions, all five teams are turning heads. In the last week, the two worst teams in the division, the Charlotte Bobcats and Washington Wizards, have pulled stunning upsets. Last Sunday, the Wizards downed their…

America is gearing up to welcome a new president whose theme is hope, and many Americans are trying to muster up all the faith they can to get through these tough economic times. And in keeping with the mood, a new message movie opens today that encourages us to seek strength from a higher power.…

Every year, millions of Americans make well-intentioned New Year’s resolutions to get their money straight. “I’m going to get out of debt.” “I’m going to stick to a budget.” “I’m going to save more. Too bad many of those declarations are broken before the end of January. We have trouble keeping these promises because we…

The calls started coming in as soon at the election results did. “So, Veronica,” the caller would begin, “what’s up for inauguration?” The query seems innocent enough—if you don’t live in Washington, D.C. But if you do live in the District—as I do—you soon realize that people don’t really care about your plans for inauguration.…

My name is Maya Cobb and I am six years old and I am so happy for you and your family. I think it will be so fun to live in the White house. I went before with my parents.  Do you like American Girl Dolls? I Do. I have 3. I have Josephina, Julia…

Jan. 9, 2009—Eight of the 12 playoff teams start their sprint for the Super Bowl this weekend, but for me the real action is with the 20 teams licking their wounds as their players clear out their lockers, and say goodbye until spring mini-camp or preseason in July or, in some cases, forever. It’s neither…