culture
-
The Nappyheaded Black Male Revolution Is On
Named after Rakim from Eric B. & Rakim, the Rakim cut was a box with a part going from the front of the head to the back. It was a very popular hairstyle in 1989, a fact I remember quite vividly because I had one, too. By sixth grade, I’d cut the Rakim off and just had…
-
Finding Your Roots Curriculum Receives $659,000 in Grants; PBS Series Returns in Jan.
A new curriculum based on Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s popular PBS documentary series, Finding Your Roots, received two grants this week: one for $355,000 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to create Genetics and Genealogy Summer Camps for Middle School-Aged Youth; and one for $304,000 from the National Science Foundation to establish a college program,…
-
10 Classic Black Horror Movies to Get You in the Halloween Spirit
The trope of the black character dying—often first and sometimes even before the opening credits of a horror movie—is so well-known that discussing (and parodying) this trope has become a trope. There is, however, a long history of horror movies featuring black characters as villains and vampires that not only live until the end (or…
-
Robert Cray: 40 Years of the Blues
Bluesman Robert Cray explains his eclectic 40-year career—and his band’s ability to effortlessly straddle traditional blues, rock and R&B—this way: “We get excited about music still. You never know what might pop up when someone is writing something new.” The five-time Grammy Award winner, and member of the Blues Hall of Fame, has reached a…
-
Black Students Don’t Study Abroad, but a New Initiative Hopes to Change That
Be it socioeconomics, lack of general opportunities and resources, or just plain fear of the unknown, when it comes to students of color studying abroad, it just doesn’t happen. A 2014 report by the Institute of International Education shows that 9 percent of U.S. undergraduates study abroad. Of that 9 percent, 75 percent are white,…
-
6 Theories on Why People Are in Their Feelings About Halle Berry’s Divorce
Earlier this week, Halle Berry and her husband, French boxer-turned-actor Olivier Martinez, announced that they were splitting after two years of marriage. “We move forward with love and respect for one another and the shared focus of what is best for our son,” the pair said in a joint statement. The breakup is Martinez’s first…
-
How to Get Away With Murder Recap: A Woman of Contradictions
Four of the Keating Five were involved in the murder of Annalise Keating’s husband and subsequent cover-up. Asher Millstone was left out of the conspiracy and wasn’t beholden to his professor the same way his body-dumping classmates are. That’s changed. Asher officially joins the group. While Annalise has been running around saving her students and…
-
What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl Who Is Assaulted in the Classroom
In 1978, when I was 6 years old, a female teacher assaulted me in a classroom. I was a rambunctious, intellectually curious child who talked a lot in class. I loooooved my homeroom teacher, Ms. S., who was kind and treated me nicely, which was important for a black girl growing up in post-civil-rights-era Lynchburg,…
-
Scandal Recap: 29 Times This Episode Had Us, Like, Whoa
This week’s episode kicked off with Sen. Mellie Grant getting caught lying under oath about how long she’s known about her husband’s affair with Olivia Pope. Then Chandra Wilson (Dr. Miranda Bailey on Grey’s Anatomy), who directed the episode, released the emergency brake and let the car careen down the side of the mountain. Here are 29 times…
-
Can You Outsmart a 4th-Grader in STEM Knowledge?
Imagine an industry in which there are jobs and nobody to fill them, while African Americans continue to face double-digit rates of unemployment. It’s clear that the job market belongs to those who can master science and math. Among the fastest-growing job sectors are those in STEM careers—science, technology, engineering and math. Not only are…