culture
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Morgan Freeman’s Stepgranddaughter Stabbed to Death in NYC
TMZ is reporting that Morgan Freeman’s stepgranddaughter was fatally stabbed Sunday morning outside her home in New York City. E’dena Hines, 33, was found lying on the street in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood. She had suffered multiple stab wounds to her torso, the report says. She was rushed to a local hospital, where she was…
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Enhanced Security at Straight Outta Compton Is Straight Outta Racist Playbook
Straight Outta Compton, the F. Gary Gray biopic about legendary hip-hop pioneers N.W.A, may have defied expectations, with an astounding $59 million at the box office expected its opening weekend, but moviegoers were still treated like “Niggaz Wit Attitudes.” Amid a swiftly growing Black Lives Matter movement—which has ramped up protests as the political cycle…
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Chill Out With a Cold One: 5 Perfect Beers for Summer
After more than a decade spent in a variety of positions with IBM, Michael Ferguson found his true calling: beer. In 1989 he began working as a brewer, and that move launched a journey that has made him one of the public faces in American craft beer. Craft beer sales are skyrocketing; according to sales…
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T.D. Jakes Isn’t Homophobic; You Just Weren’t Listening Clearly
Before his interview on HuffPost Live with Marc Lamont Hill, the longest time I can recall listening to T.D. Jakes speak was during a recent episode of Braxton Family Values. And yet I found myself somewhat impressed by how he toed the line with respect to reconciling his place as a member of the clergy…
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Prewedding Jitters Led Me to Sleep With My Ex. Should I Call Off the Wedding?
I’m knee-deep in it and truly don’t know what to do. I am getting married on Saturday. I have been having my “what if” moments, more than I thought I would. “What if” led me to my ex, the man I initially thought I would be with forever. I told him my thoughts. We talked and…
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Movie Review: A New Film Exposes the Truth About Tango’s African Roots
There is no doubt that African music is at the core of the native sounds for America, Brazil, Colombia and all of the Caribbean. In Argentina, the subject is a tad more controversial. Tango is the core music of the country and its neighbor Uruguay, yet in Argentina it has bordered on scandalous to suggest…
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Straight Outta History: Director F. Gary Gray Speaks on the Brotherhood, Impact and Legacy of N.W.A
Straight Outta Compton, the story of Eric “Eazy-E” Wright, Andre “Dre” Young, O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson, Antoine “DJ Yella” Carraby and Lorenzo “MC Ren” Patterson, collectively known as N.W.A, is finally on the big screen. And unlike previous black music biopics, this one, because it digs deep and even creates a film that transports audiences…
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Why We Can’t Afford to Dodge Jury Duty
I recently concluded a trial on a civil rights case. Without discussing the details, it was a case that was in the New England area, where I found myself daily in a courthouse with hardly a sign of another person of color anywhere. One or two marshals, but no judges, no law clerks, no custodians…
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Movie Review: Straight Outta Compton Takes N.W.A From Boys to Men Who Became Hip-Hop Legends
Straight Outta Compton is a film that brilliantly captures the energy of a group of friends raging against the post-industrial machine in a city on the brink of eruption. Directed by F. Gary Gray, Straight Outta Compton tells the story of N.W.A, one of the most notorious and iconic rap groups in music history, and…
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Sign of the Times: A Performance Artist’s Creative Approach to Finding a Husband
On Sunday afternoon, I was at an annual event in Brooklyn, N.Y., which was attended by thousands of people, mostly young black professionals looking for a good time. In the crowd, I spotted a woman who left no doubt about why she’d shown up that day—not for the music or to hang with her girls…

