culture
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A Conversation With Cuba That Is Long Overdue
Two weeks before President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. and Cuba would reopen embassies that had been shuttered for more than 50 years, I was embarking on a bit of diplomacy of my own. Abel Contreras, a black Cuban I first met in 2009 on a reporting trip to Cuba and who served as our…
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Billy Graham’s Son Wants to Stop Muslims From Coming to America While Ignoring the White Terrorists Among Us
Whether they grew up in a Christian household or not, most people have heard of Billy Graham. For many believers, he was a Christian leader who taught the uncompromising word of God, a man who reached out to Christians and non-Christians alike to spread the love of Jesus. So we are outraged that his son,…
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The Officer Who Shot Unarmed Jonathan Ferrell Is About to Go on Trial. Here Are 5 Things You Should Know
Randall Kerrick—the officer from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg, N.C., Police Department who shot and killed unarmed 24-year-old Jonathan Ferrell, a former Florida A&M University football player—will go on trial Monday. Kerrick faces a charge of voluntary manslaughter, according to CNN. The September 2013 shooting incited emotional reactions across the nation, coming just a few months after George…
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Why African Americans Should Be 1st in Line to Cuba
Havana: On a small cut of land at the corner of 23rd Avenue and F Street in the Vedado section of this city stands a monument to two heroes of the Cuban people. But the faces carved into the imposing marble-and-granite structure are not those of Fidel Castro and Ernesto “Che” Guevara, icons of the…
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NYC Swim Team Breaking Records and Busting Myths
While lots of other kids are sleeping in and playing video games this summer, a group of dedicated swimmers are hard at work, preparing for the upcoming competitive season. The Bedford-Stuyvesant YMCA Piranhas team, in Brooklyn, N.Y., has won nearly a dozen trophies since forming in 1997. This year’s team has 45 swimmers, the majority…
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How Janet Jackson Can Sell Big by Selling Out
Every day, we hear something new about Ciara’s failed relationship with rapper Future and how she’s practicing abstinence with her new NFL boyfriend, Russell Wilson. Her new album and tour are usually mentioned in these conversations. Beyoncé was rolling around in the sand with her hubby, Jay Z, in the “Drunk in Love” video, introducing the…
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Quiz: Who Is Your Inner ’90s Diva?
The 1990s were a decade of blockbuster hits and instant classics. What made that era special, however, was the fact that it was dominated by women. Take this special quiz to find out which of those divas represented you!
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1 Year After Eric Garner’s Death and Black America Still Can’t Breathe
The labored breathing of black America has grown more intense since the state-sanctioned choke hold death of 43-year-old Eric Garner last summer on Staten Island, N.Y. You can feel it—chests seizing, eyes watering, in-out, in-out—sharp pain slicing through the hot desperation of a nation struggling not to collapse onto itself. Gil Scott-Heron was right and…
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Plantation Tours: Don’t Expect to Hear How Horrible Slavery Really Was
I’m not sure how I picked up the hobby of touring plantations. I think it started with my interest in architecture—picked up from my husband, who works in real estate—and my best friend of 20-plus years, who is an interior designer. Over the years, I’ve adopted their combined interests. I’ve been to four plantations and…
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The Death of Sandra Bland Isn’t Helping My Fear of Driving While Black
For most of my adult life I’ve struggled with anxiety—whether mild or serious—and it’s done everything from make me cancel events to lose my train of thought midsentence. It’s caused me to hide in my house for days on end, and about six years ago it came for my ability to drive anywhere without having…