culture
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Odell Beckham, Brittney Griner to Be Featured in ESPN Body Issue
In the six years since it release, ESPN’s Body issue has become a popular showcase for some of the world’s top athletes. Now the publication is scheduled to release its seventh issue online Monday, and it appears poised to deliver what fans have come to expect. The issue features superstars such as New York Giants…
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Ava DuVernay Dispels Rumors of Directing Marvel’s Black Panther
Ava DuVernay used the Fourth of July to declare her independence from rumors that she will direct Marvel’s Black Panther movie, telling Essence that the buzz was not totally accurate. The acclaimed Selma director told the news outlet that she met with execs about adapting the story of Marvel’s first superhero of color to the…
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Vanessa Williams Marries Fiance at Fourth of July Ceremony
The third time’s the charm: Singer-actress Vanessa Williams married fiance Jim Skrip during a ceremony in front of friends and family July 4 in New York, according to People magazine. This is the third marriage for Williams, 52, who has four children with exes Ramon Hervey II and Rick Fox, the report says. She and…
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Silence Around Who Is Burning Black Churches Speaks Volumes
There is something both sinister and cowardly about trying to destroy Black Jesus. Black churches in North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee have burned in the weeks following the terrorist attack on Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., that killed nine people. In response, agents of the state and mainstream media have attempted to…
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Arthur Ashe: 40 Years After His Historic Wimbledon Win, His Legacy Lives Beyond the Tennis Court
“I don’t want to be remembered for my tennis accomplishments.” —Arthur Ashe Tennis was our introduction to Arthur Ashe, and he took over from there. He used the platform to become a civil rights activist, a human-rights champion and a model for black thinker-athletes. The sport turned our attention to the native of Richmond, Va.,…
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Black America Knows What Real Patriotism Looks Like
It used to happen every Fourth of July. Our homeowners association would place little, cheap American flags on each lawn, and every year, ours ended up in the trash. Every. Year. My parents—born in America, raised in America, the only country they’ve ever known and will know, who had no desire to leave and will…
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Blogger Necole Bitchie Says ‘It’s Time to Move On’
In a letter to her followers that she admitted was sure to make her cry, entertainment blogger Necole Bitchie announced, “It’s time for me to move on.” She will no longer run the website NecoleBitchie.com, which was founded in 2008 by Necole Kane and calls itself “the premiere urban celebrity gossip and entertainment news site on…
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5 Red Wines That Are Perfect for Summer
Warm weather need not frustrate red wine drinkers. To be sure, popular red wines like cabernet sauvignon, zinfandel and merlot are often too heavy to be equally refreshing and enlivening during the summer, but there are plenty of alternatives worth considering. We spoke with André Hueston Mack, sommelier at large and maker of Mouton Noir Wines…
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$3,000,000 Donated to Scholarship Fund for Emanuel AME Church Community
A $3 million scholarship fund set up in the name of the Rev. Clementa Pinckney was announced Thursday in Charleston, S.C., scene of the horrific mass shooting that claimed the lives of nine parishioners at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, including Pinckney, who was also a state senator. Here is an excerpt from the press release…
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The Inevitable but Predictable Backlash Over #BlackLivesMatter
When Black Lives Matter activist Bree Newsome climbed the pole on the South Carolina Statehouse grounds and took down the Confederate flag, I had one of two thoughts. Thought No. 1: That was amazing. Thought No. 2: I hope people wait at least a few hours before they start their backlash. A few hours. That’s…