culture
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So, When Can We Call the Germanwings Pilot a Terrorist?
So, let’s get this straight: You can deliberately crash a plane into a mountain, kill 149 innocent people and not be called a terrorist? And then, when evidence emerges that you methodically planned your execution, the media still won’t call you what you are? Instead, they’ll call you a terrorist by another name. Troubled, but not a…
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For This Grassroots Organization, There Are Only 2 Options: Help or Hush
Don’t just talk about it, be about it. This was the thought that went into Operation Help or Hush, born out of the protests in Ferguson, Mo., following Michael Brown’s shooting death; a type of stick-it to critics who doubted that social media could have an impact in activism: “help or hush.” Charles Wade, one…
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Chicago’s Reparations for Police Torture Victims Offer a Glimpse of the Power of #BlackLivesMatter
During a time when President Barack Obama and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake referred to disenfranchised Baltimore youths as “thugs” for failing to politely revolt against police brutality, Chicago has publicly condemned the real thugs in a police department that has abused its power with impunity for decades. In an unprecedented move, Chicago’s City Council unanimously…
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Scandal Recap: A Few Good Women
With only one episode left, last night’s Scandal loaded the bases and prepared to bring us home. “We Don’t Condone Rape!” During a photo op on a Navy ship, Vice President Susan Ross notices that a female ensign, Amy Martin, shows signs of sexual assault, so naturally, Susan takes Amy from the ship and straight to President…
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Silence Is Deadly: Mental Health and the Black Community
My father was a quiet man, but not because he didn’t have stories to tell. Robert McCray was born in Springfield, Mass., in 1924. He never knew his father. His formal education ended after the 12th grade, but he earned advanced degrees in what he called “the school of hard knocks.” After serving his country in World War II, he returned to…
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My Child’s Father Wants to Know ‘Who’s the Daddy’—but He’s the One Who’s Been Cheating
I’ve been in a relationship for three years. We moved in together after I got pregnant, and our son is now 2 months old. I’ve never been unfaithful. He cheated early on. He said he wants a paternity test. I’m positive that our son is his, and I’m offended that he would question if he…
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Tiger Woods: Worse Golfer, but Better Man
If the number seven represents completion, Tiger Woods has about 18 months until his roller coaster comes to an end. Considering all that has occurred since that fateful Thanksgiving in 2009—when then-wife Elin Nordegren chased Woods out of the house and he crashed his Escalade into a fire hydrant—you might think the last year and…
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Don Lemon, Stacey Dash and Now Raven-Symoné, on The View? Can We Stop Rewarding Simple Black Celebrities?
There are some public figures who make you wonder why you ever bothered learning how to read. I let out an audible sigh when I read the New York Post’s Page Six report that ABC executives were “desperate” to sign actress-turned-foot-in-mouth-disease-victim Raven-Symoné as a co-host for The View before their up-front presentation. A described “ABC…
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In Baltimore, and Everywhere, Activists Need to Stay Together Despite Differences
In 2003, Baltimore activist Hassan Giordano and several of his friends formed the Youth Empowerment Movement, an umbrella organization for several of Baltimore’s youth-oriented nonprofits to join. The group had an immediate impact, creating Baltimore’s Youth Commission, which in turn went on to successfully fight to keep recreational centers open; got the minimum age for…