culture
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Dear Grammys: This Year, It’s Time to Recognize Some of the New Faces of R&B
Over time, as hip-hop’s influence has grown, it has developed—just go with me on the metaphor—this sort of hot, sexy relationship with pop. They’re the power couple in the music conversation. Which would be nice enough, I suppose, if, along the way, hip-hop hadn’t broken R&B’s heart, chucking it the deuces as it ran off…
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See Politics and Power Through the Eyes of 3 Black Female Journalists
There was a time when a U.S. president could wander around inside a moving train, by himself, during an afternoon. In 1948 Harry S. Truman made a surprise visit to the compartment of Alice Dunnigan, who, typewriter across her lap, was writing her story for the black press. He had heard about the trouble she…
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Bobbi Kristina Brown: A Timeline of Turmoil and Tragedy
Born of stars but seemingly star-crossed, 21-year-old Bobbi Kristina Brown has spent her entire life in the spotlight, fighting both her and her famous parents’ demons on TV, Twitter and in the tabloids. Now the daughter of music legend Whitney Houston and R&B singer Bobby Brown is fighting for her life. She was found by…
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A Campaign to Inspire the Best in All of Us
Sometimes we often just need a little reminder of what we’re capable of—the great values we have and our ability to subconsciously pass them on to another who might not see his or her own abilities. The Foundation for a Better Life, a nonprofit focused on creating public service campaigns to communicate the kinds of…
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Yeah, if He’s Eligible, 2 Chainz Should Definitely Run for Mayor
The Internet lit up last week with the news that rapper 2 Chainz—whose given name is Tauheed Epps—says he’s considering running for mayor of College Park, Ga. Fresh off his widely discussed debate with HLN host Nancy Grace over the legalization of marijuana, Epps confirmed that he is interested in becoming mayor and is exploring his…
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Scandal Recap: Olivia, You in Danger, Girl
After a two-month hiatus, Scandal has finally returned, and as far as the plot is concerned, we don’t know much more than we knew at the end of the winter finale: Olivia Pope was kidnapped to compel Fitz Grant to declare war against West Angola. But as we know, it’s about the journey, not the destination. Well, Shonda…
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The Evolution of Seattle Seahawk Richard Sherman
The evolution of one Richard Sherman is an incredible phenomenon in the annals of sports and society alike. You see, Mr. Sherman is the quintessential African-American male, not the notion of the maladjusted version that is represented in all forms of media. From the moment that he first began garnering attention back in 2011, it was…
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As Black Transgender Women Continue to Die, It’s Time for a Call to Action
Already in 2015, two transgender black women have been killed: On Jan. 17 Lamia Beard, 30, of Norfolk, Va., died of a gunshot wound; and in Texas, 24-year-old Ty Underwood was fatally shot on Monday. Today the Human Rights Campaign Foundation—the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization—and the…
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The Black Panthers and the Rise of Revolutionary Culture
Long before Black Lives Matter became a rallying cry for justice, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was demanding a similar call to action with “All power to the people.” The new documentary Black Panthers: Vanguard of a Revolution reminds us that unfortunately, so much has not changed over the years. The revolutionary organization was…
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How Kanye Went From Bush-Baiter to the Sartorial Don Lemon
What will it take for some people to see that Kanye West is no longer the same person who once declared, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people”? For some, it wasn’t West’s comparison of his struggle with the paparazzi—likely not helped by marrying a person whose business model is largely rooted in narcissism and…