culture
-
3 High-Profile Cases of Black Men Killed by Police, Still No Arrests—Why?
We’ve heard from the St. Louis County grand jury. And unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last couple of days, you know the result: Jurors returned a “no true bill” decision or, put simply, no indictment of Ferguson, Mo., police Officer Darren Wilson for shooting and killing Michael Brown. So many of…
-
Picking on the Obama Girls Isn’t Smart, Especially if You Work for a GOP Congressman
Editor’s note: Elizabeth Lauten resigned on Monday. Blame the alcohol in the eggnog, delirium from too much stuffing or simply bad judgment for causing Elizabeth Lauten, the communications director for Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn.), to flip out on Facebook over the first daughters, Sasha and Malia Obama. After reading an article linked on Facebook from…
-
Ray Rice Wins Appeal, Suspension Overturned
Ray Rice is free to return to the NFL after an arbitrator Friday vacated his indefinite suspension by the league for hitting his then-fiancee and now wife, Janay Palmer Rice, in a hotel elevator, the Associated Press writes. The former Baltimore Ravens running back is now a free agent and “eligible to play upon signing…
-
The Root TV: What Nigerians Thought About #BringBackOurGirls and Americans Wanting to Help
From the vantage point of Nigerians, it must have been an overwhelming experience to go from being a nation with a decent amount of obscurity to being at the center of a worldwide social media campaign in just a matter of days. That’s what happened in April, when insurgents from the Boko Haram terrorist group…
-
Calls for Shoppers to Boycott Black Friday Shopping
Activists, celebrities and some clergy are urging a protest against the Michael Brown grand jury decision by refusing to shop on Black Friday. The message has been spreading via social media under the hashtags BlackOutBlackFriday and #HandsUpDontSpend, among others. Will you participate in this action?
-
How to Not Let Black Friday and Cyber Monday Lead to Red Tuesday
The Black Friday and Cyber Monday frenzy is about to descend across America. This means many people are itching to grab up the best deals to jump-start their holiday shopping. However, Teri Williams, president of OneUnited Bank, the largest African-American-owned bank in the U.S., wants the community to think twice before spending their money and…
-
Labor Activists Will Protest in Front of Several Wal-Mart Locations on Black Friday
Wal-Mart—America’s largest retailer—will be facing a lot of hurdles on Black Friday. Not only is there a robust social media campaign under way that is encouraging black Americans to boycott major businesses as a way to protest the Ferguson, Mo., grand jury verdict, but Al-Jazeera is also reporting that OUR Walmart—the “union-backed labor campaign” consisting of…
-
According to Knicks Player J.R. Smith, Black Friday Is Linked to Slavery
We have yet to check with our editor-in-chief, Henry Louis Gates Jr., but according to New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith’s Instagram page, Black Friday is historically linked to slavery. On Tuesday evening, Smith posted the following message linking the biggest shopping day of the year with a “historical” factoid claiming that the day after…
-
Pastor Reportedly Refuses to Bury 93-Year-Old Woman Who Hadn’t Paid Her Church Dues
A Houston pastor faces criticism after refusing to bury a 93-year-old woman who had been a member of his church for more than 50 years, reports KRIV. Barbara Day says that she feels insulted by the way the pastor, Walter F. Houston, responded to her request to bury her mother, Olivia Blair. “It was like…
-
Why Are Some Black Men Dismissing Black Women’s Criticism of Bill Cosby?
It’s about time for black men to take a long look in the mirror and ask how our male privilege can be harmful to black women. During the most turbulent of times, it seems that when black women raise their voices to discuss their unique experience with racism and sexual violence, too many of us…