culture

  • Burned, Dead Body Found Near Site Where Michael Brown Was Killed

    Around 9 a.m. Tuesday, a black man’s body was found near the same apartment where Ferguson, Mo., police Officer Darren Wilson killed Michael Brown on Aug. 9, CBS St. Louis and the Associated Press report. The young man, reportedly in his 20s, was shot to death and set on fire. His body was found inside…

  • Pharrell Williams: Why Aren’t We Talking About Michael Brown’s ‘Bullyish’ Behavior?

    Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article stated that Pharrell Williams spoke to Ebony magazine about Michael Brown after a grand jury declined to indict Darren Wilson. He did not—Williams spoke to Ebony in an interview conducted in September. Grammy Award-winning producer Pharrell Williams has previously gotten flak for his comments on race, such as…

  • Dreaming of an NBA Career? Don’t Give Up, but Be Realistic

    Wednesday’s episode of The Root Live: Bring It to the Table looks at the dream versus the reality of a sports or entertainment career, and how to prepare for what happens if and when that career comes to an end or simply fades away. Delvin Joyce played three seasons with the New York Giants, but…

  • A Social Media Push to Boycott Black Friday in Wake of Ferguson Decision

    Some of those who want to protest the shooting of unarmed teen Michael Brown are hoping to hit corporate America right in its pocket after a grand jury failed to indict Officer Darren Wilson in Brown’s death, the International Business Times reports. The Justice for Michael Brown Leadership Coalition is organizing a No Justice, No…

  • Read Darren Wilson’s Grand Jury Testimony

    Here is the transcript from the grand jury case, released by the St. Louis County prosecutor’s office. Darren Wilson’s testimony begins on Page 195.

  • Congressional Black Caucus Chair Calls Ferguson Verdict ‘Slap in the Face’ 

    Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) slammed the grand jury decision not to indict Ferguson, Mo., Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of unarmed teen Michael Brown, calling it a “frightening narrative,” Talking Points Memo reports. “This decision seems to underscore an unwritten rule that Black lives hold no value; that you may…

  • Stevie Wonder Speaks About Hope, Freedom and Ferguson

    In the midst of his successful Songs in the Key of Life tour, Stevie Wonder, the legendary singer-songwriter who brought us such hits as “Isn’t She Lovely?” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” “Living in the City” and “Superstition,” was one of 18 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Monday. The prestigious award, the nation’s highest…

  • Ferguson Is a Wake-Up Call That We Are Not Post-Racial

    Racial injustice is alive and well in America—and our nation will never achieve racial peace without justice. Monday night’s announcement of the grand jury’s decision not to indict Ferguson, Mo., police Officer Darren Wilson on any charges in the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown sparked a series of, at times, violent protests in Ferguson…

  • Lincoln University President Resigns After Backlash From Rape Lecture to Female Students

    Lincoln University President Robert R. Jennings resigned on Monday morning several weeks after a video went viral that showed Jennings giving a controversial lecture to female students in September about sexual assault prevention, according to the Philadelphia Daily News. The Daily News is also reporting that the university “announced the appointment of a task force on…

  • St. Louis Prosecutor: Key Witnesses Flip-Flopped

    During St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert P. McCulloch’s press conference Monday night, during which he explained why a Missouri grand jury decided not to indict police Officer Darren Wilson for fatally shooting Michael Brown, McCulloch made shocking revelations about the testimony of some of the key witnesses. “The most credible eyewitnesses to the shooting…