culture
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If This Fundraiser Succeeds, Ferguson Could Wind Up With a Billboard That Reads ‘#PantsUpDontLoot’
Gawker is reporting that Ferguson, Mo., could soon be seeing a billboard that declares, “#PantsUpDontLoot.” According to the report, a supporter of Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson has crowdsourced enough funding to pay for at least one such controversial billboard, to be erected in the city as it grapples with racial tension following the Aug.…
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African-American Debt Is a New Form of Slavery
If African Americans do not get control of personal debt and begin to live healthier financial lives, “we will never own our neighborhoods,” and “we will never leave a legacy for our children.” This dire prediction from a prominent religious leader has motivated a financial-freedom movement that is grounded in religious teachings. Wednesday’s episode of…
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Female Suicide Bomber Kills 13 in Northeast Nigeria Town
A female suicide bomber walked into a mobile-phone store in Azare, Nigeria, on Sunday and blew herself up, killing at least 13 people in the town and injuring 65, Al-Jazeera is reporting. It’s the latest incident in a string of suicide bombings that have rocked the region. While no group has claimed responsibility for the attack,…
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NFL Commissioner Suspends Adrian Peterson Without Pay for Remainder of the Season
The NFL sent Adrian Peterson a letter on Tuesday, notifying the Minnesota Vikings running back that he would be suspended for the remainder of the 2014-2015 season without pay, CNN is reporting. “The timing of your potential reinstatement will be based on the results of the counseling and treatment program set forth in this decision,”…
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Baseball Sensation Mo’ne Davis Lands Book Deal for Memoir
Although she’s still just a teenager, Mo’ne Davis, this year’s “it” girl in the sports world—the first female pitcher to win a Little League World Series game—has landed a book deal for a memoir about her yet brief, but amazing, life, the Associated Press reports. The memoir, titled Mo’ne Davis: Remember My Name (surely, we…
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CNN’s New Black in America Special Explores the Strife Between Cops and Young Black Men
Soledad O’Brien dedicates the next installment of her Black in America documentary series to the ongoing tensions between cops and working-class black people. The special airs Tuesday at 9 p.m. on CNN and is called Black & Blue—the former presumably representing the Trayvon Martins, Jordan Davises, Eric Garners and Michael Browns of the nation, that…
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Ferguson’s Mayor Tries to Explain His ‘There Are No Racial Divides’ Comment
As the nation awaits a grand jury decision in the case of Ferguson, Mo., police Officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown on Aug. 9, Mayor James Knowles sat down with Al-Jazeera America Monday to try to clarify the assertion he made months earlier that “there are no racial divides” in Ferguson,…
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Listen: Bill Cosby Jokes About Putting a Drug in Women’s Drinks
Bill Cosby has had a difficult time trying to stay out of the public eye in recent weeks, and as more and more women come forward to accuse the TV icon of sexual assault, the Internet has dredged up audio from his 1969 album, It’s True! It’s True!, on which the comedian jokes about having a…
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5 Reasons We Lost Our Minds Over Solange Knowles’ Wedding
Last week was hard for black women. Kim Kardashian’s bare ass—and all the white privilege it represents—was everywhere you scrolled, an unintentional attempt to fulfill the directive on the cover of Paper magazine: Break the Internet. Whether you thought her flaunting her big bottom was exceptionally vulgar or artistic homage, you knew that whatever it…
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Mo. Gov. Jay Nixon Activates National Guard and Announces 30-Day State of Emergency
The Associated Press reports that Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency Monday in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Mo., and surrounding areas in advance of a pending grand jury decision on whether to indict Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown on Aug. 9. Nixon also activated…