culture
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Sorry, Shonda, but How to Get Away With Murder Has a Lot of ‘Gay’ Male Sex
It was rather sweet to see Shonda Rhimes dismiss the criticism—delivered in real time by way of Twitter—that the new ABC hit How to Get Away With Murder had one too many gay scenes the way she did. Ever cognizant of everyone’s humanity, Rhimes tweeted back, “There are no GAY scenes. There are scenes with…
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Girls of All Shades, You’re Going to Want to Hear How Dark Girls Has a New Life
I knew very early on that my strand of black wasn’t exactly preferred or exalted. I’m chocolate-complexioned—or, to use the term that is most frequently used to describe my hue (much to my chagrin), dark-skinned. Colorism. It’s arguably one of the most painful vestiges of slavery: society’s disproportionate preference for caramel-complexioned black women, and the insecurities that it…
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Oprah Boosts Effort to Support Homeless Female Veterans
Oprah Winfrey’s The Life You Want Weekend 2014 tour is wrapping up this weekend in San Jose, Calif. The eight-city self-improvement tour features Winfrey and a host of special guests inspiring and empowering thousands of attendees through personal tales of triumph over tragedy, on-site activities (journaling and exercise breaks) and keepsakes (fluorescent armbands) that symbolize…
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1st US Ebola Victim’s Fiancee Gets Book Deal for Memoir
The fiancee of Thomas Eric Duncan, the first patient to be diagnosed with Ebola in the United States and thus far the only person to succumb to the deadly virus in this country, has been offered a book deal to tell her story to the world, the Dallas Morning News reports. News of the pending…
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Philly Police Search for Man Who Stabbed McDonald’s Employee Over Closing Time
The search continues in Philadelphia for a man who stabbed a McDonald’s employee after arguing about the store’s closing time, CBS Philly reports. The incident was reportedly caught on store surveillance cameras, and local police are searching it for clues about the suspect. According to the report, the stabbing took place around 11 p.m. Nov.…
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Loyola University Chicago Student Is Missing
A Chicago family is asking for the public’s help in their desperate search for a 20-year-old Loyola University student who has been missing from his home for a week. Chan Williams was last seen entering the Chicago Board of Trade Building on West Jackson Boulevard after it was closed. There is particular alarm because Williams…
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Trials for Ebola Treatment to Begin in West Africa
Treatment trials for Ebola will begin in West Africa within a month, Doctors Without Borders announced on Thursday, Agence France-Presse reports. The global aid agency is planning to test Ebola drugs and blood from survivors on patients from Guinea and Liberia, hoping to lead to an emergency therapy that can be used to combat the…
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LeBron James’ Sons Aren’t Allowed to Play Football
LeBron James doesn’t allow his sons to play football, and it’s not because the NBA superstar wants them to follow in his footsteps. According to ESPN, the Cleveland Cavalier guard, when asked, confirmed that he made the decision because of the various health risks associated with the often-violent sport of football. “Only basketball, baseball and…
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It Looks Like the Ferguson Grand Jury Decision Will Be Announced Monday
According to sources familiar with a Wednesday conference call that included key elected officials, the St. Louis County grand jury’s decision in the case of Ferguson, Mo., police Officer Darren Wilson is expected to be announced publicly Monday. And sources close to the investigation state that they are not expecting Wilson to be indicted. A number of key…
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: College Athletes Should Be Paid
NBA icon Kareem Abdul-Jabbar put pen to paper and made a case for why college athletes should be paid. In a 1,300-word essay published in Jacobin magazine, Abdul-Jabbar spoke firsthand about his experiences as a basketball player at UCLA and described how he could barely rub two pennies together on most days. “Despite the hours…