culture

The Alabama minister who confessed to his congregation that he has AIDS and knew of his status as he slept with married church members on Thursday was temporarily banned by a judge from acting as a pastor, the Associated Press reports. Deacons and trustees of the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church earlier this week sought an…

After years of writing, publicizing, crowdfunding and screening his smart-house film to packed film-festival audiences, Justin Simien is finally seeing Dear White People, his send-up of the pitfalls of black-student life at a mostly white college, released in mainstream cinemas today. And having had the opportunity to see the film on the festival circuit before it won…

Michael Dunn, the Florida man found guilty earlier this month of first-degree murder in the shooting death of unarmed teen Jordan Davis over loud music, has been sentenced to life without parole, according to NBC News. Dunn, 47, had previously been convicted on three counts of second-degree attempted murder after he shot into a vehicle…

How to Get Away With Murder’s much-touted “9 Words” teaser from last week was nearly eclipsed at the end of Thursday night’s episode by the wig drop heard the world over: the scene where Annalise Keating bared all by taking off the mixed-reviewed, chestnut-hued wig, along with her faux eyelashes. The move was quickly followed…

A cease-fire deal has been reached between the Nigerian government and notorious Islamic militant group Boko Haram, according to a number of sources. Details are still emerging, but BBC reported earlier Friday that “Nigeria’s military says it has agreed a truce with Islamist militant group Boko Haram—and says the schoolgirls the group has abducted will…

The complicated nature of relationships was front and center during Thursday night’s episode of Scandal. Fathers, mothers and daughters. Husbands, wives and lovers. Old Command, New Command and Tom. Here is everything you need to know about episode 4. Karen Grant went to Paris. Remember that time Vanessa Huxtable and her friends sneaked all the way…

One of Vice President Joe Biden’s sons, Hunter Biden, has been discharged from the Navy after reportedly testing positive for cocaine, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the Journal, Biden, 44, joined the Navy Reserves last year and because of his age had to go through a commission that required him to submit to…

When the World Health Organization made clear the severity of the Ebola crisis, President Barack Obama sprang into action and committed a significant number of health care workers and military to the region—approximately 4,000 troops. Now that the virus has reached American shores and people are calling on the government to do more, the president told…

A man I’m seeing for just a few weeks told me to “just pick me” when I was talking about the difficulty of dating for educated black women. I’m confused because the fact that I was talking to him means I want him to pick me. I’m not sure what else I need to do…

For Nneka and Mary “Dicey” Scroggins, advocacy is a family affair. The mother-daughter duo from Washington, D.C., have turned Dicey Scroggins’ personal cancer journey into a global crusade of awareness about women’s cancer detection in underserved communities around the world. For two years in the mid-’90s, Dicey Scroggins, now 63, experienced unusual abdominal bloating, weight…