culture
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Black Owners Say Racist Graffiti Was Spray-Painted on Their Chicago Restaurant
According to the owners, Nouveau Tavern is the only black-owned restaurant in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. Because of that, they believe, they are being targeted for racially motivated harassment, reports CBS Chicago. Marketing executive Teddy Gilmore told CBS Chicago that the club was vandalized with racist graffiti using the n-word and saying “go home.” WGN…
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Philadelphia Cop Files Police-Brutality Lawsuit
Brandon Ruff, a police officer in Philadelphia, has filed a lawsuit against his own department for assault. According to Philly.com, Ruff says that he was assaulted by seven police officers after he attempted to anonymously turn in three weapons. An eight-year veteran of the Philadelphia Police Department, Ruff is assigned to the 16th Precinct. The…
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The Game, Diddy, DJ Khaled, TGT and More Collaborate on Michael Brown Tribute ‘Don’t Shoot’
Michael Brown’s death appears to be sparking an entire cultural movement, particularly among black musicians. A group of powerful artists—including the Game, Diddy, Rick Ross, 2 Chains, Fabolous, Wale, DJ Khaled, Swizz Beats, Yo Gotti, Curren$y, Problem, King Pharaoh and TGT—have collaborated on the just-released single “Don’t Shoot” in honor of the Ferguson, Mo., teen…
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Watch: Police Defend Arrest of Black Man Reportedly Tased in Front of His Kids
Updated Aug. 29, 9:10 a.m. EDT: The St. Paul, Minn., Police Department issued a statement on its Facebook page defending the arrest of Chris Lollie in January of this year. The statement was reported by the Minneapolis City Pages. In the statement, police say they were called by a private security company because a man had…
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Study: Whites Have 1 Black Friend; Blacks Have 8 White Friends
When Beverly Daniel Tatum published Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? back in 2003, she used some statistical evidence to explain why black and white students self-segregate and also relied on anecdotes from her experiences as a black student at predominantly white schools. Those people who asked, “Well, aren’t all the…
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Black American Fighting for ISIS in Syria Is Killed
There was the idea that if the jihadist group the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, was able “to turn” an American—that is, win over his or her support—it would then use the American to orchestrate a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. But 33-year-old Douglas McAuthur McCain, a black American, defied that expectation,…
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The Growing Movement to Make Attacks Against Homeless People a Hate Crime
Seven states are looking to stop attacks on homeless people who are being targeted because of their race, religion and sexual orientation. Alaska, California, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Rhode Island and Washington have all tweaked their hate crime laws so that these kinds of attacks will earn perpetrators longer prison sentences, Al-Jazeera reports. The National Coalition…
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Watch: Debating ‘Black Female Privilege’
It struck some people as an oxymoron. They couldn’t wrap their minds around how the words “black women” and “privilege” were being used in the same sentence in this article, let alone how they were being used to describe anything having to do with the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. That I said Brown’s death made…
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Have Faith in Aaron McGruder’s Black Jesus
Just about everyone in Black Jesus is selfish. But Black Jesus still has faith. Jesus’ flawed, albeit loyal friends (disciples?)—ex-con Fish (Andra Fuller), slacker Jason (Antwon Tanner), gal-pal Maggie (Kali Hawk) and drunkard Boonie (Corey Holcomb)—his curmudgeonly neighbor Vic (Charlie Murphy); even Lloyd, the conniving and cantankerous homeless drunk played by John Witherspoon. They all…
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In Ferguson and the Entire Nation, Institutional Racism Extends Far Beyond Law Enforcement
The tragic events unfolding in Ferguson, Mo., following the police shooting death of a young African-American man have ignited a national conversation around deeply rooted racial tensions in America. On Monday at Michael Brown’s funeral, where thousands of family, friends, civil rights leaders and residents gathered, came calls for justice and dignity for all families.…