culture

Pregnant protester Mikiesha Wickerson claims she was thrown to the ground and maced by police in Ferguson, Mo., where there has been unrest since Saturday’s fatal police shooting of unarmed teen Michael Brown.  Wickerson told KMOV that she and her cousins were yelling at police in their unmoving and closed car when police wearing riot gear…

While the country is still reeling from the news and aftermath of the fatal shooting by police of unarmed Ferguson, Mo., teen Michael Brown, KTLA is reporting that a 25-year-old mentally challenged man was shot and killed in Los Angeles while lying on the ground. His family says he was complying with officers. He was also…

Miss Black Colorado, Jasmine Alexander, is the owner of this year’s Miss Black USA crown and a prize package that includes a $5,000 scholarship and a trip to Africa. But hers wasn’t the only victory in this atypical beauty competition, which was held Sunday night at the Theatre for Performing Arts at the University of…

Feet flashing, hands clapping, hair swinging. It’s a display of confidence, self-assurance … might I even venture to say swag. This was what was on display Sunday at the National Building Museum as a weeklong summer step camp, a collaboration between professional dance group Step Afrika! and Washington Performing Arts came to an end with a resounding…

So a while ago, I (a white man without much hair to speak of—I trim it to about a quarter-inch guard) was behind a black woman with a magnificent Afro in line at a coffee shop, and I said to her that I really liked her hair. She thanked me very graciously, but I wonder—was…

To call 13-year-old Mo’Ne Davis a good pitcher would be an understatement. Mo’Ne, who regularly clocks in pitches at 70 mph, brought her team, the Philadelphia Taney Dragons, to victory during the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship, according to the Huffington Post. Mo’Ne, an honor roll student entering eighth grade, will join an elite group—becoming one of…

A young, Laurel, Md., boy lost his life on his birthday during what was supposed to be a fun day at camp, WJLA reports. Dennis Kemp, 13, drowned while swimming in a lake at Oregon Ridge Park while out with his camping group, Camp Sonshine, based in Silver Spring, Md., officials said, according to the…

The last words Dorian Johnson heard from his friend were, “Keep running, bro!” The 22-year-old, who was walking with Michael Brown before Brown was fatally shot, revealed to MSNBC in an exclusive interview exactly what he saw during the inexplicable shooting by police Saturday in Ferguson, Mo. Johnson told MSNBC that he saw the gun and…

There are no good cops. Yes, you read that right. From where I sit, right now, in this moment in time, in the wake of tragic incidents that have transpired over the last few weeks, there are no good cops in this country. Not when another innocent black man—this time, 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.—is…