culture
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Renisha McBride Shooter Claims He Didn’t Know Gun Was Loaded
Theodore Wafer, the Detroit man charged in the killing of Renisha McBride, told investigators right after the shooting that he did not realize his shotgun was armed, the Associated Press reports. On the second day of the controversial trial, the courtroom heard a recording of the conversation between Wafer and police after they responded to…
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Audra McDonald Talks About Suicide Attempt: ‘I Tried to Slit My Wrist’
Audra McDonald is the most decorated actress in Broadway history. In June she won her sixth Tony Award for her performance as Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill. But life for McDonald wasn’t always this rosy. “When I was [in college] at Juilliard, I had a suicide attempt,” she said in…
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Chicago Teen Arrested in Case of 11-Year-Old Killed at Slumber Party
Chicago police have formally arrested and charged an 18-year-old man in connection with the death of Shamiya Adams, the 11-year-old who was killed by a stray bullet while she was playing at a slumber party, New York’s Daily News reports. The suspect, Tevin Lee, reportedly was looking for revenge in some sort of dispute involving…
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Christian Groups Aren’t Happy With Black Jesus
The Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder’s new show, Black Jesus, hasn’t even aired its first episode, and if Christian-rights groups have their way, it never will. McGruder’s comedy show for the Adult Swim network finds Black Jesus, played by actor Gerald “Slink” Johnson, living in Compton, Calif., where he tells his followers, “You get money f—king with…
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Blacks Fined Disproportionately for Publicly Smoking Pot in Seattle
One would think that Seattle, as a city that’s at the forefront of the marijuana revolution, would be more progressive when it comes to racial equality. The numbers beg to differ. Based on their representation in the population, African Americans received a disproportionate number of fines for smoking cannabis in public compared with whites and Asians…
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The Bad Best Friend Is Back With a Shocker Update to Her Tale of Betrayal
I’m back! Remember me? Bad BFF? Well, quick update … I am engaged to the ex of my ex-BFF. Crazy how things work out, right? I hope all women learn a lesson from this: Never, ever pass up true love. Loyalty is essential but has its limits. I’m glad I was brave enough to make…
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What if the Video of Eric Garner’s Choke Hold Didn’t Exist?
Ramsey Orta could have been arrested for recording what police were doing to Eric Garner. That would have changed everything. According to the New York Daily News, the internal police report about the incident doesn’t even mention that Garner was put in a choke hold, a maneuver prohibited by New York Police Department policy. That…
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106-Year-Old Black DC Church to Be Sold to Developer
Soon, the Alexander Memorial Baptist Church, a historic, century-old black church in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington D.C., will be no more, according to WJLA. The church is being sold for $6.5 million to a developer, with plans to turn it into either condominiums or townhouses, according to the news station. The reason for the…
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‘Shopping While Black’ Vine User Rashid Polo: If Profiling Keeps Happening, I’ll Have to Record It
Rashid Polo, who made waves on the Internet last week after his Vine video of convenience store employees following him drew 30 million views, has no plans to stop filming his racial profilers. “If it keeps happening, I’m going to be forced to record it,” he told the Hollywood Reporter. “Hopefully it doesn’t happen again,…
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Canadians Step In to Help Detroit During Water-Shutoff Crisis
Detroit has found interesting allies in Canada as the bankrupt city’s residents face water shutoffs due to unpaid bills in a crackdown by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. According to the Detroit Free Press, a Canadian group will be trying to send a convoy of some eight cars adorned patriotically with Canadian flags through…