culture
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Canada: The Promised Land for Black Children?
International adoptions may be decreasing in many countries, but more and more African-American mothers in Florida looking to put their babies up for adoption are opting to send them to Canada to avoid racism. According to the Ottawa Citizen, black mothers in the state have told adoption officials that they want their babies raised by…
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11 Parents of Abducted Chibok Girls Die From Ongoing Violence or Stress
As violence continues to spread in Nigeria, the Associated Press reports that at least 11 parents of the more than 200 Chibok schoolgirls who went missing have been confirmed dead. According to the report, the bodies of seven fathers of the abducted girls were brought to a local hospital after an attack by militants in…
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Michigan Jail Switches Prison Jumpsuits After Success of OITNB
Orange is the old prison color. At least it is now at one Michigan prison that changed the prisoner garb from orange to black-and-white stripes after the success of the Netflix show Orange Is the New Black. “I see a lot of people wearing all orange, and they think it’s cool. And some people even…
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President Obama Announces Financial Boost for My Brother’s Keeper
Some months ago, President Barack Obama announced that his sights were set firmly on helping black and Latino young men with a special initiative called My Brother’s Keeper. On Monday the president announced during a town hall at the Walker-Jones Education Campus in Washington, D.C., that new private partnerships have donated some $104 million to…
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NYC Officials Approve ‘Poor Door’ Separate Entrance for Low-Income Tenants
Very soon, the imaginary line between the rich and the poor could be separated by an actual door. New York City officials have approved a “back door” proposal that will allow a high-rise condo building to create separate entrances for those living in the affordable-housing section of the building, the New York Post reports. And…
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‘I’m Terrified of Dying Like Eric Garner’
When video footage of a California highway patrolman pummeling a defenseless 51-year-old black woman named Marlene Pinnock surfaced on July 1, it sent shock waves throughout many communities around the country. It took place in broad daylight on the side of a freeway and was heart-wrenching to watch as she was pursued on foot by…
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Parenting Do-Over: Having Children Many Years Apart
At times I look at my 15-year-old son and think to myself, “Is it too late to have another child?” As a woman slowly approaching 40, I can hear my reproduction clock slowly ticking in the distance. It seems as though every year I age, it gets a few decibels louder. But then I remember…
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Why Isn’t Billy Dee Williams in Star Wars: Episode 7?
When the cast photo for the upcoming Star Wars: Episode VII was released in April, nerds everywhere jumped for joy. The rumors that had been swirling around for a few years were true. Not only were Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher reprising their roles from the original trilogy, but they were apparently going…
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Yes, We Camp, and if You Don’t, Here’s What You’re Missing
When I was growing up in New Jersey, my siblings and I typically spent our summers crammed in the back of my grandmother’s station wagon, heading to the Jersey Shore. With blankets and coolers in tow, we would start our days at sunrise and end them at sunset. But one summer, when I was 11…
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Report: Va. Dad Leaves Twin Babies Alone in Car and Is Caught Having Sex 30 Feet Away
A Virginia father is in a lot of trouble after being accused of leaving his 1-year-old twin girls in his vehicle, which was parked in a driveway, before engaging in sex with a woman about 30 feet away from it, CBS 6 reports. “We went around to the back of the duplex and discovered a…