culture
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MLK Jr. Bridge in Indiana Vandalized
The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge in Fort Wayne, Ind., has been vandalized for the second time in two weeks, the Journal Gazette reports. According to the news site, the scribbles defacing two benches along the bridge, discovered Sunday, decried interracial relationships, specifically involving black men and white women. “White women do not…
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83-Year-Old Texas Woman Wards Off Thief With Stick and Boiling Water
Lillie McClendon is no pushover, and she made sure to demonstrate that Sunday to a would-be burglar who broke into her home and demanded money, ABC News reports. The 83-year-old Houston native had just stepped out of the shower and put some clothes in the laundry when she noticed an open window and that her…
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Really? Meme Shames Black Women for Buying Weaves From Koreans
The image above, which appears to have been created sometime last year, resurfaced and popped up in our Facebook newsfeed today, along with a reminder of a seemingly timeless theme: the stereotype-based shaming of black women for choices that don’t harm anyone and, really, aren’t anyone else’s business. The meme—which essentially says that black women wear…
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Nebraska 4th of July Float Shows Outhouse ‘Obama Presidential Library’
One particular float at an Independence Day celebration in Norfolk, Neb., has created quite the controversy with its depiction of the “Obama Presidential Library” as an outhouse, the Omaha World-Herald reports. According to the report, the float was part of the city’s annual Independence Day parade, but there were no markers identifying who sponsored the…
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Feed a Child Ad Showing Black Boy Being Fed Like a Dog Sparks Outrage
The Feed a Child ad was meant to depict how much better the average dog has it than most children in South Africa … however, some online users were not amused by the doglike posture in which the young black boy was placed, IOL News reports. According to the South African news site, the video,…
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More Than 60 Women and Girls Escape Boko Haram
More than 60 women and girls in Nigeria have returned to safety after having escaped their abductors, suspected to be Boko Haram militants, Agence France-Presse reports. Their escape was confirmed Sunday, according to the report, with local vigilante Abbas Gava telling the news agency that he had “received an alert … that about 63 abducted…
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NJ Girl, 12, Left ‘Brain Dead’ After Shooting, Police Say
Three friends—two girls and one boy—had taken a walk Saturday to their Paterson, N.J., neighborhood store around 8:40 p.m. When they got to the store and realized it was closed, they started their walk home, sharing rides on a scooter. A gunman who was reportedly aiming for someone else opened fire. Genesis Rincon, a 12-year-old…
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Memphis, Tenn., Police Find 8-Year-Old Boy Chained to Backyard Shed
Police in Memphis, Tenn., are investigating a bizarre incident after a child called to report that an 8-year-old sibling was chained up to a backyard shed. When police arrived, they found the boy unharmed but, indeed, chained up. WMC-TV reports that police also found six children ranging in age from 2 to 14 in the…
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Why I Support My Brother’s Keeper but Still Signed the Letter Criticizing It
Over the past month or so, the conversation concerning the Obama administration’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative has quickly degenerated into an all-too-familiar debate that boils down to this: Who wins the medal of “most oppressed”? As they have in controversies past, dueling statistics have emerged to “prove” that “It’s black boys!” or “No, it’s black girls!”…
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Are You Raising a Homophobic Child?
When I was growing up, the first sport I wanted to play was softball. My friend, who lived next door to me, played, and pangs of jealousy ran through my body every time she talked about her games. I remember one spring I begged my mother to sign me up for the softball team, but…