culture
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Man Faces Attempted-Murder Charge; Accused of Flinging Hot Grits on Neighbor
“If you’re going to arrest me, then just arrest me now, ‘cause next time I am going to kill him.” Those are reportedly the fighting words Edward Holley, 60, told police when he was arrested and taken into custody Wednesday from an Orlando, Fla., home after allegedly dousing his neighbor Darryl Blacknell with a pan…
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Think Like a Man Too? No, Thank You
It was something of a given that Think Like a Man was going to get a sequel. The film, inspired by the advice in Steve Harvey’s best-selling advice book and featuring an all-star black cast, grossed more than $33 million during its opening weekend and went on to clear nearly $96 million at the box…
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Obama’s Face Decorates Urinals at Faith & Freedom Conference
Someone thought this was a fun idea. It’s time for the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s “Road to Majority” conference in Washington, D.C., and all the big conservatives, including presidential aspirants, are in the city intermingling with thousands of grassroots activists. One of the features in a particular bathroom at the event is an Obama urinal…
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Caregiver Indicted for Murder in Brutal Death of 4-Year-Old Boy in NYC
Four-year-old Myls Dobson lost his life in the cruelest way. His bruised, emaciated tiny body was found Jan. 8 inside the bathroom of his babysitter Kryzie King’s luxury New York City apartment. Before succumbing to “child abuse syndrome, including dehydration,” according to the autopsy report and as reported in the New York Times, the 4-year-old…
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Teacher Accused of Repeatedly Locking 8-Year-Old Special Needs Student in Locker
As it turns out, a “bully” who cruelly and recurrently locked a special needs 8-year-old boy in a school locker was a teacher, and although paraprofessional Jeremy Turner has been fired, the boy’s mother is seeking $1 million from the New York City Department of Education for the horrible incidents, the New York Post reports.…
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4 Kids Hospitalized After Texas Mom Let Them Ride on Car Hood and Trunk
A Texas mom is facing charges of intoxication assault after authorities say she allowed six children—ranging from ages 8 to 14—to ride on the hood and truck of her Chevrolet Malibu because their clothes were wet after a trip to the community pool, NBC 5 reports. Four of those children were rushed to the hospital,…
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Holler if Ya Hear Me: How Tupac’s ‘Thug Life’ Translates to Broadway
Watching Holler if Ya Hear Me, Broadway’s ode to all things Tupac, I can’t help but wonder what it is about the Great White Way that neutralizes even the edgiest of material. Maybe it’s the live orchestra jamming away; maybe it’s the bright lights; maybe it’s all those jazz hands—or maybe it’s the effort to…
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When Did My Ancestor Buy His Freedom?
Family legend says that my great-great-great-great-grandfather Isom Ellis was a free man of color who bought his freedom and later that of his wife, Patience Bynum. I’d love to know more about him. He was born in 1802 in Wilson County, N.C. I believe he had a son named Robert. —Kevin J. Hagan Jr. Your…
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How Hip-Hop Has Become a Gateway to Black Poetry
Left of Black host Mark Anthony Neal is joined by Elizabeth Alexander to discuss the black art aesthetic, growing recognition for black poets and whether hip-hop is poetry. Alexander—the Thomas E. Donnelley Professor of African American Studies, and a professor of American studies and English, at Yale University—was chosen by President Barack Obama to compose…
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Think Like a Man Too Pushes Back on the ‘Black Movie’ Label, Again
Before 12 Years a Slave turned Chiwetel and Lupita into household names and became a blockbuster “black movie”—whatever that means—it was 2012’s Think Like a Man that was an unlikely hit. The loose adaptation of Steve Harvey’s self-help book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man earned nearly $100 million and forced the film industry…