culture
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Indiana Mom Receives Threatening Note: ‘You Have 2 Lovely Daughters’
When Gary, Ind., mom Alfreda Murphy got an anonymous letter in her mailbox, her next action was to call the police and lock her children inside the house, CBS 2 reports. “You have two lovely daughters,” the letter starts, referencing Murphy’s two oldest daughters. “I and my friend have watched them every since they…
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Study: Economic Hardship Linked to More Discriminatory Behavior
There’s something about economic hardship that makes people observe race differently, making them more discriminatory toward people with darker skin, Time magazine reports. The study, conducted by researchers at New York University, showed that when the economy went south, lighter-skinned individuals were more likely to perceive someone with more African features as darker than they actually…
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Funeral for Raymond Boone Sr., Editor of the Richmond Free Press, Set for Tuesday
Raymond H. Boone Sr., the colorful, principled and feisty founder, editor and publisher of the weekly Richmond (Va.) Free Press, died Tuesday [June 3] at his Richmond home after battling pancreatic cancer, his wife, Jean Boone, told Journal-isms. He was 76. Boone was on the job until nearly the end, said his daughter, Regina Boone, a photographer…
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Waffle House Sends Waitress’s $1,000 Tip Back to Customer
Around 3 a.m. on Mother’s Day, Shaina Brown, a waitress at a North Carolina Waffle House, thought she had received a blessing after she served a man a Texas bacon patty melt sandwich. After downing the sandwich, the customer told Brown, “I’m going to bless you tonight,” and left her a $1,500 tip on a credit…
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Teacher Allegedly Tells Black Student to Say ‘Yes, Sir, Master’
When Jabre White’s teacher told the class to go downstairs to take their economics final, Jabre says he politely responded with a “Yes, sir.” That was when the Roosevelt High School senior from Des Moines, Iowa, was met with, “You meant to say, ‘Yes, sir, master,’ ” from the teacher, Shawn McCurtain, the Des Moines…
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Donald Sterling Says No to Deal to Sell LA Clippers, Suit Back on Against NBA
Just when it looked like Los Angeles Clippers embattled owner Donald Sterling was set to ride off into the sunset of a forced sale to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Sterling has pulled the reins once again. According to the Associated Press, Sterling will not sign off on a deal to sell the team and…
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Wal-Mart Truck Driver in Tracy Morgan Crash Went 24 Hours Without Sleep: Complaint
A criminal complaint claims that Wal-Mart trucker Kevin Roper, the man accused of causing the fatal crash that killed comedian James “Jimmy Mack” McNair and injured several others including Tracy Morgan, had not slept for 24 hours before the accident, police told the Associated Press. According to the police report viewed by AP, Roper was…
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In Brazil: ‘White People Running Are Athletes; Black People Running Are Thieves’
Whether it’s a mural in Salvador, Brazil’s Barra neighborhood with the message “– copa + educacao” (less cup, more education); street art in Sao Paulo that reads “A Copa Pra Quem” (The Cup for Who?); or a message on Rio de Janeiro’s main highway, scrawled in black spray paint, that says simply, “Foder-se FIFA” (F—k…
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Freedom Summer Style: The Looks of an Unforgettable Era
In 1964, Freedom Summer was a campaign to register African Americans to vote in Mississippi, where blacks had historically been prohibited from the ballot. Even amid that intense racial and political climate, style served as a form of self-definition and expression as much as it has during any other time since. Fifty years later, take a…
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Should Edward Snowden Get a Plea Deal When a Black Panther Can’t?
Question: What’s the secret to going on the lam as an anti-government global superstar and getting set up in a nice, cushy exile in a country that’s a rival to your own? Answer: Be a keyboard-tapping, suburban-raised white guy who gives away national secrets and then puts a “patriotic” spin on it. You’ll lock in…