culture
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Tight Bathing Suit? Check. Welcome to Memorial Day!
Memorial Day is an unofficial marker that the year is almost half over, that the bathing suit you swore you would fit into come summertime still doesn’t fit, and that your New Year’s resolution to work out every day … well, yeah, see above-mentioned bathing suit. But don’t let the gloomy blues of life get…
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Sharpton Hits NYPD Over Teen Reportedly Shoved Through Window
The Rev. Al Sharpton on Saturday defended a 14-year-old Bronx, N.Y., boy who reportedly talked so much trash after his arrest on an assault charge that a New York Police Department sergeant allegedly pushed him, causing him to fall through a storefront window, the Daily News reports. Speaking at a news conference at his National…
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Houston Unveils MLK Memorial Statue, Ending Decades of Drama
Houston elected officials, civil rights leaders and residents gathered on Saturday to attend the unveiling of a bronze statue of Martin Luther King Jr., ending decades of drama over its location and lack of funds to complete it, according to KHOU. A large crowd, including Martin Luther King III, was on hand for the unveiling…
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Mali Music Returns With a New Album: Mali Is …
It’s been a long road to the launch of Mali Music’s mainstream album, Mali Is … The singer seemingly turned from revered underground artist to mainstream star overnight after his single “Beautiful” shot to No. 2 on the R&B charts in the wake of his March performance on American Idol, when he was introduced by…
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Old-School Beefs Revisited
It’s reassuring to see high-profile black people engage in debates about compelling and complicated issues. In a way, it shows that their money hasn’t made them complacent or detached from the realities of ordinary life. Jay Z and Harry Belafonte don’t see eye to eye on how wealthy blacks ought to empower the communities they…
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$1,000,000 Suit Filed in Red Lobster Racist Receipt Flap
A former customer at a Tennessee Red Lobster has hit the chain and a waitress with a $1 million lawsuit after he was accused last year of writing the n-word in the tip section of a $44.53 receipt, according to News 2. In the suit filed Thursday at the Williamson County Court in Franklin, Tenn.,…
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Ariz. Mom Who Left Kids in Car Is Granted Visits
A homeless woman who left her children in a car during a job interview in Scottsdale, Ariz., can now have supervised visits with them, the Arizona Republic reports. Commissioner Richard Nothwehr ruled Thursday that the woman, Shanesha Taylor, 35, of Phoenix, could have supervised visits with her 8-month-old and 2-year-old sons, the report says. She…
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NBA Vote on Forcing Sale of Clippers Still On
To pave the way for a sale of the Los Angeles Clippers without NBA intervention, Donald Sterling reportedly offered to step aside to allow his wife to broker the sale of the team, according to CNN. But the NBA rebuffed the offer, CNN says. The couple co-owns the team through trust, with Donald Sterling as…
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Old-Schooled: 8 Classic Hip-Hop Hits Worth Teaching to Students
Founded 16 years ago by Lawrence Krisna Parker, aka KRS-One, National Hip-Hop Appreciation Week (May 19-25) seeks to recognize the original elements of the culture—rapping, deejaying, break dancing and graffiti—and to renew the consciousness of the art form. This year’s theme is heritage. Artists, activists, entertainers and scholars around the world participated in a variety…
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‘The Case for Reparations’ Reignited an Important and Long-Standing Debate
The Atlantic’s Ta-Nehisi Coates has set off a firestorm of debate once again, this time about race and reparations. In an exhaustive and sweeping piece, “The Case for Reparations,” he skillfully surveys American history, mining its data for evidence about the ways that enslavement, Jim Crow segregation, redlining and predatory lending has left black Americans…