culture
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Emory University Taps Erika Hayes James as Business School’s New Dean
There will be a new head honcho at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. Erika Hayes James, who has a Ph.D. in organizational psychology from the University of Michigan, has been selected as the next dean of the high-ranking business school. When she starts in that position on July 15, she’ll become the first black woman…
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Senior’s Clever Yearbook Quote Causes Controversy
Controversy over a high school senior, the periodic table, the 1999 hit “Back That Azz Up” by rapper Juvenile, and a Georgia high school yearbook reached a head Tuesday after a student used periodic elements to spell out a funny message in her yearbook quote. Paris Gray, the senior class vice president at Mundy’s Mill…
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Oakland Teen Headed to Yale Gets Shopping Spree From Raiders
The Oakland, Calif., teen who made national headlines after he was accepted to several of the nation’s top colleges is reaping all of the rewards from his success. Akintunde Ahmad, who will be attending Yale University in the fall, has already done the newspaper circuit and was a guest on Ellen DeGeneres’ show last month,…
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Ray Rice to Enter Pretrial Program, Avoids Jail Time
Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, who was involved in a domestic dispute that included video footage of Rice dragging an unconscious woman from an elevator, will avoid jail time as long as he completes a pretrial intervention program, ESPN reports. Rice was accepted into the program Tuesday, and as long Rice attends the program…
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A Bittersweet Tribute to Black Womanhood
“Where are the ants?” It’s Mother’s Day. My mother has come to New York to spend the weekend with me, her only child. After a rooftop brunch, I insist that we swing through the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, N.Y., to see Kara Walker’s latest art exhibit, “A Subtlety” (or “The Marvelous Sugar Baby”). I’m especially…
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Is Using Lotion a Black Thing?
Genuine question: Is lotion a black thing (especially for guys)? A random white dude at the gym asked me why I use all these “products” (basically face lotion and body lotion). I asked, “Don’t you use lotion?” He said, “For what!?” I know lotion is marketed mostly to women (if advertising is correct), but I just remember from…
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Malcolm X Always Spoke Truth to Power, No Matter the Cost
The anniversary this week of Malcolm X’s 89th birthday offers us the context to reflect on the life of the man whose activism continues to reverberate around the world. After a youth scarred by trauma, the man born Malcolm Little turned his seven years in prison into a world-class political and religious education. In the…
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Meet the Black Officer Who Went Undercover as a KKK Member
Sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction. Retired police Sgt. Ron Stallworth’s story—about how he, a black undercover Colorado cop, infiltrated one of the nation’s most notorious hate groups in 1978—is one such truth. Stallworth, 61, recently released the book Black Klansman, detailing his amazing story during his early years of service. “I was sitting…
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Sam Greenlee, Spook Who Sat by the Door Author, Dies at 83
Revered Chicago novelist Sam Greenlee has died in his home city at the age of 83, the Associated Press reports. Greenlee, who was also known for his poetry, is best-identified through his 1969 work, The Spook Who Sat by the Door, which tells the story of a black CIA agent who trains young black Chicagoans…
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NBA’s Charles Barkley Earns Ire of San Antonio Women
Charles Barkley wasn’t exactly made to feel completely welcome at the opening game of the Western Conference Finals in San Antonio on Monday, when a group of women, apparently led by the girlfriend of the Spurs’ Tim Duncan, wagged their collective fingers at him. The TNT analyst and former NBA player has made some pretty…