culture
-
Man Who Hates Wife’s Natural Hair: Cut Him Some Slack
Love him or deride him, comedian, relationship expert and talk show host Steve Harvey nailed his advice to a newlywed black couple who recently appeared on his show for the segment “I Love My Man, But …” The wife, whose name is Love, recently decided to change her hair from the long, straight weave she’d…
-
Young Ballerinas Awarded Scholarships
Canadian twins Nia and Imani Lindsay will join one of the world’s leading ballet training programs this summer. The sisters, 10, were awarded scholarships to attend the American Ballet Theatre’s “Young Dancer Summer Workshop” in New York. The twins, who began walking at just 8 months old, are also skilled in acrobatics, tap, jazz, hip-hop…
-
Oakland Teen Wows With 5.0 GPA and 2100 SAT Score
Akintunde Ahmad just sees himself as a regular 17-year-old, but the Oakland, Calif., teen has stunned everyone with his 5.0 GPA and 2100 SAT score, which have led to his acceptance at some of the country’s most prestigious universities. “Like, my whole life, people have been telling me to stay on this path and everything…
-
Detroit Woman Who Killed Daughter Gets 23-Year Sentence
A Detroit woman who fatally stabbed her 8-year-old daughter more than a year ago was sentenced Monday to at least 23 years in prison, the Associated Press reports. The 27-year-old apologized for killing Tameria Greene, calling the death an “accidental mistake.” “I miss my daughter,” she said, according to AP. Greene pleaded guilty in March…
-
Innocent Brooklyn Man to Walk Free After Almost Completing 25-Year Sentence
He is soon to be free, but for 51-year-old Jonathan Fleming, freedom may be bittersweet. Fleming had already served 24 years of a 25-to-life sentence for a murder he did not commit. He was accused of gunning down Darryl Rush, 22, outside an apartment in his hometown of Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1989, the New York Post…
-
Learning to Love Tax Season: Watch The Root Live Today at 11am
In many African-American families, when we have an important issue to discuss, we gather in the kitchen and bring it to the table. That’s especially true of financial discussions, whether about how to pay the bills, how to send Junior to college or where to start looking for a new job. For the next two…
-
Sharpton Was FBI Mob Informant, Report Says
Al Sharpton has been called many names. Add CI-7 to that list. According to a lengthy report published by the Smoking Gun news website, Sharpton was a confidential FBI informant—code named CI-7—for several years in the mid-1980s. On Monday, the Smoking Gun published documents that purport to show that the current host of PoliticsNation on…
-
Rap Goes to Court: When Lyrics Become Evidence In a Trial
This week the Supreme Court of New Jersey is scheduled to hear final arguments in State v. Skinner, a case that could have a far-reaching impact on the criminal justice system. The case reflects an alarming new trend in which lyrics by amateur rappers are used against them as evidence in criminal prosecutions. Vonte Skinner, an…
-
The Friendly Cold War Between 'Regular Blacks' and 'Ethnic Blacks' at the Nation's Elite Colleges
I’ll never forget the expression on my friend’s face during one of our African-American-studies classes at Duke University, when she was asked to clarify her response—for what seemed like the umpteenth time—to the question, “Where are you from?” after having answered, “America.” “Look, I’m just regular black,” she said, with an air of frustration plainly…
-
Hank Aaron’s Home Run Record Meant Everything 40 Years Ago. It Still Does
April 8 marks the 40th anniversary of Henry Aaron passing Babe Ruth as the major league’s career leader in home runs. It was one of the most significant sports feats of the 20th century, and like many others—heavyweight Joe Louis’ defeat of Max Schmeling in 1938 and Jesse Owens’ four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in…