culture

  • Ex-NFL Star Darren Sharper Facing 2 More Rape Charges in Arizona

    Former NFL player Darren Sharper, who is already in custody in Los Angeles on seven rape and drug counts, has been indicted in Arizona on charges of sexual assault and administering dangerous drugs, authorities told ESPN. This is the latest development in several ongoing sexual-assault investigations involving the 38-year-old one-time All-Pro safety. Currently there are…

  • Black Techies Represent at SXSW

    On March 8 and 9, SXSW, also known as South by Southwest—the popular interactive, music and film conference held every year in Austin, Texas—featured a pitch competition for tech start-ups. The prestigious competition allows the burgeoning firms to gain further exposure. We’ve highlighted four start-ups with co-founders who are of African descent. 1. Ricardo Rodriguez, Qlovi…

  • Massive Gas Explosion in East Harlem: 7 Reported Dead, More Than 50 Injured, Many Missing

    Updated March 13, 2014, 1:15 p.m.: The death toll in the East Harlem building explosion and collapse has risen to seven. USA Today reports that rescuers going through the devastation found four additional victims overnight, New York City Fire Department spokesman Danny Glover said. “This is a difficult job, a challenging job,” another fire department spokesman, Jim Long,…

  • Oxford Tips a Hat to Harvard in ‘I, Too, Am Oxford’ Project

    The black students at Harvard seem to be on to something. Students of color at Oxford University in the United Kingdom have launched their own social media campaign, “I, Too, Am Oxford,” highlighting things that have been said or suggested to them. Dozens of photos have already been added to the Tumblr page, showing students…

  • Frank Ocean Cuts Chipotle a Big Check, Tells the Company to Shove Off

    Chipotle may have won some big bucks … but the restaurant chain also garnered singer Frank Ocean’s irritation along with it. According to TMZ, Ocean coughed up $212,500 after the company sued him, but he didn’t exactly do it graciously, posting a photo of the check on Tumblr with the memo “F—k off” scrawled on…

  • Teen Posts Photos of Domestic Violence Injuries to Social Media

    A young aspiring model is using an alleged domestic violence incident to shine light on partner abuse and how serious and life threatening it can be. Mori Gabriella Montgomery, 19, has been posting pictures to her social media accounts of her gruesome injuries allegedly caused by an abusive boyfriend, New York’s Daily News reports. Montgomery claims…

  • Enough Granny Compliments—I’m Calling Lupita a Hottie

    Perhaps my brown-girl sensitivities are tainting my view, but I feel like there’s something going on with the words we use to describe Lupita Nyong’o. Lupita is pretty, she’s cute and she’s a legitimate dime. And I use those adjectives intentionally, because it seems like these words are rarely used to describe her good looks…

  • FBI Offers $20,000 for Information on Missing Toddler 

    The FBI and the Madison County’s sheriff’s office are offering a $20,000 reward for information on Myra Lewis, a 2-year-old from Mississippi who disappeared on March 1, the New York Daily News reports. Lewis was last seen around 11 a.m. on March 1, wearing khaki pants, pink tennis shoes and a turquoise sweater with a…

  • Prosecutors: DC Mayor Vince Gray Knew About ‘Shadow Campaign’

    District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray, whose bid for reelection is being rocked with scandal, acknowledged Tuesday that he has taken a political hit from allegations that he led a “shadow campaign,” while the Democratic primary is just three weeks away. On Monday, Jeffrey Thompson, one of Gray’s 2010 campaign benefactors, who asked that Gray…

  • Man Freed After Decades on Death Row

    Since August of 1988, Glenn Ford has sat on death row waiting for two fates that both seemed unthinkable: Either he would be set free or be executed. For 26 years maintained his innocence. On Tuesday afternoon, Ford, 64, walked out of prison at Angola in Louisiana a free man, hours after a judge approved…