culture
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How the Communal Experience of Music Has Changed
Left of Black host Mark Anthony Neal sits down with Professor Guthrie Ramsey Jr. to talk about how music today is made, shared and studied. Ramsey is the Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Music at the University of Pennsylvania and recently published The Amazing Bud Powell: Black Genius, Jazz History, and…
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It’s Time to Quit Operating on CP Time
I received this text message from a dear friend of mine last weekend: “You usually don’t ask dumb questions. But this will go down as one of them.” She was responding to a text I’d just sent, asking her a pretty innocent question. It was certainly one that on the surface wouldn’t seem to elicit such…
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Your Threats to Leave Won’t Stop Your Husband’s Infidelities
My husband has cheated on me a couple of times. I told him if anything happens ever again, I’m going to divorce him. My heart is broken, and I have nightmares about this chick. I don’t know how to trust him. I love him and want it to work, but I don’t know how this…
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Maryland Mall Shooter Was Obsessed With Columbine
The 19-year-old gunman who killed two people at Columbia Mall in Maryland in January was fascinated by the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado—to the point of dressing like one of those gunmen, the Associated Press reports. Investigators say they found thousands of searches on Darion Aguilar’s computer relating to mass murder, school shootings, guns…
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Tyson Beckford’s Nephew Charged With 2nd-Degree Murder in DUI Crash
Domonic Whilby, the 23-year-old nephew of model Tyson Beckford, now faces possible life imprisonment for a drunken February crash that resulted in the death of veteran New York City bus driver William Pena, the Daily News reports. Whilby’s charges were upgraded on Wednesday at a Manhattan Supreme Court hearing. The indictment now includes murder, aggravated…
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Rep. Charlie Rangel Calls Building Explosion Harlem’s 9/11
It’s Harlem’s own 9/11. That’s how Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) would describe the Wednesday building explosion in his home district that stunned the public, Politico reports. “I’ve never had anything this horrific that’s happened in my community since I’ve been in Washington,” Rangel told an NBC affiliate in New York, as news continued to break…
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George Zimmerman’s Parents Suing Rosanne Barr
Turns out Spike Lee wasn’t the only celebrity who let his rage toward George Zimmerman lead to an ill-advised address tweet. Actress Roseanne Barr is being sued by Zimmerman’s parents in Florida, who claim a Twitter post she made listing their address and telephone number forced them to flee their home, AP reports. Robert and…
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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…
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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…
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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,…