culture

Steve McQueen’s historical epic about slavery in America, 12 Years a Slave, swept the film categories at the NAACP Image Awards, earning four wins. At the 45th NAACP Image Awards on Saturday evening at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Lupita Nyong’o won for supporting actress, and in a separate ceremony Friday evening, McQueen won the Image Award for director…

Next week VH1 is set to air The Tanning of America: One Nation Under Hip Hop, a four-part documentary series based on Steve Stoute’s similarly titled book, The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy. It was a fascinating read and remix of hip-hop’s history and…

While the n-word has slipped into common use in some circles, its days are numbered on the NFL gridiron. The agency that monitors diversity for the NFL says the league may institute a rule to penalize players 15 yards for using the word on the field, ABC News reports. John Wooten, head of the group,…

A national organization Friday indefinitely suspended a fraternity chapter at the University of Mississippi and expelled three of its freshman members because of their suspected involvement in hanging a noose on a statue of the first black student to enroll in the then all-white college, the Associated Press reports. Sigma Phi Epsilon said in a…

Call it another win for 12 Years a Slave. The award-winning film will soon serve as another avenue for public high school students to learn about the harsh lessons of race in America, according to a news release. The National School Boards Association is partnering with New Regency, Penguin Books and the filmmakers to distribute copies of…

History doesn’t just happen. History starts with a vision.  In the early 1980s, Rep. George T. “Mickey” Leland, who was then chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, envisioned a more inclusive telecommunications and media world. A decade later, the late Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown recognized that the power of the Internet could unlock a brighter…

The disappointing results of last month’s Golden Globes, with so few honors going to black actors and filmmakers—with the notable exception of 12 Years a Slave for best dramatic picture—begs a perennial question. How much should blacks expect of mainstream America to validate their arts, letters, films and other creative works? This is an old…

Eight New Jersey high school wrestlers have been kept out of a state tournament after a photo surfaced showing the team members simulating lynching of a black wrestling dummy in a rival team’s shirt, the Associated Press reports. On Thursday, Scott Wilhelm, an attorney for the wrestlers, read a prepared statement claiming that the Phillipsburg…