culture

The death of Amiri Baraka this past Thursday at age 79 marks the end of both an extraordinary life and an important cultural and political era when poets did not simply write about political upheavals and revolutions, but at times actively participated and led them. His life’s arc, from poet to black power icon to…

Editor’s note  at 11:05 pm: At tonight’s Golden Globes, 12 Years a Slave won the award for Best Picture in the Drama Category. Director Steve McQueen, along with members of the cast took the stage to accept the award. The film was snubbed in its six other nominations. Best actor nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor lost to…

Twenty-six-year-old Portland, Ore., pimp Sirgiorgiro Clardy says Nike should have placed a label in his Jordan shoes warning consumers that they could be used as a dangerous weapon, the Oregonian reports. That is why he filed a $100 million lawsuit this week against the athletic brand, charging that the shoe manufacturer is partially responsible for…

Updated: Sunday, Jan. 12, 1:28 p.m. ET: The social media world continues to raise questions about just what was going in the life of a missing Michigan doctor before she disappeared early last month. Wood TV reports that it has uncovered thousands of tweets apparently posted by Teleka Patrick, Kalamazoo, Mich., doctor, in the weeks leading…

Updated Saturday, Jan. 11, 1:08 p.m. EST: A bizarre case involving a Texas man who was jailed for paying too much child support has the social media world abuzz. Change.org is urging people to sign a petition asking Gov. Rick Perry to lift all charges against Clifford Hall, who earlier this month was sentenced to six…

Bobbi Kristina Brown and Nick Gordon may have secretly married, the Daily News reports. The 20-year-old daughter of the late Whitney Houston on Thursday tweeted a photo of the couple’s wedding bands. “@nickdgordon #HappilyMarried SO#Inlove if you didn’t get it the first time that is,” she wrote in the picture of the couple’s hands. The…

Detroit Councilman George Cushingberry was back at work Friday and apologized to his colleagues for what he called a “driving while black incident,” the Detroit Free Press reports. He issued the apology after news broke Thursday that he was involved in a traffic stop involving alcohol and marijuana, the report says. “I wanted to say…

Lee Daniels is said to be in talks with the Weinstein Company to direct an as yet untitled Richard Pryor biopic, as a follow-up to last year’s box-office hit, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Weinstein Company, which produced and distributed Lee Daniels’ The Butler, reportedly will finance the project. Actors…

A year ago today in the small town of Valdosta, Ga., Kendrick Johnson, a 17-year-old junior at Lowndes High School, was found dead, and three stories emerged. The first was told by the police about a teenager trying to retrieve a shoe out of a rolled-up mat in the high school gym. He fell in,…