culture

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) were supposed to have a Festivus “feats of strength” battle on the Senate floor, but Paul decided against it, leaving the two wildly popular men of their respective parties to hashtag it out over Twitter.    Paul started it when he jokingly tweeted that he would…

Mandla Maseko was born and raised in a dusty township in South Africa and never dreamed his life would be as big as it has become. “I’m not trying to make this a race thing but us blacks grew up dreaming to a certain stage. You dreamed of being a policeman or a lawyer but…

When the creators of a drama that would bring Solomon Northup’s 12 Years a Slave to the big screen needed a historical consultant, Henry Louis Gates Jr., who edited a recent edition of the memoir, was a natural choice. Gates, a Harvard history scholar, producer of PBS’s African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross and editor-in-chief…

I can’t say I’m all that surprised about the backlash against the folks who have been denouncing R. Kelly lately. I called on people who still supported him to rethink that position after the Village Voice interviewed Jim DeRogatis—the journalist who broke the story of R. Kelly’s sexual conduct with underage girls nearly 15 years…

To the guy who has decided to read this in hopes of coming up with the perfect gift for that special lady in time for Christmas, it’s too late. This column won’t help you, can’t help you. Depending on when you’re reading this, Dec. 25 is either tomorrow or today, or maybe yesterday. So if…

Being the first often secures a person’s place in history. Check out these books to find out more about black men and women who achieved breakthroughs and triumphs that ensure their historic legacies. 1. Long Walk to Freedom, by Nelson Mandela Mandela’s 1995 autobiography details his life as an anti-apartheid activist, his 27-year imprisonment and…

Rape victims in Memphis, Tenn., expected the city to help bring them justice, but some of them have been waiting more than 10 years. Now they’re taking matters into their own hands, and they’ve enlisted the services of a local attorney, Robert Spence. According to WMC-TV 5 News, Spence is the lead attorney in a…

Steve Martin has apologized for a tweet he sent out. After one of his 4.5 million followers asked him, “Is this how you spell lasonia?” The actor tweeted back, “It depends. Are you in an African-American neighborhood or at an Italian restaurant?” He removed the tweet—apparently an attempt at a lasagna joke—shortly after it appeared,…

Stanley Roberts was just doing his job as a producer for Bay Area news program KRON 4. But after airing one particular story, Roberts did more than bring awareness to his community over a civic issue—he helped reunite a homeless man with his long-lost, famous friend. For eight years, Roberts has produced a segment for…

Charles Ramsey, the hero who became a reluctant celebrity after busting open a door that freed several woman from a Cleveland house where they had been imprisoned, is writing a book about the ordeal. The Cleveland native has signed a contract with publisher Gray & Co. for a memoir of his life before, during and…