culture
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Many Rivers to Cross: From Black Power to the Black President
Americans have notoriously short memories when it comes to race and history, especially black history. And it’s in that context that Harvard professor and The Root’s editor-in-chief, Henry Louis Gates Jr., has looked back through time to bring us The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, a six-part documentary film, airing on PBS, that concludes…
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10 Friends a Black Woman Needs
Several weeks ago a black woman in Louisiana was kidnapped by her boyfriend when she went to pick up their child from day care. The police did a requisite search for her but came up empty. That’s when her family got involved. An uncle and other male relatives tracked the woman down to an abandoned…
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What a Tale of 2 ‘Johns’ Teaches Us About the N-Word
The death of a dear friend last week reminded me of a small incident, a long time ago, that might shed some fresh light on the seemingly endless debate over racial respect and who can and can’t use the word “nigger.” The friend was John Egerton, with whom I worked during the early 1970s at…
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Nation of Islam Heir Safeguards Black History
It seems fitting that the man who would become the keeper of the world’s largest repository of African-American history came into life already shaped by the past. Khalil Gibran Muhammad is the great-grandson of Elijah Muhammad, a man who led the Nation of Islam, mentored Malcolm X and pushed black communities to become more self-sufficient.…
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Neglected Cemeteries Reveal History’s Priority
I’m into cemeteries. This is an accidental development. When my dad died in 2011, he left behind a photo of himself and eight other African-American seniors standing shoulder to shoulder behind two headstones. One is inscribed “Matthew Palmer. Died Feb 26, 1927, Aged 86.” I knew only that Matthew was my great-grandfather. No one else…
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Emergency Birth Control May Not Work for Women Over 176 Pounds
French pharmaceutical company HRA Pharma will begin warning women that their drug, Norlevo, does not work for women weighing more than 176 pounds, Mother Jones reported. Norlevo, which Mother Jones notes is identical to Plan B, will change its packaging information to be transparent about weight limits. The emergency-contraceptive pill begins to lose its effectiveness…
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Prisoners in California Train for Tech Jobs
Inmates at San Quentin State Prison in Northern California are learning how to design and launch tech programs. The Last Mile, a program that pairs computer volunteers with prisoners, teaches complex computer coding to inmates. Graduates of the program who left prison have found employment in the industry, the Associated Press reports. “We believe that…
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'Fairy Godmother' Allegedly Stole $5,100,000 From Nonprofit
Military brides called Ephonia Green the “fairy godmother” for her generous donations of wedding gowns. Green was moved by their service, she claimed, and gave away some 275 dresses from her Maryland bridal business. On Monday, Green is scheduled to appear before the U.S. District Court in one of the largest cases of embezzlement from a…
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Macklemore's American Music Awards Speech: Stop Racial Profiling
While the majority of stars at the American Music Awards use their acceptance speeches to thank all the little people who got them there, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis used their moment to preach tolerance. Having won the award for favorite rap/hip hop album, Macklemore (whose real name is Ben Haggerty) quoted Martin Luther King Jr.…
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Conrad Murray: Michael Jackson Was a Drug Addict
In one of his first interviews since being released from prison for the death of Michael Jackson, Conrad Murray spoke with London’s Daily Mail and claimed that Jackson was a drug addict and that “Michael Jackson accidentally killed Michael Jackson,” Murray said. In a vividly detailed interview with the Mail, Murray, 60, who served as…