culture
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Giving Black Boys a Chance to Run the Tech Industry
Last month Twitter found itself the latest major tech company to face criticism for a lack of diversity—a jarring lack of diversity, to be more precise. It was revealed that the company’s entire board of directors consists of white males. The revelation generated plenty of hand-wringing about a well-covered topic, namely the underrepresentation of women…
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Jay Z’s Barneys Collection Unveiled: Clothing for the 1 Percent
Sometimes we collectively create the man, only to watch him become the thing he once rallied against. Hip-hop is funny that way. Artists use the story of their lives as the vehicle to drive a wedge between the man they have become and the person they once were. In street terms: Once the money gets…
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We’re a ‘Selfie’ Nation With Selfie Politics, Too
We are now officially in the age of the “selfie.” Once the Oxford dictionaries named it as their 2013 Word of the Year, it’s has become as institutionally cemented in our lexicon as any other noteworthy catchphrase in our recent public consciousness. But a battle for the human soul now begins over what, exactly, selfies…
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Miami Gardens Police Arrested a Man 62 Times for Trespassing Where He Works
Suppose you were a clerk at a convenience store and the police arrested you there 62 times on one charge: trespassing. You read that right. Arrested multiple times for trespassing while at your place of employment. What’s going on? Well, that’s what Miami Gardens, Fla., store owner Alex Saleh is trying to figure out. One…
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‘Scandal’ Recap: A Thin Line Between Love and Hate
After last week’s gut-punching episode, you’d think Scandal might want to cut us a break. You know, give us a chance to catch our collective breaths. Why not try a very special musical episode? Or even a “Where are they now?” recap of the gladiators who mysteriously went missing? What ever happened to Olivia’s old…
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Mixed Emotions About the ‘Knockout Game’
The “knockout” game has been a hot topic this past week, flooding Twitter timelines with YouTube clips and articles, sparking debates between friends and giving some people a reason to portray black youths as a detriment to society. The game—if you can call it that—is the latest trend in violent acts committed by youths in…
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Bill Cosby's Far From Finished to Air on Comedy Central
You thought Bill Cosby was out of the limelight for good, but for some stars, retirement just isn’t an option—and it looks like it’ll be that way for this legend. It’s been 30 years since his last concert special, but now he’s back with Bill Cosby: Far From Finished, a 90-minute stand-up show that will…
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Football Team Forfeits Game After Player's Home Is Spray-Painted With Graffiti
A Massachusetts high school football team is forfeiting the remainder of its games after a player’s house was sprayed-painted with racist graffiti, the Huffington Post reports. Lunenburg High School has canceled its remaining two games after the house of Isaac Phillips, 13 (whose mother is white and father is black) was scrawled with the message:…
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Teen Playing ‘Knockout Game’ Gets Shot by Victim
A man standing on a corner in Michigan waiting for his 6-year-old daughter to be dropped off from school wasn’t too worried about the van he saw circle him twice. “I saw the van circle twice, and the second time three kids came out. I didn’t suspect anything. I hadn’t any enemies, or any reason…
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Scandal Creator Shonda Rhimes to Pen Memoir
As if owning prime time television weren’t enough, Shonda Rhimes is looking to take over the literary genre. That’s right, the genius behind Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal has signed on with publishing powerhouse Simon & Schuster to write a memoir in 2015, Variety reports. “Simon and Schuster is crazy for giving me a book deal as I am clearly in…