culture

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…

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.…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

San Jose State University’s president announced that a fourth student has been suspended in connection with alleged hate crimes against a black student, and the NAACP wants all involved charged with felonies, the Associated Press reports. Civil right activists are demanding Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen file hate-crime charges against the four white…

Over the years, I’ve reminded Drew of what my expectations are. It warms my heart when, after every meal I place on the table, he automatically and authentically says, “Thank you, Mom.” Sometimes, just before my lips part, he says: “I know, Mom. Make sure I tell my wife I appreciate her cooking.”  And although…