culture

In an opinion piece at the New York Post, author Charlotte Hays laments the apparent rise and glorification of so-called “white trash” behavior in popular culture, particularly on television shows like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. Asking if the depictions are the new normal, the author of the newly released, When Did White Trash Become…

Before Kerry Washington’s portrayal of Michelle Obama on Saturday Night Live last night, no one had played the first lady during her husband’s presidency, Buzzfeed reports. The last time Michelle Obama was portrayed on the show was in 2007, when she was played by regular Maya Rudolph. “I feel like it’s been years since I’ve…

Michael Arceneaux writes at Clutch magazine that Kanye West has transformed from a so-called conscious rapper into the average Internet troll, willing to say anything to get attention. Lord knows I have tried to be patient with Kanye West as it’s becoming ever so clear that he can’t play spades at most peoples’ tables given he’s not…

At ESPN, Jason Whitlock tackles the notorious angry outbursts of Dez Bryant of the Dallas Cowboys. His “inability to control his emotions is not a racial issue,” he writes. “It’s a family dysfunction issue.” The largely well-intentioned defenders of Dez Bryant are primarily driven by concerns related to race and racism. They’re misguided, and perhaps so are…

While President Barack Obama touted the success of Mitt Romney’s health care model in Boston this week, it remains unclear whether its results can be replicated in Obamacare, Gabrielle Gurley writes at the Guardian. President Obama parachuted into Boston this week to wax nostalgic about Massachusetts healthcare reform. Flanked by his good friend Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and…

American shoppers spend about 18 percent of all food stamp dollars at Walmart, one of the nation’s most profitable companies, the Huffington Post reports. That adds up to an estimated $14 billion of the $80 billion Congress set aside for food stamps last year, the site says. The company’s total profits for 2013 were $17 billion. The…

Actor Kevin Hart has found his raison d’être. The Philadelphia native recently donated $250,000 to the city’s struggling school system, according to Hello Beautiful. “I found my lane, helping my city,” the site quotes Hart as saying. “That’s my lane, trying to put my city on my back, uplift it and showing these kids that…

On the eve of Kerry Washington’s appearance on Saturday Night Live, founding producer Lorne Michaels responded to rising complaints about the dearth of black female comedians on the show, the Associated Press reports. Currently no black women are among the 16 repertory or featured players on the show. The most recent, and most prominent, woman…

Ladies in Opa-locka, Fla., are going to have to pull their pants up after lawmakers voted recently to extend a six-year-old sagging pants ban to women, the Miami Herald reports. City commissioners, the Herald reports, tentatively approved the ordinance authorizing police to issue citations to women for wearing pants that expose any underwear or undergarments.…

Just in time for the holidays, federal cuts to the food stamp program will kick in. And Bob Aiken, chief executive of the nonprofit Feeding America, writes at CNN that the changes “are significant and will put a strain on millions of families struggling with food insecurity.” The upcoming cuts will result in an increased…