culture
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It's Handled, Gladiators. ‘Pope’ Is a Verb
(The Root)—It was bound to happen eventually. After two-and-a-half seasons of melodramatic conquests, the natives out there in TV land have been sufficiently immersed in Scandal-ese. Fans of the hit show have relished in having their own shorthand—simple phrases like “It’s handled” and “gladiators in suits,” to name a few—an instantly recognizable patois that sets…
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Man Found Guilty of Murdering Sean Taylor
A 23-year-old man was convicted of armed burglary and second-degree murder in the 2007 shooting death of the Washington Redskins’ Sean Taylor, ESPN.com reports. Eric Rivera Jr., who could face life in prison, confessed to shooting Taylor shortly after he was arrested, but once on the stand he changed his story, claiming that his confession…
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'Keisha' Ditches Black Name, Becomes 'Kylie'
After enduring taunts and insults about her name, a 19-year-old biracial teen decided she’d had enough. Keisha Austin will now be forever known as Kylie Austin, the Kansas City Star reports. Gone is the birth name given to her by her white mother because she believed it represented a strong, feminine, beautiful black woman. “I…
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Toyota Donates Hybrid Vehicles to HBCUs
Hybrid vehicles, even with their amazing gas-to-mileage ratio, don’t resonate with people of color. So Toyota announced plans to donate 22 Prius hybrid vehicles to select HBCUs across the Southwestern Atlantic, NewsOne reports. School administrators will be granted one-year leases on the 50-mile-per-gallon vehicles as a part of the Toyota Green Initiative (TGI) program that…
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DC Council to Vote on Redskins Name Change
The 13-member D.C. Council will vote today on a resolution calling for the Washington Redskins to change the team name as, “the right and prudent thing to do,” the Washington Post reports. While the ruling would have no legal weight in forcing team owner Daniel Synder to change the team name, it does send another…
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There’s a Fine Line Between ‘Cute’ and ‘Acting Up’
Perhaps you’re one of the more than 2 million people who have watched the latest viral video of a 4-year-old dancing her heart at a recital. The video was uploaded in June, but it’s only recently become a hit with several news outlets, including the New York Daily News, the Daily Mail and Yahoo covering…
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The Future of Race in America
Editor’s note: This is part 2 of a three-part series. To read part 1, click here. (The Root)—When it comes to race in America, there’s no question that things are changing. Here’s what we know for sure: The country is becoming more diverse. Half of kids under age 5 are members of racial and ethnic…
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NFL Player Bullies Biracial Teammate
Last week, NFL rookie Johnathan Martin left the Miami Dolphins amid allegations that he was being bullied by teammates. Shortly after, NFL talking heads hit the televisions screens to initiate the uninformed into the culture of football locker-room antics. On the NFL Network, former Dallas Cowboys star wideout Michael Irvin talked about his heydays in…
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A Klansman for Halloween
While other 7-year-old boys were dressing up as superheroes or their favorite video game character for Halloween, Jackson Black went trick-or-treating as a member of the Ku Klux Klan, dressed full on in a white robe and a pointed white hood, with a red-and-white cross emblazoned on his chest. “It was cool,” the little boy…
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Dancing for Action Has Flash Mob at Barclays Center
Dancing for Action, an interpretive protest dance troupe, held a flash mob outside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., to rally against “Stand your ground” and the illegality of stop-and-frisk laws, Newsone reports. The troupe chose Saturday evening outside the arena as the Brooklyn Nets were playing the Miami Heat for one reason: The Heat…