culture
-
Why Do Italian Men Love Black Women?
(The Root) — “I went to Italy, where Italian men love black women. My male friends here in the U.S. seem to think I’m exaggerating this when I bring it up, or act offended when I rave about the great time I had there and how much I enjoyed the unusual amount of attention and praise (yeah, I’ll…
-
African Voodoo Should Not Be Fodder for Halloween
American Apparel should dismantle its “makeshift Vodou” display and not associate African spiritual traditions or religions with Halloween, Shantrelle Lewis argues at Ebony magazine. Lewis is concerned about the “bastardization of Vodou as a formal religion” and describes how many of the first black communities in the New World were practitioners of African spiritual systems. …
-
There Are Tons of Black Female Comedians for 'SNL'
Kenan Thompson is way off the mark in suggesting that the reason Saturday Night Live has too few black female comedians is that there aren’t enough funny, talented black women for the job, Yesha Callahan argues at Clutch magazine. In a recent interview with TV Guide, Thompson removes all blame for Lorne Michaels, the executive producer…
-
Legendary Motown Etiquette Expert Dies
(The Root) — On Monday Maxine Powell — the modeling-school proprietor, etiquette expert and charm-school coach — died at age 98. Best known for her work with Motown’s Artist Personal Development Department, she trained performers there in the arts of poise, posture, grace, speech and style. But her legacy extends far beyond the legendary record…
-
9-Year-Old Drives Father to Safety at Hospital
For most children, their parents are their heroes. But John Smith of Panama City, Fla., can proudly say that his 9-year-old daughter, Esteria Smith, is his hero. As he picked up Esteria from her karate class, Smith knew something was wrong, he told WJHG. His daughter also noticed that something wasn’t right with her father.…
-
Jamaican Track and Field Feeling Heat
The Associated Press is reporting that the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission has officially been audited by the World Anti-Doping Agency because of inconsistent out-of-competition drug testing in the months leading up to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Jamaica’s Olympic athletes dominated their competition, specifically in track and field, in which the island’s star runner, Usain…
-
Hollywood Finally Catches Up With History
(The Root) — Steve McQueen’s masterful 12 Years a Slave has already changed history in two major ways: It is the first Hollywood-backed movie on slavery directed by a black filmmaker, and based on Solomon Northup’s 1853 oral account, it is the first film ever based on an actual slave narrative. While the former results…
-
Blackness Portrayed as the Face of Evil
(The Root) — This image is part of a weekly series that The Root is presenting in conjunction with the Image of the Black in Western Art Archive at Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Research Institute, part of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. This chilling scene of martyrdom comes from a…
-
Light Girls: Don't Buy Into the Privilege
In a letter to caramel-complexioned black girls, Asha French, writing at Ebony magazine, encourages them to recognize the “racial project” that preferenced their light skin tone over a chocolate complexion, and warns them not to buy into the favoritism, guilt or privilege that they may experience because of color. Dear Beautiful Daughters Who Happen to be Racially…
-
America Must Address Growing Income Inequality
American society will devolve into broad enclaves of the haves and have-nots if policymakers don’t do something about the increasing gaps in income and opportunity, Columbia University professor Joseph E. Stiglitz argues at the New York Times. Of the advanced economies, America has some of the worst disparities in incomes and opportunities, with devastating macroeconomic…