culture
-
Billionaires Save Head Start During Shutdown
(The Root) — There has been very little news worth celebrating during the current government shutdown, making it hard to decide which news is more depressing: that our leaders are collecting paychecks while hundreds of thousands of federal workers, including Secret Service agents and Capitol police, go without theirs; that politicians refuse to put the…
-
A Comeback for Lauryn Hill? Too Late
(The Root) — From 1994 to around 2005, I was Lauryn Hill’s biggest fan. I’m sure there are plenty of people who have laid claim to that title and would challenge my statement. I’m happy to battle it out by quoting lyrics and dueling with an encyclopedic knowledge of every quote Hill’s ever given, interview…
-
Rutgers: No. 1 in Getting Your Swirl On?
Administrators at Rutgers University have a new recruitment tool they can include when they talk about campus life. According to InterracialMatch.com (the self-proclaimed No. 1 interracial-dating site in the world), the New Brunswick, N.J., campus is the top college for interracial dating. No. 2 on the list? Stanford in California. The Star-Ledger reports: “It’s not…
-
Feel Sorry for Chris Brown Now?
(The Root) — Like most people with a modicum of common sense, I have long considered Chris Brown to be a pretty despicable human being. Besides his horrific assault on ex-girlfriend Rihanna, there was his almost total lack of remorse after the event, followed by a series of additional violent outbursts, including a notorious incident…
-
Once on Food Stamps, Now He's a 'Genius'
(The Root) — The other day during a recent business trip to Los Angeles, Kyle Abraham’s rental car got a flat tire. For most people, this inconvenience would spin their day out of control, but not Abraham. The dancer-choreographer was still floating on air after being named a MacArthur fellow. The 2013 fellowship from the…
-
Connected by the Power of Music
(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 Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. A rustic barn provides the setting for a masterful study of the contrasting terms of village…
-
Michigan Affirmative Action Case Before Supreme Court
(The Root) — Despite the ongoing government shutdown and employee furloughs, the Supreme Court opened its doors Monday to begin a new term. Many issues of national interest are expected to come up for discussion, including another case on affirmative action. Next Tuesday, the court will hear arguments in the case of Schuette v. Coalition…
-
Fatal Soldier-on-Soldier Attack
Updated Oct. 6, 2:45 p.m. EDT: Police have now backed off allegations that the attack on a soldier over the weekend was a hate crime, according to the Daily News. The main suspect has been identified as another soldier, Jeremiah Hill. Earlier: Police in Lakewood, Wash., are investigating the fatal attack early Saturday morning on a…
-
What If Miriam Carey Had Been White?
Writing at Ebony magazine, Tanya Steele wonders if Miriam Carey, the woman who tried to drive through a barrier near the White House last week, would have been fatally shot if she had been white. Steele says the incident sheds light on how African-American women with mental illness are perceived in America. So, I know how Miriam Carey…
-
Lauryn Hill: On Her Own Terms
Everyone should cut Lauryn Hill some slack, Alexandra Phanor-Faury writes at Ebony magazine. The singer is making culturally relevant music and working at a comfortable, healthy pace. While she may be free from captivity today, Hill was always free-minded. Carving out her own path sans regard to public opinion was her constant modus operandi. While many…