culture
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Do You Know the 4 Little Girls' Names?
(The Root) — The identities of the four little girls who died in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing Sept. 15, 1963, have been lumped together to serve to reference a point in the struggle for civil rights. The girls came to represent the violence black people endured at the hands of the Ku Klux…
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George Zimmerman, Have You No Shame?
Following the spate of bad press that George Zimmerman has received since he was acquitted in the death of Trayvon Martin, Don Lemon, in a piece at BlackAmericaWeb, suggests that he borrow a page from Casey Anthony and disappear from the spotlight. … George, you had the audacity to take a big, cheesy smiley picture…
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Syria and the Ugliness of War
Stanley Crouch, writing at the Daily News, says it’s a mistake for the Obama administration to think that a strike on Syria would be quick and easy, citing the length of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as examples. In Pablo Picasso’s paintings, war comes down to two things: slaughtering the innocent and raping available women. In a…
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White Moms, Black Daughters and Natural Hair
In a piece at MyBrownBaby, Stacey Conner, a white mother, explores the complex social challenges surrounding the grooming of her black daughter’s hair, including dealing with comments from classmates, strangers and black and white mothers. It’s a strange no-man’s land I find myself in; I fear the judgment of black moms that I meet and…
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Sharp Divide After New York City Mayoral Primaries
The New York Times is reporting that even as thousands of ballots from New York City’s mayoral primary had yet to be counted on Thursday, Democrats and Republicans began to square off, highlighting the deep ideological divide of a general-election matchup. Campaigning for the first time since securing the Republican nomination, [Joseph L.] Lhota promised…
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Pharrell Speaks on 'Blurred Lines' Lawsuit
Thus far, 2013 has been a renaissance of sorts for the music career of Pharrell Williams. His collaborations with others — and even his own songs, in which he is front and center — have been all over the radio and all up in the clubs, but no song has been more omnipresent than “Blurred…
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Acclaimed Black Author Jesmyn Ward on New Memoir
For her third book, Jesmyn Ward, 36, probably could have written about anything she wanted. With two novels under her belt, including the 2011 National Book Award winner Salvage the Bones, it is safe to say that Ward is one of the brightest stars in the literary world, a black woman from the South with…
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George Zimmerman's Local Police Chief Concurs He's Another 'Sandy Hook'
Police Chief Steve Bracknell, in charge of the Florida town where George Zimmerman resides, Lake Mary, agreed in a series of emails that he is a “ticking time bomb.” Lake Mary police responded to the domestic dispute at Zimmerman’s home on Monday. Chief Bracknell also concurred that Zimmerman is another “Sandy Hook” waiting to happen,…
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Sororities Accused of Discrimination at University of Alabama
It’s been more than 10 years since a black student made it through the recruitment process of a sorority at the University of Alabama. This year it seemed that a change was inevitable when a black student with a flawless résumé applied, according to the New York Times, but even she didn’t make the cut.…
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Should I Date Girl Who Won't Go to Church?
(The Root) — “My question is rather complicated. I’m dating a very nice girl now, but she refuses to go to church with me. My mom and grandparents are all leaders in our church, and I’m running out of excuses for her. She says she’s not a churchgoer and doesn’t want to be a hypocrite…