culture

In a town as small as Leith, N.D. (population: 16), Bobby and Sherrill Harper stick out like sore thumbs, Bobby especially. They are the town’s only interracial couple, and Bobby is the only black man. But according to CNN, one Leith resident, Paul Craig Cobb, thinks Bobby is one black person too many. Paul Craig…

In order for No. 1-seeded Serena Williams to take home her fifth U.S. Open title, she had to beat No. 2-seeded Victoria Azarenka and, it seemed, another opponent. As ESPN reports, Azarenka wasn’t giving Williams problems as much the weather at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, Queens. After one miss, Williams declared, “I can’t…

When Linda Dorcena Forry won her bid for state senator of the First Suffolk District in Boston in May, her victory signified change to come. Not only is she black, but she is the first woman to hold the seat. Those two factors alone showed outsiders that Boston, long associated with racism toward blacks and…

(The Root) — Sept. 15 marks the 50th anniversary of perhaps the most tragic episode of the civil rights movement. On that day Denise McNair, 11, Carole Robertson, 14, Addie Mae Collins, 14, and Cynthia Wesley, 14, were killed in a terrorist-sponsored explosion at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. Their deaths overtook…

Award-winning fashion critic Robin Givhan, at New York magazine, endorses former model agency owner Bethann Hardison’s recent letter that calls for an end to racism on the runway. Diplomacy has shifted to confrontation. Bethann Hardison, the former model agency owner who has been a leading advocate for greater diversity on the fashion runway, has gone…

In a piece at her blog, Farai.com, Farai Chideya explores questions that have bedeviled President Barack Obama and Congress in the smoldering debate over Syria. She blends issues of morality (When is killing justified?) with those of national interest (Will intervention help America?). Let’s parse out a few of these different lines, and who espouses them.…

In a surprise move, Benjamin Todd Jealous, NAACP president and CEO, says he plans to step down in January, the Washington Post reports. He is slated to make the announcement on Monday. Five years ago when Jealous took the helm of the 104 year-old civil rights group, he became the youngest president in its history.…

Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour has canceled plans to feature Miley Cyrus on the December cover after witnessing her recent performance at the Video Music Awards, according to the Daily Mail. The 20-year-old […] was photographed for the December issue as editor-in-chief Anna Wintour had been eager to champion her as a new fashion icon.  But…

New York City police are investigating a possible hate crime after a black man reportedly shouted, “I’m going to punch the first white man I see,” before attacking Jeffrey Babbitt, 62, who fell backward and hit his head on the ground, the Daily News reports. Babbitt is feared brain-dead. Jeffrey Babbitt, 62, who is white,…

During a recent interview, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Bill de Blasio, a Democrat in the race to replace him, is running a “racist” campaign based on “class warfare,” the Washington Post reports. Bloomberg made the comment about candidate Bill de Blasio in an interview with New York magazine due on newsstands Monday.…