culture

At MSNBC Adam Serwer says that the workplace will likely be the only place impacted by last week’s court ruling that use of the n-word is wrong, even among blacks. Like it or not, he says, the word has become a permanent fixture in America’s nomenclature, with all of its connotations. Earlier this week, a…

Arguing that people of color will remain a part of the American fabric long after President Barack Obama leaves office, Jonathan P. Hicks says at BET that it would be wise for Republican lawmakers to set aside their ideological differences with his administration and adopt long-term solutions to address the staggering black unemployment rate. It…

Writing at Diverse Issues in Higher Education, Ibram X. Kendi, assistant professor at University at Albany, SUNY, challenges an argument by Republicans that “racism talk breeds disunity,” which has been put forth in the weeks since George Zimmerman was acquitted in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. It is actually their dogma that is at the…

Donald Maiden Jr., who celebrated his 8th birthday on Sunday, is struggling to recover at a Texas hospital after a 46-year-old white man shot him in the face on Tuesday, as the child played a game of tag outside his apartment complex, according to the Raw Story. Police have not been able to determine a…

Arsenio Hall will reboot his late night television career on Monday, and if he gets his way, some of his favorite guests from the past will return, according to MSNBC. One of the most memorable moments from his earlier days occurred when then-candidate Bill Clinton played his saxophone on the show in 1992 with Hillary…

Race relations in Florida returned to the spotlight this week when outrage erupted on Florida State University’s campus in Tallahassee after a white student’s tweet referred to blacks as “monkeys,” according to Business Insider. The student claimed her Twitter account had been hacked, said authorities investigating the incident. Florida State University’s administration and police department…

The Atlantic‘s Ta-Nehisi Coates says it’s time for the Obama administration to re-evaluate its Syria strategy after a recent poll by the Pew Research Center found that an overwhelming number of Americans oppose a military strike. By a 48% to 29% margin, more Americans oppose than support conducting military air strikes against Syria in response…

Iranian-backed Shiite militias have issued warnings that they will retaliate against American interests in Iraq if the U.S. proceeds with strikes against Syria, the Associated Press reports, citing Iraqi security officials and militants themselves. Iraqi officials say they are taking the warnings seriously. The threats, which come as President Barack Obama’s administration and Congress debate…

Writing at the New Inquiry, Ayesha Siddiqi argues that broad interpretations of styles that flow out of pop culture should never really be surprising, but in contrasting so deeply with her “white girl” image, Miley Cyrus earns both praise and scorn for her MTV Video Music Awards “struggle-twerk.”  [Miley Cyrus’] loyalty to the white girlhood she…

In a powerful piece at Ebony, Jamilah Lemieux issues a stern rebuke to those who think that black people can police themselves into becoming respected or validated by white people. She asks, “How are white folks gonna confront their biases when at every turn there’s a black person willing to hop up and tell them that we are really…