culture
-
A Black Man's Role in American Revolution
(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 Institute for African and African American Research. This striking pair of figures presents one aspect of the role of the black man in the American Revolution.…
-
Black Adults Need to Stop Spewing Anti-Black Rhetoric at Children
Sheryl Underwood’s disparaging comments about kinky hair jogged Danielle C. Belton’s memory about the negative things she’s heard black adults say to black children about their features. In a piece at Clutch magazine, Belton stresses the importance of grown folk not giving black children inferiority complexes about their brown complexions or hair texture. The people who told me…
-
Dave Chappelle's Experience Shows Connecticut's Racism
One little-explored aspect of Dave Chappelle’s “meltdown” during a performance in Hartford last week is the significance of where the incident took place, journalist and Connecticut native Ann-Marie Adams argues in a piece at Ebony. She argues that Connecticut, rather than being a liberal oasis, is a racial hotbed. Location is a crucial unit of analysis for Chappelle’s…
-
Robin Givhan Dishes About Race and Fashion
For the past year, former Washington Post fashion critic Robin Givhan has been busy on her upcoming book, tentatively titled One Night at Versailles. But the Pultizer Prize winner is returning to her roots, covering the spring-summer 2014 runways at New York Fashion Week for New York magazine’s The Cut blog. In a condensed Q&A,…
-
Justice Beyond Race: From Gloucester Revolts to MLK's 'Dream'
Writing at USA Today, NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous uses the 350th anniversary of the Gloucester County Conspiracy — a revolt organized by black slaves and European indentured servants in Virginia — to describe the “original state of race relations” before race was introduced as a tactic to separate the disenfranchised. He also connects those…
-
Florida Sheriff Blasts Black University President for Planned Rap Concert
Florida continues to find a way to mess up this whole race-relations thing. This week it’s Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott, who is calling out Florida Gulf Coast University President Wilson Bradshaw. Lee’s issue? Students at FGCU who have booked Kendrick Lamar and Ludacris to perform at their annual student concert, known as Eaglepalooza. In…
-
LeBron James to Be Executive Producer of Cable Series
Miami Heat star LeBron James, in conjunction with Tom Werner, a producer for The Cosby Show and Roseanne, will executive-produce a series for the Starz cable network, according to Black Enterprise. The sitcom, tentatively titled Survivor’s Remorse, will chronicle what two friends experience when one of them becomes extremely successful, as happened to James. The series will reportedly be set…
-
Jury: N-Word Wrong Even Among Blacks
When black people use the n-word, we like to say it’s different, right? Unlike whites, who use the n-word toward blacks in a hateful way, blacks use the n-word as a term of endearment, never with malice. Of course, some disagree, claiming that it’s a double standard that blacks can use the n-word but whites…
-
NYC Mayor Candidates March at West Indian Day Parade
With only one week to go before New York City’s primary day, candidates for mayor made their annual pilgrimage to one of the city’s oldest traditions, the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn. According to the Associated Press, the major candidates took part in the parade’s festivities, each with his or her own way of…
-
Miley Cyrus on Her VMA Performance
It’s been more than a week since Miley Cyrus’ MTV Video Music Awards performance set off a wave of controversy. Her onstage antics in a furry swimsuit with Robin Thicke sparked a nationwide discourse over twerking and cultural appropriation. All the while, Cyrus has stayed quiet — until now, in an exclusive on-camera interview with…