culture

Martin Luther King Jr.’s superlative “I Have a Dream” speech “is not free, alas,” Mother Jones‘ Lauren Williams writes. It will not be in the public domain until 2038, and until then, commercial enterprises wishing to use it must pay his estate a hefty fee. I have a dream that on the 50th anniversary of the…

(The Root) — Like many of the films in the “it’s complicated” historical-fiction genre, Lee Daniels’ The Butler uses broad strokes to paint a decidedly unpretty picture — the cinematic equivalent of an Instagram filter. But despite the artistic liberties and Forest Gump-like rendering of the life of White House butler Cecil Gaines — based…

(The Root) — “Although we can trace my maternal grandmother’s heritage back to Europe, she periodically received family-reunion invitations from another family with the last name ‘Ellzey,’ which was her husband’s last name. Turns out there must have been a slave owner named Ellzey, too, because I’m pretty sure my grandma was the only white…

We are all familiar with Kanye West’s aversion to interviews, and he very rarely enjoys talking about his personal life through anything but his music. When family calls, though, he will do anything. On Friday, West will appear on the season finale of Kris, the talk show hosted by Kris Jenner, the grandmother of North…

WNYT-TV is reporting that a Schenectady County, N.Y., black business owner’s surveillance cameras captured an undercover police informant planting and photographing crack cocaine, which ultimately led to the man’s arrest. Schenectady County police reportedly were suspicious of Donald Andrews Jr., who owns a smoke shop in Scotia, N.Y., and decided to send the undercover informant…

In a surprise move, President Barack Obama called Antoinette Tuff, the Georgia woman credited with helping prevent a school shooting, to thank her for her courage, the Associated Press reports. The White House says Obama spoke with Antoinette Tuff on Thursday while in New York, where he is on an education-focused bus trip. The White House…

Rapper J. Cole, an award nominee at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, discussed a range of issues during a recent interview with BET, including racial profiling and colorism in hip-hop. The North Carolina native said, “I might not be as successful as I am now if I was dark skin.” He said that’s the…

On Thursday TMZ spotted George Zimmerman at Kel-Tec, a gun-manufacturing company in Cocoa, Fla.  We’re told he was asking questions about the legality of buying a shotgun — specifically, the Kel-Tec KSG. The gun in question is a tactical shotgun, often used for home defense.  It holds 12 rounds of 12 gauge shells. And this is…

(The Root) — The following singles achieved the highest chart positions in the months surrounding the historic March on Washington in August 1963. These pop jingles, R&B tunes and girl anthems boomed out of transistor radios and filled dance halls. They provided an impromptu soundtrack to a period fraught with much transition, protest and activism.…

Dom Giordano, at the Philadelphia Daily News, asks whether Mayor Michael Nutter, who was critical of Eagles player Riley Cooper’s use of the n-word, will take a similarly hard stand against Jay Z and the hip-hop industry “that profits off slurs and guns.” The hip-hop star is slated to perform in Philadelphia. I ask this because…