culture
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5th Football Player Added to Vanderbilt Rape Case
A grand jury has indicted a fifth Vanderbilt University football player, Chris Boyd, for his alleged role in the rape of an unconscious student on campus in June, CBS News reports. Metro Nashville Police say the 21-year-old reported to police headquarters Saturday morning after being indicted on Friday and turned himself in. Vanderbilt released a…
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'Be What You Were Meant to Be': Why Oprah's Right
Blogging at Essence, Janelle Harris writes that she believes as Oprah Winfrey does, that “you can only be what you were meant to be.” You just have to work hard to determine what that is. Not everything we’re doing right now is what we’d prefer to be doing. I’d venture most of us—including me with…
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Why Celebrity Apologies Are Meaningless
Roxane Gay at Salon dismisses Russell Simmons’ apology tour in the aftermath of the “Harriet Tubman Sex Tape” scandal, calling it pro forma. The media and fans need to demand more of celebrities, including Tyler Perry and Quentin Tarantino, whose denigrating depictions of African Americans, especially women, have reaped them millions. I initially thought I was…
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A White Mother Shapes a Black Man
“White mothers of black boys are confronted by the same realities as black mothers,” Albert L. Butler writes at MSNBC in a poignant piece about his white mother. He says it’s an important yet often overlooked fact. I am an avid watcher of Melissa Harris-Perry, so I was not at all surprised–and was quite pleased–when host…
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Watch This: Spike Lee Meets Kickstarter Goal, Thanks Fans and Jesus
Calling it a “historic moment,” Spike Lee took to YouTube to thank fans and Jesus after reaching his goal of $1.25 million on Kickstarter, which was met Friday with five days remaining in the month-long campaign. Mashable reports. The distinguished filmmaker even dropped a few f-bombs out of excitement while thanking fans and Jesus. He…
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Alice Walker Uninvited to Speak at University of Michigan
The Huffington Post is reporting that the Center for the Education of Women at the University of Michigan has rescinded an invitation to Alice Walker to attend its 50th anniversary next year. Officials may have been prompted by her past criticism of Israel, says the Pulitizer Prize-winning author. On her blog, Walker posted a letter she said…
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Watch This: Russell Simmons Says Black Women 'Educated Me'
In his first sit-down interview about the “Harriet Tubman Sex Tape” debacle, Russell Simmons tells BRKDWN host Cynthia LuCiette that he pulled the video after black women schooled him on how much pain it caused. “This is about black women — and they can push me around a little quicker than the rest of the…
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For Black Moms, Opting Out Is Not an Option
(The Root) — On the long list of rhetorical questions that remain perpetually unanswerable, the problem of whether or not women can “have it all” is right there at the top. Adding to this never-ending debate is a recent New York Times Magazine article that checked in with a group of women who a decade…
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Mayor Bloomberg Slams Stop-and-Frisk Judge
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg took the airwaves on Friday to blast a Manhattan federal judge who ruled that the city’s controversial stop-and-frisk practices were unconstitutional, according to the New York Post. Public safety “is now in the hands of some woman who does not have the expertise to do it,” he told listeners during…
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The Seamstress for the Ku Klux Klan
Mother Jones reports that 58-year-old “Ms. Ruth,” who comes from five generations of Ku Klux Klan members, sews hoods and robes for the group seven days a week, and blesses each one when it’s done. She lives in the Deep South. A red satin outfit for an Exalted Cyclops, the head of a local chapter,…