culture

U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman (R.-Texas) said it’s “silly” for the Missouri chapter of the NAACP to call for a federal probe into an incident involving a man who wore a mask of President Barack Obama during a controversial performance last weekend at the state fair, Fox News reports. “A rodeo clown is really a nominal…

The strain of poverty is traumatizing enough, but the scars can be lasting and even deadly when it occurs early in life, the Huffington Post reports. Whites in the U.S. live about five years longer than blacks because of socioeconomic factors, not genetics, the report shows. And the stress elevates levels of stress hormones and…

In a rare post-baby outing Wednesday night in Los Angeles, rapper Kanye West watched the Los Angeles Dodgers play the New York Mets, Yahoo reports. But he didn’t get the warm welcome he’s used to receiving during performances. When West was shown on the jumbotron at Dodgers Stadium, the “Black Skinhead” rapper was booed by…

Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and T.I. (real name: Clifford Harris) are taking the Marvin Gaye family and Bridgeport Music (owner of Funkadelic compositions) to court to protect Thicke’s song “Blurred Lines,” according to the Hollywood Reporter. The lawsuit, which was filed in a California federal court on Thursday, is a complaint about comparisons between two…

On Tuesday afternoon, while riding his bike on South Weinbach Avenue in Evansville, Ind., George Madison Jr., 38, waved to a couple of police officers nearby. From where Madison was, the officers looked familiar to him. After all, as a firefighter with the Evansville Fire Department, Madison is friends and has worked closely with many…

(The Root) — Going out to the latest Big Black Movie has been political for a long time. We don’t like how we are portrayed in film, so black people show up en masse at worthy opening nights. We want to reward film investors who show us doing more than just twerkin’ and jerkin’. We…

(The Root) — This has been a long, hot summer, dominated in part by the trial of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin. The trial, which became a media spectacle, was at its heart the story of the unfulfilled search for justice. The verdict in that case broke millions of Americans’ hearts and…

“It’s not just that black actresses are auditioning and not getting cast in larger roles — it seems that they are frequently absent from the casting process entirely,” Aisha Harris writes in a piece at Slate that challenges a claim that this has been a great year in film and television for black women. ……

Colorlines‘ Jamilah King was spurred to round up actual facts about the abolitionist in response to the “Harriet Tubman Sex Tape.” Russell Simmons’ All Def Digital YouTube channel has now removed the video, on which comedians joked about how Tubman used sex to blackmail “her master into letting her run the Underground Railroad.” 1. Harriet…

Lauren Rankin, in a piece at Clutch magazine, explores friendship and other relationships from a feminist angle. She relates how ending one toxic relationship helped her learn to take care of herself and become a better friend in healthier situations. … As women, we’re taught to maintain the peace, to keep our voices down, to smile,…