culture

The author of a new study says that lenders are likely to perceive African-American women as positively as white men in approving loan applications and would lend them as much money, the Huffington Post reports. According to the study’s lead author, University of Iowa sociologist Sarah Harkness, lenders perceive African-American women just as favorably as white…

(The Root) — Just typing out the words seems like a betrayal: “Harriet Tubman Sex Tape.” It’s as bizarre and brutal as a sudden slap in the face. A spoof about a real-life American superhero voluntarily reducing herself to the antics of every other reality-show airhead? And someone thought this was “hilarious”? That someone happened…

(The Root) — When reports surfaced that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West had named their new daughter “North ‘Nori’ West,” it was simply assumed that they were following in the footsteps of fellow celebrities with oddly named kids — kids like Apple Martin (daughter of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and singer Chris Martin) and Pilot Inspektor…

The Raw Story is reporting that a 92-year-old African-American woman has filed a suit against North Carolina after Republican Gov. Pat McCrory signed a restrictive voter-ID measure. The suit says that Rosanell Eaton will be disenfranchised after voting for 70 years because “the name on her certified birth certificate does not match the name on…

A clown who wore an Obama mask at the Missouri State Fair this weekend as an announcer called for him “to get gored” has been banned after a public uproar, CBS News reports. The announcer has resigned. The fair banned the clown from any future events, saying in a written statement that he had engaged…

Update: Thursday, Aug. 15, 10:01 a.m. EDT: The hip-hop mogul issued an apology at his Global Grind site, saying, “When my buddies from the NAACP called and asked me to take down the Harriet Tubman video from the All Def Digital YouTube channel and apologize, I agreed.” Earlier: All Def Digital, the brainchild of Russell…

When Tupac rapped “ain’t nuthin’ but a gangsta party” on the hook of the song with the same name, there’s a good chance he didn’t think members of Alpha Delta Fraternity would take it so literally. But members of the frat at Dartmouth College, who probably listened to too much hip-hop and watched too many…

On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge John Corbett O’Meara ordered an end to life-without-parole sentencing for juveniles in the state of Michigan. The order comes a year after the U.S. Supreme Court found such sentences to be in violation of the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.  Now in Michigan, where the law…

(The Root) — “I’m not really the jealous type, but it kind of gets to me when my wife talks about her ‘work husband.’ Maybe it’s my ego, but I’m really thinking I should be the only guy who is her husband. Am I taking this wrong?” —O.A. “Work husband” is a popular term used…

Niesha Davis, at Clutch magazine, reviews the ups and downs of single life and determines that there’s a lot about the lifestyle that she loves. And yet she still wonders “if the grass really is greener on the other side.” … There is a lot to love about the life I lead. I love to…