culture

In a cogent piece at the New York Times, Harvard law professor Charles J. Ogletree Jr. explores racial disparities in how the death penalty is meted out. He examines the case of Duane Buck, who is facing execution in Houston’s Harris County. His sentence is the clear result of racial discrimination, Ogletree says. Nearly 50…

Don’t be fooled because Michelle Obama is conspicuously missing from Vanity Fair’s 2013 International Best-Dressed List, says the Daily Beast‘s Isabel Wilkinson. The first lady can still outswagger most when it comes to fashion. One reason for the omission, Wilkinson writes, is that the first lady has been taking fewer fashion risks than she did…

Rinku Sen, president and executive director of the Applied Research Center and publisher of Colorlines, writes an incisive piece that tackles racism and bigotry at their most visceral levels in the aftermath of George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. The nation’s legal frameworks are based on punishing explicit racism, not “implicit…

Conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh is engaging in more crazy talk. During an appearance Tuesday on Fox News’ On the Record With Greta Van Susteren, he attributed Detroit’s decline to the city’s first black mayor, Coleman Young, according to Think Progress. He accused Young of starting riots in 1967, which forced whites to flee to…

(The Root) — Hip-hop mogul Shawn Carter, aka Jay Z, and legendary singer and human-rights activist Harry Belafonte have been recently embroiled in a highly publicized dispute over the responsibilities of black icons to the larger African-American community. Belafonte, who has effortlessly wedded a successful international career as a singer, dancer and actor with vocal…

In light of rising racial tensions in America, the Los Angeles Police Department has announced that it is implementing a three-year, voluntary racial-mediation program. The plan calls for officers and citizens to talk out their differences — face-to-face. According to the Huffington Post, the Community-Employee Mediation Pilot Program is a chance for both “officers and accusers…

The Rev. Jesse Jackson apparently struck a nerve among some members of the Grand Old Party during a recent visit to Florida, when he spoke with the Dream Defenders, a group of young activists and professionals, at the state Capitol. While discussing efforts to repeal Florida’s “Stand your ground” laws, he used the phrase “Selma…

In a Q and A with Parade magazine that also features director Lee Daniels and actor Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey reveals her thoughts on the n-word and racism and discusses her role in Lee Daniels’ The Butler, which will be in theaters Aug. 16. The film, which raises questions about race in America, stars Whitaker…

Optimism among minorities in the U.S. about their economic future now outpaces that of whites by the widest margin since at least 1987, the Associated Press reports. The findings come after the AP reported that four out of five adults have struggled with joblessness, near-poverty or dependence on welfare for at least part of their lives,…

(The Root) — Netflix’s original series Orange Is the New Black has taken the Internet by storm since its release July 11. Not everyone is on the bandwagon, but many are lauding the show, describing it with words like “addictive,” “fresh” and “ambitious.” We’re big fans of the show, too, and Orange Is the New…