culture

(The Root) — On May 7, officials at the Mississippi State Penitentiary, better known as “ol’ Parchman,” planned to strap Willie Jerome Manning to a gurney and pump a lethal cocktail of drugs into his veins at precisely 7 p.m. But just five hours before he was set to die, the state’s Supreme Court halted…

(The Root) — Although the New York City Police Department has battled allegations of racial bias for the manner in which it executes its stop-and-frisk program, the New York City Fire Department has faced criticism of its own from civil rights proponents. In 2012 the city of New York was forced to pay $128 million…

The Associated Press is reporting that O.J. Simpson has been granted parole on some of his 2008 convictions for the kidnapping and armed robbery of two sports-memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room. But the former football great won’t be released anytime soon. He still has to serve at least four more years on…

George Zimmerman was stopped for speeding at an undisclosed rate on Sunday in Forney, Texas, TMZ reports. During the five-minute stop, he informed officers that he had a firearm in his glove compartment, according to the report. A description of the weapon was not disclosed. Zimmerman was speeding in Forney, Texas on Sunday, just after…

The National Museum of African American History and Culture, currently under construction in Washington, D.C., has expressed interest in ultimately acquiring one of the most iconic symbols of the Trayvon Martin movement: the hoodie Trayvon wore the night he was gunned down by George Zimmerman. It’s a move that the Rev. Al Sharpton would support,…

As someone committed to the black family, Nick Chiles writes in a blog post at MyBrownBaby that he was stunned into silence when he learned that the ignominious accomplishments of 33-year-old Orlando Shaw — fathering 22 children by 14 women — might be rewarded with a reality show. First we got tortured by the travails…

On the heels of a recent campaign video in which Anthony Weiner proclaims that “quit isn’t the way we roll in New York City,” Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart writes that scandal-plagued mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner is dangerously close to becoming the person that people in his hometown love to hate. Folks may not like…

Writing at Ebony.com, France François explores “Trayvon’s Law,” a new set of policies and principles mapped out by the NAACP and the Dream Defenders, a group of young professionals and activists in Florida. If enacted legislatively in that state and others, the groups say, it could help avert another tragedy like the one that befell…

New York City’s attempt to limit the sale of large soft drinks is on hold after a midlevel appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the city’s Board of Health exceeded its legal authority, the Associated Press reports. Mayor Michael Bloomberg pledged to appeal the decision in an effort to fight obesity. In a unanimous opinion,…