culture

(The Root) — There was a time long, long ago (OK, decades ago) when the dance everyone was doing at every party actually required a partner. The Hustle craze took off following the release of Van McCoy’s song of the same name, which hit No. 1 on the charts 39 years ago, on July 26,…

More than a dozen Caribbean countries are organizing an effort to seek compensation from Britain, France and the Netherlands to pay for what they call the lasting legacy of the Atlantic slave trade, the Associated Press reports. The Caribbean Community, a regional organization that typically focuses on rather dry issues such as economic integration, has…

The Rev. Rodney Francis of St. Louis is urging parents to stop buying toy guns for their children in an effort to stanch the number of shooting deaths in the community and change the culture of violence. Michael H. Cottman, at BlackAmericaWeb.com, says that’s not such a bad idea, but parents need to help, especially…

Mother Jones‘ Lauren Williams examines the North Carolina GOP Legislature’s recent revisions to a photo-ID bill. She explains why it just may be the nation’s most onerous and restrictive voter-ID law in recent history.  For decades, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 required cities, counties and states with histories of discriminatory voting laws to seek…

As Paula Deen’s right-hand woman, Dora Charles says that she and the celebrity chef were “soul sisters” long before Deen became a national cooking sensation. Working in Deen’s kitchens for 22 years, Charles helped Deen train cooks, develop recipes and launch her first Lady & Sons restaurant in Savannah, Ga. But in a piece in…

(The Root) — “Why don’t nice guys ever win? I’m tired of being overlooked and unappreciated.” —W.N. There are women who wouldn’t be able to spot a good man, or even a man who is good for them (there’s a difference), if every guy wore a list on his forehead that included his character traits,…

The Washington Post is reporting that in an attempt to blunt the impact of a Supreme Court ruling that struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, the Justice Department is preparing to take legal action in a series of cases across the nation. The decision to challenge state officials marks an aggressive…

Contending that the closing of 49 Chicago elementary schools violates children’s human rights, activists have sent a letter to the United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights asking investigators to look into the city’s decision, according to WBEZ. The “letter of allegation” sent Tuesday evening to Geneva, Switzerland, asks U.N. officials to investigate…

Salon is reporting that one of the nation’s largest long-term studies on the “crack baby” epidemic of the 1980s has found that there are “no statistically significant differences in the long-term health and life outcomes between full-term babies exposed to cocaine in-utero and those who were not.” Instead, researchers found poverty to be a key…

Still riding the wave of success from his directorial debut, Fruitvale Station, Ryan Coogler is in talks to direct the next installment in the famed Rocky franchise, according to Deadline. The film, currently entitled Creed, the first in the series since 2006, would reportedly reunite Coogler with actor Michael B. Jordan, who stars as Oscar Grant…