culture
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Why Assimilation Is a 'Dirty Word'
Assimilation is a “dirty word” because the term is conflicted, Danielle C. Belton writes at Clutch magazine, especially now, when race and racism have been pushed to the fore as topics of discussion in America. Assimilate is a dirty word for me because in reference to black people surviving in America it’s both necessary and…
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Does Jay Z Want to Be This Generation's Harry Belafonte?
The kerfuffle between Jay Z and Harry Belafonte over the rapper’s so-called failed activism represents the gulf between the civil rights and hip-hop generations, writes Rahiel Tesfamariam in the Washington Post. “When, if ever,” she asks, “will the two meet?” This past weekend, Jay-Z and Beyoncé attended a Trayvon Martin rally in New York City, standing…
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Feds to Probe 'Redneck Day' at Arizona High School
The U.S. Department of Education is investigating a controversial “Redneck Day” celebration at an Arizona high school after civil rights leaders said that it created a racially hostile environment, the Associated Press reports. The Rev. Jarrett Maupin says the DOE will “determine the remedy, including moderating conversations between school administrators and civil rights community leaders…
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North Carolina to Pay $10 Million to Victims of Forced Sterilization
In a landmark move by lawmakers, North Carolina on Wednesday passed a budget that includes $10 million to compensate the state’s victims of forced sterilization, NBC News reports. “There were challenges, we had to better educate our members — and then of course we had to work through the fiscal challenges — but at the…
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Were My Ancestors African or European?
(The Root) — “For nearly two decades I’ve grasped for a connection to my family’s African heritage. I grew up in an ethnically diverse, Northern New Jersey suburb where many of the black students were first-generation Americans or recent immigrants with ancestry from countries like Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal. Now in my late 20s, I’ve…
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Why Juror B29 Should Be Sorry
Juror B29, also known as Maddy, should have stood her ground (pun intended), Wayne Bennett writes at the Field Negro, if she felt so strongly that George Zimmerman should have been convicted in his second-degree-murder trial. A hung jury would have allowed the state to try him again, he writes. So this Juror-B29 lady felt…
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Is Kanye West an Angry Black Man?
Black America gets that Kanye West’s angry outbursts against the media represent retaliation against racial oppression and other pain, Gerren Keith Gaynor writes at Ebony. Unfortunately, because of racism, everything that he does reflects all African-American men. Recent polls conducted by TMZ reveal a majority of respondents agree that Kanye is a “danger” to Kim Kardashian, so…
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Why National Dialogue on Race Is Needed
(The Root) — Trayvon Martin’s tragic death has inspired nationwide demonstrations and calls for action that have reverberated all the way to the White House. President Obama’s spontaneous and heartfelt words about the plight of race relations in America touched upon the need for a national conversation about race but expressed skepticism that politicians might…
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Sybrina Fulton on Juror B29: 'Devastating'
After juror B29 said in an interview on Thursday that she feels George Zimmerman “got away with murder” in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, his mother, Sybrina Fulton, released a statement calling the comments “devastating,” CBS News reports. Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, released a statement saying, “It is devastating for my family to…
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Dominique Strauss-Kahn Charged With Aggravated Pimping
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former chief of the International Monetary Fund, will face charges of aggravated pimping in a French court, the Associated Press reports. Strauss-Kahn was thrust into the media spotlight in 2011 after he was arrested on charges that he sexually abused a maid, Nafissatou Diallo, at a Manhattan hotel. A New York City…