culture

For roughly $20,000 what could you buy? A car? A semester’s worth of college tuition? A beautiful, bouncing, black baby? According to Jezebel, in her website for NPR, the Race Card Project, Michele Norris touches on the scary reality that black children cost significantly less to adopt than any other race.    Norris’ piece dives…

In light of the recent Supreme Court decision on affirmative action, which kicked the case back to a lower court of appeals, America’s educational institutions should recommit to fair and thoughtful ways to foster diversity, NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous blogs at the Huffington Post. “For a country regarded as the paramount leader in…

CNN is reporting that a Boeing 777 operated by Asiana Airlines crashed while landing Saturday at San Francisco International Airport, according to an FAA spokesman. Flight 214 left Seoul’s Incheon International Airport earlier Saturday and flew 10 hours and 23 minutes to California, according to FlightAware, a website that offers tracking services for private and…

Mathew Knowles, Beyoncé’s father and former manager, married Gena Charmaine Avery in Houston last Sunday, his representative told the Associated Press. The couple had been engaged for about a year and a half. Knowles and Beyoncé’s mother, Tina, divorced in 2011 after 31 years of marriage. The 48-year-old Avery is a realtor. The 61-year-old Knowles guided his…

When Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on Friday signed a harsh and restrictive abortion measure into law, he set the stage for a court battle with pro-choice groups, MSNBC reports. The new law would require doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at hospitals within 30 miles of where a procedure is done and mandates…

The Daily News is reporting that the head of a polygamous sect was given two life sentences on Friday for the murders of a 4-year-old boy and one of his five wives, who tried to escape his cult. Prosecutors in Durham, N.C., found Peter Moses Jr. responsible for the shooting deaths of little Jadon Higganbothan…

Say what? A Canadian teen whose studio name is WondaGurl has been credited as a producer on “Crown,” a track on Jay-Z’s new album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, according to Jezebel. Ebony Oshunrinde, who just finished the 11th grade, has an inspiring story. Earlier this year, she sent the beat to a friend, a young…

In examining media coverage of Nelson Mandela’s illness through the eyes of his eldest daughter, the Independent‘s Minna Salami concludes that race and matters of ethics are not as separate as they seem. People have repeatedly disrespected him by reporting his early demise, she says, because he is African. In an interview on South African…

(The Root) — “Creepy-ass cracker.” These words have been on my mind since Rachel Jeantel spoke them on the witness stand in the trial of George Zimmerman. As a prosecution witness, Jeantel testified that shortly before Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin, her friend told her by phone that some “creepy-ass cracker” was following him. Her appearance…

With the economy on a steady but slow increase and employers now paying minimum-wage employees in pre-paid debit cards, banking fees can drain your account — especially if you don’t have sufficient funds. So how to rectify this problem? Writing for Slate, Matthew Yglesias suggests an alternate banking system that could move us into the future and allows for…