culture

(The Root) — 50 Cent is having a bad week. Despite the saying that there is no such thing as bad publicity, the rapper-turned-actor-turned-mogul has managed to prove multiple times over the last few days that the maxim is not true. First he was accused of domestic violence. Now he is accused of being a…

When a law requiring the uninsured to purchase health insurance takes effect on Jan. 1, 2014, the cost, the extensiveness of benefits and the number of competing insurance companies that opt in to the health care marketplaces will all depend on where a person lives, CNBC reports. The Affordable Care Act mandating those marketplaces, also…

(The Root) — It’s that time again! This past weekend, the Essence Music Festival came to New Orleans, and with headlining performances from Beyoncé, Solange, Maxwell, New Edition and Jill Scott, it was a great show. NOLA was buzzing with great music, food and people. We’re sure you had your camera out to capture the memories. The…

Lauryn Hill began serving a three-month prison sentence in Connecticut on Monday after neglecting to pay more than $1 million in taxes over the last decade, the Associated Press reports. Ed Ross, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Prisons, says the Grammy-winning singer reported Monday to the federal prison in Danbury. Hill started singing…

Chicago erupted in paroxysms of violence over the Fourth of July weekend when 72 people were shot over the course of four days, according to Raw Story. At least 64 of the shootings reportedly took place by Saturday, and many appear to have been the result of gang violence. Of that 72, NBC Chicago reported that 12…

(The Root) — I am not a feminist, nor do I allow others to identify me as one. (Whew! I finally got that out.) I am not a black feminist, hip-hop feminist or third-wave feminist, and I have chosen not to align my scholarship with the hybrid frameworks born out of the traditional feminisms of…

Blogging at the Huffington Post, Earl Ofari Hutchinson checks in on the recent Rasmussen poll, which showed that more Americans think that blacks are more racist than whites. A recent Rasmussen poll found that more Americans by a wide margin think blacks are more racist than whites. This also included a significant percent of blacks who according…

Catholics believe “a saint is a holy person through whom God intervenes after his or death to aid the living,” writes David M. Perry, a history professor, at CNN, and this is is one reason Catholics want to canonize Pope John Paul II. On Friday, Pope Francis announced the canonization of two of his predecessors:…

When a recent poll by Rasmussen Reports found that Americans consider blacks more likely to be racist than whites and Hispanics, the results were, well, surprising, especially in the context of the racial polarization going on in the nation right now, including New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk program, which largely targets young black and Latino males. Now,…

When George Zimmerman shot the unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin nearly a year ago, it captured worldwide attention in a backlash sparked mostly by social media, the Associated Press reports. Now, sites such as Twitter and Facebook have become a major presence at George Zimmerman’s trial, both inside and outside the courtroom. A witness who testified…