culture

(The Root) — “This is a weird question, but how do I get better at sex? My boyfriend is much older than me and way more experienced. I don’t have any complaints about him, and no one’s said I’m bad at it before. He hasn’t said anything, but I get the feeling that it’s just…

Pointing out that Rachel Jeantel lost her friend Trayvon Martin, who was one of the few people who showed her love and support, Clutch magazine’s Evette Dionne reprimands critics for attacking the teen’s testimony during George Zimmerman’s second-degree-murder trial. The media and intraracial respectability-nazis have crucified Rachel Jeantel for daring to exist outside of the…

Kerry Washington married San Francisco 49ers cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha on June 24 in Blaine County, Idaho, according to E News. Who knew they were dating? Well, according to sports gossip site TerezOwens.com, which was first to get wind of the happy news, Asomugha has been dating Vanity Fair’s August 2013 cover girl since last summer. The 31-year-old three-time Pro Bowl star…

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has been removed from power by the military, which also suspended the constitution, in an effort to resolve the country’s debilitating political crisis, the Washington Post reports. In a televised address to the nation after a meeting with a group of civilian political and religious leaders, the head of the powerful…

Perhaps those who ridiculed Rachel Jeantel in the wake of her testimony during George Zimmerman’s second-degree-murder trial should borrow a page from her friend Trayvon Martin. In a touching interview with Roland Martin, Jeantel’s lawyer, Rod Vereen, describes Trayvon as one of the good guys who did not ridicule the teen because of her looks…

When Jay-Z announced his new partnership with Samsung — in which his next album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, would be made available exclusively to the first million Samsung users who downloaded the app — there was lots of talk from him about new rules, along with many questions. Chief among them: Would those million downloads of…

(The Root) — I had coffee with Mara Brock Akil years ago. I was in Los Angeles “taking meetings” about the possibility of optioning the rights to my book to a production company. When my agent asked whose work in Hollywood I trusted — not just admired — the most, Mara’s name flew out of…

While speaking on Smiley & West, his radio show with co-host Tavis Smiley, Cornel West praised the Supreme Court’s ruling last week on gay marriage but complained that “we black folk are just being pushed to the back of the bus in terms of our visibility,” the Washington Times reports. “We’re living in an age…

(The Root) — If you’re keeping score in the second-degree-murder trial of George Zimmerman, mark Tuesday’s court proceedings as a narrow victory for the prosecution. The exercise has no bearing on Zimmerman’s fate for fatally shooting Florida teen Trayvon Martin, of course. But after a few days of arguments in which defense attorneys neutralized the…

Like most mainstream reality-competition shows, Shark Tank on ABC seems to suffer from a lack of diversity, but the show’s producers, Mark Burnett and his company One Three Media, are determined to change that next season. On Aug. 23, casting directors will be on hand at the Kingonomics Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Investment Conference in Washington,…