culture
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A Slave's Legacy Lives On in World War II
The following is an excerpt from Freedom Papers: An Atlantic Odyssey in the Age of Emancipation, a book about an 18th-century slave, Rosalie, and her amazing descendants. The coronation of George VI as king of England provided the ostensible motive for the Associated Negro Press to send the journalist Fay M. Jackson from Los Angeles…
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Sneaky Practices That Cheat Fast-Food Workers
At Colorlines, Seth Freed Wessler uncovers illegal employment practices at many fast-food restaurants, and the underpaid workers who suffer the consequences. The U.S. Department of Labor found a couple years ago that 40 percent of fast food outposts in the country fail to consistently pay their employees a minimum wage or overtime. And a recent study from New York…
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The NBA Finals' Most Annoying Viewers
Before Thursday night’s big game, Very Smart Brothas’ Damon Young offered some very direct words of advice to basketball novices, including must-know facts and essential etiquette. … 1. Shut the f*ck up There’s nothing wrong with being an NBA novice. Basketball isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, so it’s perfectly understandable if you just don’t happen…
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Reports: Rapper Lil Snupe Dead
Multiple sources are reporting that 18-year-old rapper Lil Snupe of Meek Mill’s Dream Chasers Records has died after being shot earlier this week. A writer for AllHipHop.com wrote this morning, “Now, I am hearing that he has been found dead. I don’t have a lot of details, but I heard he was shot by some…
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911 Call Allowed in Zimmerman Trial
Saturday, June 22, 12:13 p.m. EDT: On Saturday morning, Judge Debra Nelson ruled that while the audiotape of the 911 call can be played during the upcoming trial, which begins on Monday, the findings of audio will not be admissable. CBS News reports that this decision will likely shorten the proceedings by one week. Thursday, June 20,…
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Pelosi Blasts Proposed $20.5 Billion Food Stamp Cuts
On Wednesday the House of Representatives killed an amendment by Rep. James McGovern that would have eliminated planned food stamp cuts in the GOP’s five-year farm bill, replacing the cuts with reductions to big agriculture subsidies. The bill currently includes $20.5 billion in food stamp cuts over the next 10 years (a number that could…
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Diddy: Ready to Revolutionize TV
(The Root) — There must be something in the water, because major figures in hip-hop are revolutionizing the way we consume media — during Black Music Month, no less. On the heels of Jay-Z’s partnership with Samsung to release his new album, Magna Carta Holy Grail, to 1 million users three days before the actual…
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Studies: Can Racism Shorten Life?
It’s fair to say that Paula Deen’s unapologetic racism has gotten her Twitter-murdered in the most hilarious way possible. Thanks to #PaulasBestDishes and today’s #PaulaWon’tCookIt hastags, anyone’s image of her as a butter-loving grandmother figure is officially deep-fried and dead. But of course, when it comes to bigotry, it’s not just the perpetrators who suffer.…
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Communism Didn't End Racism in Cuba
Afro-Cuban activists Calvo Cárdenas and Manuel Cuesta Morúa created the Citizens Committee for Racial Integration (CIR) to advocate for Cuba’s underrepresented Afro-Cuban population. CIR champions policies to fight discrimination that Afro-Cubans experience in the workforce. The group’s work gives Cuba’s Communist Party pause because it refutes the idea that 50 years of communism has eliminated…
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The Problem With 'the Black Whatever'
Alisha Tillery speaks out against the tendency to compare black people to white icons in a piece for Clutch magazine. She says that it gives the impression we aren’t satisfied being ourselves and that we look to white people for the standard of what’s good. A couple of weeks ago, I came across a story…