culture

Although the Boy Scouts of America organization voted on Thursday to allow gay youths into its ranks — starting Jan. 1, 2014 — the deciding members didn’t amend the rule to include lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender Scout leaders. So once a Scout turns 18 years old, he is no longer welcome or able to…

(The Root) — I will never forget my father calling out to my sisters and me, “Turn off the lights,” as we went from one room to another in our ranch-style Baltimore home, leaving on all the lights in our wake. His next line pretty consistently was, “Do you think I’m made of money?!” We…

Lauryn Hill is controversial and problematic, and not just to the Internal Revenue Service. The embattled former Fugee besmirches the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in her newest song, “Neurotic Society (Compulsory Mix),” Monica Miller writes on BET.com. Miller says you can’t purport to tear down one social injustice while perpetuating another. Hill’s new…

When high schooler Kiera Wilmot was arrested and expelled from her school for a failed, explosive science experiment, she was afraid. But now she’s speaking out about her ordeal on the ACLU’s blog. I don’t think police should have been involved because I’m a good student for one. And two, it was a big deal,…

(The Root) — “My best friend is a guy I have known for almost seven years. We’re former co-workers, and he now lives in a nearby state with his girlfriend. We’re both busy with work and our relationships and don’t speak very often, maybe once every other week. Mostly we text and send emails sporadically…

Stop and frisk continues to be controversial, and the New York Civil Liberties Union made another allegation on Wednesday. NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman charged that in addition toharassing too many minorities, police also rack up a sizable number of marijuana arrests through stop and frisk that probably wouldn’t happen otherwise, according to the Daily…

Giving birth is tough enough, but delivering a child during a tornado is an amazing feat. And that’s just what Shay-la Taylor did to bring son Braeden Immanuel into the world, reports the Huffington Post. At 3:30 p.m., the tornado touched down, flattening the building. Only 25 other patients and staff were left in the…

When Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia joked that he’d serve Tiger Woods “fried chicken” for dinner earlier this week, he probably didn’t realize that the quip could cost him his TaylorMade sponsorship, reports the Daily Mail. The Spaniard’s … abject apology for a remark that carries racist overtones — fried chicken is stereotypically a food associated with…