culture

(The Root) — For the past week, a conversation has been had over everyday black people going viral in the media — like Charles Ramsey, the Cleveland man who helped saved three women from their kidnappers and became an Internet meme after his live interview with his city’s news station. But there was another black…

In court for tax evasion, Lauryn Hill referred to herself as a descendant of slaves, saying that this was why she couldn’t pay her taxes. At Ebony, columnist Michael Arceneaux calls foul.  Lauryn, you are about as much a slave as I am a Xena, Warrior Princess. Frankly, if everyone had to pay taxes on…

Some are saying that Janelle Monae might be talking about her own sexuality in her new song, “Q.U.E.E.N.” But writer Andreana Clay of Queer Black Feminist writes that she’d rather focus on Monae’s self-proclaimed status of being an oddball. Some have begun to speculate that this song may be about her (queer) sexuality, which may…

“Being white is pretty awesome,” writes lawyer Dawn Cutaia in the York Daily Record, saying that white folks don’t have to be part of the KKK to be racist. It can be as easy as laughing at a black person’s ethnic name or not hiring them because of it. You don’t have to be a…

A two-day hostage situation is over, after police rescued three children being held in a Trenton, N.J., home by Gerald Murphy, according to the Associated Press. Police found the bodies of Murphy’s girlfriend and her teenage son. [The police] found 38-year-old Gerald Tyrone Murphy in an upstairs bedroom, and he told them he was armed…

Billboard breaks down the trend of hip-hop fans holding MCs accountable for inappropriate lyrics and ads, versus the days of C. Delores Tucker and gangsta rap when the accusations came from outside of the hip-hop community. The women who took Rick Ross down — for a lyric about drugging a girl and “enjoying” her —…

For Aretha Franklin, the lead actress in her upcoming biopic doesn’t so much need to have a voice but soul. Speaking to the Associated Press, Franklin discussed the possibility of Broadway and silver-screen actress Audra McDonald or Jennifer Hudson playing her, as well as Zoe Saldana’s controversial casting as Nina Simone. AP: What do you…

Preppy retailer Abercrombie & Fitch refuses to sell clothes for women who wear a size large and above, despite statistics showing that the average American wears larger sizes, reports Business Insider. This is the same company that’s faced criticism for T-shirt slogans that many Asian Americans found racist back in 2002. While a specialty retailer…

Welp, it looks like time has run out for Meagan Good to compete with or at least capitalize on the success of primetime television’s current black Hollywood queen, Kerry Washington. NBC is canceling Good’s starring vehicle, Deception, due to low ratings, according to the Hollywood Reporter. NBC’s attempt to capture some of the buzz surrounding…