culture
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The Census Race Question Isn't Working
Chicago Tribune columnist Clarence Page highlights the problems with relying on a race-classification system created in a different era. A notable example of how Americans fall through the cracks in census data-gathering caught my eye recently. It appeared on the black-oriented TheRoot.com website under this intriguing headline: “I found one drop; can I be black…
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Revisiting Assata Shakur's Open Letter
Colorlines‘ Jamilah King presents a 1998 letter by Shakur, who was recently placed on the FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorists list. In her letter, Shakur provides her own account of the events leading up to her arrest and 1977 conviction. She also details the extent to which the media played a role in her prosecution. Shakur…
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Male-Female Friendships: A Myth?
In a piece for Ebony, Josie Pickens takes on the “relationship expert”-backed theory that we don’t truly desire and pursue platonic friendships that don’t lead to romance. I couldn’t agree more with Jamilah Lemieux’s argument against the growing number of male “relationship experts” and “romance coaches” who gear their services toward single Black women who are really,…
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'Dark Girls': Can We Have True Healing?
(The Root) — Last week, OWN announced that Bill Duke’s controversial documentary Dark Girls, which explores the colorism faced by dark-skinned women, would be heading to the network in June. I refer to it as controversial not because of the very important issue it tackles, but because I recall the discussions that the 10-minute trailer…
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Lauryn Hill Sentenced to 3 Months in Prison
A judge has sentenced Lauryn Hill to three months in prison and an additional three months of home confinement for failing to pay taxes on about $1 million in earnings, the Associated Press reports. Hill, a 37-year-old South Orange resident, pleaded guilty last year in the case. During a forceful statement to the judge Monday,…
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Don't Judge Kobe's Family Money Drama
(The Root) — There’s a lot not to like about Kobe Bryant. For one, no matter what he does, he manages to come across as smug and arrogant, something that has been a complaint of fellow players and fans alike. Then there’s the small detail of being accused of rape. Those charges were eventually dropped,…
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Detroit 'Kidnapping' and 'Dumping' the Homeless?
Michigan ACLU Legal Director Michael Steinberg spoke on Sunday’s Melissa Harris-Perry about the ACLU’s yearlong investigation into a practice that the organization says amounts to kidnapping. Police, Steinberg says, pick up people they believe to be homeless in the city’s tourist areas and “dump” them outside city limits, often leaving them stranded miles away. Watch…
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Youngest Member at NRA Convention: A 3-Year-Old Black Girl
The National Rifle Association capped its annual convention in Houston on Sunday by hosting a “Youth Day” event that included free six-month memberships offered to kids, the Daily News reports. It came a day after the organization welcomed the youngest member in attendance, Elaih Wagan. Tweets from the event described her as a “three year…
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Sibling for Blue Ivy? Beyoncé Says Daughter Needs Some Company
In an interview Monday morning with Amy Robach on ABC’s Good Morning America, Beyoncé discussed her latest role (Queen Tara in the upcoming animated film Epic), the reaction to her trip to Cuba (“actually quite shocking”) and plans to expand her family, ABC News reports. Chatting about 1-year-old daughter Blue Ivy, she said, “I just want to…
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Chris Kelly's Funeral to Include Public Viewing
Funeral services for Kris Kross rapper Chris Kelly are scheduled to take place in Atlanta on Wednesday, Extra reports. The plans include a public viewing at Atlanta’s Murray Brothers Funeral Home, in addition to the funeral at Jackson Memorial Baptist Church on Thursday. Kelly, who reportedly died of a drug overdose, was originally discovered by…