culture

(The Root) — “Can a woman really make a good leader?” I rolled my eyes dramatically and looked out at the Brooklyn, N.Y., skyline. I’d been invited to a rooftop event, a monthly brunch when a group of mostly accomplished women, with degrees and jobs and probably a side hustle or two, gather to network.…

In the Daily News, Stanley Crouch weighs in on the leaked comments of GOP strategist Frank Luntz, who said that right-wing radio is keeping moderate Republicans from achieving a compromise on immigration. It’s about time the party recognized the problem. When things are especially harrowing, we hope that our leaders can lead us to the…

Arguing that Americans get outraged only when gun violence occurs in white neighborhoods, blogger Mia McKenzie rails against the country’s double standard in a piece for the Guardian. On 24 April in the town where I live, a wonderful town that I love, a woman was shot to death in front of her four-year-old son,…

In the Huffington Post, Michelangelo Signorile applauds Washington Wizards center Jason Collins’ decision to announce that he is gay, saying that it will go a long way toward helping to break down barriers for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights. The magnitude of NBA player Jason Collins’ coming out today cannot be overestimated. He breaks…

(The Root) — This image is part of a weekly series that The Root is presenting in conjunction with the Image of the Black in Western Art Archive at Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research. The legacy of this remarkable black saint, whose story of persecution and victory begins in ancient Nubia, found its…

(The Root) — Seventeen people were arrested on Monday during a nonviolent “pray-in” at the North Carolina General Assembly, which was held by the NAACP to call attention to the state’s Republican-led assault against the civil rights of poor and minority voters. Ben Wrobel, a spokesman for the National NAACP, said that the men and…

The Associated Press is reporting that for the first time, African American voters turned out at a higher rate than whites and other minority groups in 2012, reflecting a deeply divided presidential election in which blacks cast ballots in large numbers for Barack Obama and many whites failed to show up at the polls. Had…

Opening statements are scheduled to begin on Monday in a small Los Angeles courtroom in Michael Jackson’s wrongful-death trial, CNN reports, and the proceedings could bring plenty of drama. The witness list includes such luminaries as Diana Ross, Spike Lee and Quincy Jones. Jackson’s mother, Katherine, and children have accused AEG Live, the promoters of…

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Monday again praised President Barack Obama’s assistance to his home state after the devastating impact of Superstorm Sandy, the Associated Press reports. Speaking on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program on the 6-month anniversary of the deadly storm, the Republican governor said presidential politics were the last thing on his mind…