culture

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…

UPDATED Monday, April 29, 10:06 p.m. EDT: President Obama officially nominated Anthony Foxx this afternoon. Read The Root’s analysis here of how the move helps Obama clear the diversity hurdle. Earlier: Barack Obama is widely expected to nominate Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Anthony Foxx on Monday to head the Department of Transportation, a White House official…

Ethnicity might not play as large a role in charting educational success as experts previously thought, writes Sean F. Reardon in the New York Times; it’s all about how much the parents earn. To make this trend concrete, consider two children, one from a family with income of $165,000 and one from a family with…

The ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project is fighting a law that allows landlords to evict victims of domestic violence if they’ve asked for police help in Norristown, Pa., writes Sandra Park on the Huffington Post. The police threatened Ms. [Lakisha] Briggs with eviction because she had received their assistance for domestic violence. Under Norristown’s “disorderly behavior…

The press attention about Lauryn Hill’s tax troubles has revealed one bright spot: She’s preparing new music. But Aisha Harris wonders on Slate if 15 years after her debut album, will Hill be able to recreate the magic? Referring to the “old conflict between art and commerce,” she wrote: This is about inequity, and the…

The night shift, hovering bosses, poor work evaluations — officer Pedro Serrano told the Washington Post that he’s suffered all of these things for speaking out against the New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk policies.  Serrano claims he’s been harassed, micromanaged and eventually transferred to a different precinct and put on the overnight shift. “It hasn’t…

For Clinton Brown, life was better for his son, Chris Brown, when he was not dating on-again, off-again girlfriend Rihanna, according to the Daily News.  “I personally really didn’t want him and Rihanna back together,” said Clinton Brown, 48. “You have to have a balance in a relationship. You have to have someone who is…

In the shadows of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, many black folks have wondered, “Who’s to be our next leader?” On the Black Youth Project, Jonathan Lykes asks that question of his own generation. As we move further away from the 1960’s civil rights movements I think it is important for individuals in the…