culture
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Beyoncé and Jay-Z: Pop Music's 1st Billionaire Couple
With ad campaigns and business ventures complementing multimillion-dollar tours, it’s no surprise that Jay-Z and Beyoncé have plenty of money (after all, there’s a rumor that they now have a $4 million private island), but now there’s a rough number on their wealth — and it looks like a record. The International Business Times is…
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Poisonous Substance in Parcel Sent to Obama
Updated 12:21 p.m. EDT: Secret Service officials say the letter tested positive for the poison ricin and was from the same sender who mailed the letter to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) that also tested positive, NBC News reports. Federal officials told NBC News that they believe they know who sent the letters, but no arrest has…
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Will This Jockey Take the Derby Back to Its Black Roots?
On May 4, 29-year-old Kevin Krigger will become the second black jockey to compete in the Kentucky Derby since 1921. His presence — and his designation as a top-10 favorite by the man who trained last year’s winner — is reminding observers of the post-Reconstruction era, when African-American men dominated the race under very different…
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Confessions of a Hair-Weave Addict
In a piece originally posted at Dog Park Media, filmmaker Erikka Yancy gets brutally honest about her history with racial identity and beauty. It was a long road to recognizing my racial identity crisis. I did not realize it in junior high when I basked in the glory of being told by my friends that…
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Boston Explosions: 'Please Don't Be Arabs or Muslims'
Writing for Al-Jazeera, Khaled A. Beydoun says that he’s been preoccupied with the identity of those responsible for the bombing and what it could mean for American attitudes. I texted my friend at 7:47am EST, extending well wishes for a “successful and prosperous race”. Like the 23,181 runners who left Hopkinton dreaming about breaking the…
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Jackie's Widow: More Than a 'Baller Wife'
(The Root) — Thanks to the film 42, new generations are being introduced to one of America’s greatest legends, baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson. But though billed as a sports biopic, 42 has also introduced filmgoers to one of America’s greatest love stories. While much of the film focuses on baseball executive Branch Rickey’s unwavering, crucial…
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3rd Plea in FAMU Hazing Case
Caleb Jackson, 24, has entered a no-contest plea to charges of manslaughter in the case of the hazing death of Florida A&M drum major Robert Champion, the Huffington Post reports. That choice — which does not admit guilt but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to convict him — came with an agreement to testify against…
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Black American's DNA at Center of Discovery
(The Root) — An African-American family is at the center of a discovery that researchers say pushes back previous estimates of how deep the roots of the human family tree are. Analyzing DNA provided by the kin of a man from South Carolina, they estimate that the most recent common ancestor of all humans with…
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The Living Legacy of 'Letter From Birmingham Jail'
Writing for the Aspen Institute’s Aspen Idea blog, Dr. Eric L. Motley, a vice president at the institute, explains the power of “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” which he read for the first time with his grandfather before he left home for college in 1992. Beginning that August summer day in 1992, when I encountered “Letter…
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Threats to Voters Who Need Help at the Polls
(The Root) — Remember 102-year-old Desiline Victor, whose story President Obama highlighted in his State of the Union address? The entire country heard about how she stood in line for three hours to cast her ballot in the presidential election. A lesser-known fact: She also got translation help from an assistor in the community who…