culture

  • NYPD Chief: Stop and Frisk Is 'Lifesaving'

    (The Root) — What happens when you put the Rev. Al Sharpton and New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly in the same room, in front of a mic? You get Sharpton making a joke: “We gonna bring Kelly on after I stop and frisk him in the back,” referring to the controversial police practice…

  • Kerry Washington and 'Scandal' Co-Star Grace EW Cover

    A little something to keep fans of ABC’s Scandal going until Thursday’s episode: Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn — who plays President Fitzgerald Grant on the political drama — are on this week’s Entertainment Weekly cover. Inside the magazine are some teasers from Executive Producer Betsy Beers. Apparently things are going to get more intense…

  • Brittney Griner: 1st Woman in the NBA?

    Brittney Griner, at 6 feet 8, was the NCAA’s leader in blocked shots and the second-leading scorer in women’s college basketball history when she finished her career at Baylor University. It seems that if Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has anything to say about it, she might add another title to her athletic résumé: first…

  • Why Did It Take So Long to Fire Mike Rice?

    (The Root) — Embattled Rutgers University men’s basketball coach Mike Rice has officially been fired after a video showing him abusing players during practice went viral on Tuesday. While many are applauding his firing, I’m wondering why it took the brass at Rutgers University so long to do what should have been done nearly four…

  • Jay-Z's New Gig: Sports Agent

    It’s not as if he needs a side job to pay the bills, but rapper, entrepreneur and professional sports team part owner Jay-Z has taken on yet another venture: His Roc Nation entertainment company is launching Roc Nation Sports, a sports-management company that is partnering with another leading agency, Creative Artists, to represent New York…

  • Rutgers Coach Fired After Video of Abusive Antics

    A recently surfaced video showing Rutgers head coach Mike Rice being verbally and physically abusive elicited two main reactions: 1) That’s not OK, and 2) How does this guy still have a job? That question now has an answer: He doesn’t. Just one day after the practice footage was shown on the ESPN program Outside…

  • Louis Taylor Released After 40 Years

    After he spent 40 years behind bars, today is Louis Taylor’s first full day of freedom. Although he was convicted of starting a fire in Tucson, Ariz., that killed 28 people, he had always maintained his innocence. Since then, advances in forensics have suggested that the fatal fire might not even have been caused by arson.…

  • In Haiti, UN Has Done More to Harm Than to Help

    Writing at Ebony, France François says that the organization’s “occupation in the time of cholera” is “despicable” and has harmed residents.  Despicable: United Nations peacekeepers from Nepal infected a quake-stricken Haiti with cholera by polluting the Artibonite River with fecal matter from a faulty septic tank in 2010. To date, the cholera epidemic has killed…

  • Is the Porn Industry Racist?

    (The Root) — Porn star Aurora Snow surprised many with her candid confession to the Daily Beast regarding one of the last remaining taboos in the adult entertainment industry. According to Snow, while few sex acts are considered off the table today, sex acts with certain individuals can be. Snow spoke specifically of the fact…