culture
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Stars You May Not Know Are of Color
(The Root) — It’s been 30 years since Flashdance found its way into our hearts and into the 1980s dance-movie canon. It was also when we were introduced to actress Jennifer Beals, a svelte brunette who later revealed that she was part black. Who knew? Here are other black and Latino celebs who have incited…
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Jay-Z's 'Open Letter': 'Turned Havana Into Atlanta'
Having apparently graduated from beef with other rappers, music mogul, entrepreneur and Cuba fan Jay-Z has released ‘Open Letter,’ a track it seems he threw together to give a piece of his mind to the Florida Republican politicians who criticized the fifth-anniversary trip that he and Beyoncé took to the island nation. From the Huffington…
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The IRS Doesn't Need a Warrant to Read Your Email
With only four days left for us to file taxes, the Huffington Post reports on some interesting documents released Wednesday by the Internal Revenue Service, which states that it doesn’t need a warrant to read taxpayers’ emails — or at least some of them. The files were released to the American Civil Liberties Union under a Freedom…
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Chilli Remembers TLC's 'No Scrubs'
The news that TLC’s hit record “No Scrubs” is now 14 years old might make some people feel old. In April 1999, the catchy song about deadbeats who ride shotgun reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, where it remained for four weeks. But the song has aged well, and as Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas points…
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MLB Commissioner Wants More Black Baseball Players
On Tuesday, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig announced the creation of a 17-member task force to study the decline of African Americans in the game, according to the New York Times. The first meeting was held on Wednesday in Milwaukee and was chaired by Detroit Tigers President and General Manager Dave Dombrowski. “I don’t…
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Colorism: Archaic, a Hot Mess and Worse for Dark-Skinned Women
In a reflection on the recent flap about India.Arie’s alleged skin bleaching, Essence‘s Janelle Harris says that complexion craziness is tough on everyone but especially painful for darker black women — and it’s our collective responsibility to put a stop to it. … We also have an often undertapped power as Black women to call out…
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Being Celibate Is Wearing Me Down
(The Root) — “I’ve been celibate for almost five years. Yeah, I know — ‘Man down! Code 10!’ I am trying to wait until I am married to have sex again. Lord knows I am. But it’s becoming extremely hard. My male and female friends tell me to just ‘get it in,’ but I follow…
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Street Harassment: Catcalling Rape Culture
At Ebony, Zerlina Maxwell speaks to Anti-Street Harassment Week founder Holly Kearl about the fight to allow women to walk down the street safely and in peace. This week is the 2nd annual International Anti-Street Harassment Week. Founded by Holly Kearl, International Anti-Street Harassment week has the goal of bringing awareness and energy to the movement…
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No Country for Black Teens
Writing at the Huffington Post, NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous says the belief that African-American teenagers are inherently more likely to be criminals is ingrained in our society. One year later, the Trayvon Martin tragedy still stings — and some people are still throwing salt on the open wound. Last week George Zimmerman’s brother, Robert…
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On Gun Violence and Opportunity, First Lady Gets Personal
(The Root) — First lady Michelle Obama traveled to Chicago on Wednesday to deliver a speech on gun violence. In it, she didn’t just promote her husband’s proposed legislative reforms. She also got personal — and emotional — as she drew parallels between her life and the life of 16-year-old Hadiya Pendelton, who was shot…