culture
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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…
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Rand Paul Must Think Blacks Have Amnesia
(The Root) — So now we know the basis of Kentucky’s libertarian Sen. Rand Paul’s strategy for expanding the Republican Party’s appeal to African Americans: amnesia. That’s the only conclusion I can reach after watching the C-SPAN broadcast of Paul’s 52-minute appearance today at Howard University. He deserves credit for appearing before a potentially hostile…
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Howard U to Rand Paul: We Know Our History. And Yours
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) made a speech to Howard University students on Wednesday, delivering remarks that his staff said were designed to focus on “the importance of outreach to younger voters, as well as minority groups.” But according to accounts from members of the audience, some of the content of this particular outreach effort didn’t…
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When a Spanking Becomes Abuse
(The Root) — Thanks to a shocking new video, many Americans got a troubling reminder of why we still need National Child Abuse Prevention Month, which is designated in April to raise awareness of the issue. Last week, footage surfaced of Ohio father Greg Horn mercilessly beating his two adolescent daughters, allegedly as punishment for…
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How 'Accidental Racist' Is Actually Just Racist
Writing at the Atlantic, Ta-Nehisi Coates explains why the lyrics to Brad Paisley and LL Cool J’s duet are laughable, and why the very selection of LL as a collaborator was problematic. This new duet between Brad Paisley and LL Cool J, “Accidental Racist,” is getting beaten up pretty badly on the intertubes. I confess…
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Margaret Thatcher: A Bold, Decisive Leader
Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson says that Thatcher lived by her own definition of what it meant to be a woman, and that has to be called feminism — whether or not she would have liked it. Thatcher was a towering but polarizing figure. Many aspects of her legacy — the transformation of Britain into…
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How Roger Ebert Embraced Black Beauty
(The Root) — While the world continues to mourn the loss of film critic Roger Ebert, who died last week at the age of 70, and celebrate his love of film, many also have been introduced to his other great love: his wife, Chaz. Though we have become a culture that increasingly celebrates women not…
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Jay-Z Is More Interesting as a Mogul Than as a Rapper
The Root DC‘s Clinton Yates says that he can’t wait to see what Shawn Carter puts his mind to when he finally sets the mic down for good. As a lifelong hip-hop fan, there are certain things that come with having been born in the 80s, being a kid in the 90s and as they…