culture
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Weird New Shorts and More: 5 Fun Facts About March Madness
While issues like poor graduation rates and unpaid players provide plenty of fodder for interrogation within college basketball, there’s also a lot to be excited about, writes Colorlines‘ Jamilah King. 1. It’s a family affair. If you grew up a basketball fan in the ’90s, you’ll immediately recognize the surnames of some of the top…
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Single Mothers: Stop Talking About Us Unless You Have Solutions
At Clutch magazine, Britni Danielle uses her personal story and those of others to counter the typical gloom-and-doom discussion. Looks like the media found a new group to throw under the bus this week: single moms. I really just want to say…keep our names out your mouth, yo…but I’m going to take a more diplomatic approach.…
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How Rising Food Costs Affect Black Families
(The Root) — Like most Americans, you may have noticed the price of chicken has risen by nearly a quarter over the past year. Fresh vegetables and produce are increasingly more expensive. Feeding the average family of four is taking a toll on the poor, low-income and middle-class alike. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports…
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Lessons From Adria Richards' Firing and Online Threats Against Women
The African-American SendGrid developer was fired for tweeting a photo of men who she said were making sexist jokes during a conference. Writing at the Huffington Post, Soraya Chemaly takes on the “online thugs” who came after Richards with disturbing attacks when the story broke. Earlier this week developer Adria Richards tweeted a photo of…
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NYPD Tapes: The Truth About Stop and Frisk's Race Problem?
A recording of a New York City police officer and his commander is getting attention for capturing a conversation that seems to go to the very heart of the plaintiffs’ contention in Floyd v. City of New York that the NYPD’s “stop and frisk” policy is racially biased. Read and judge for yourself, from the…
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Wole Soyinka and J.P. Clark Reflect on Chinua Achebe's Death
Writer and Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinka and poet and playwright J.P. Clark released a joint statement on Friday weighing in on the death of author Chinua Achebe, whom they refer to as a “brother” who was part of the “pioneer quartet” of contemporary Nigerian literature. In it, the two note that it may be…
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Meet the Man Who Breaks Army Barriers
On Friday, Gen. Lloyd Austin became the first African-American leader of the U.S. Central Command, which has a wide-ranging area of responsibility for 20 countries in the Middle East and southwest Asia. It’s not the first time in his 37-year career that he’s broken barriers for black members of the Army. He was also the…
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'Aunt Viv' to Wendy Williams: 'You Are Such a Demon'
There’s so much more drama in this one open letter than there ever was on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Actress Janet Hubert, who played the original Aunt Viv on The Fresh Prince, was replaced on the show back in the 1990s. She says she “doesn’t remember why [she] departed,” but it’s clear she won’t…
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Writer Chinua Achebe Dead at 82
Chinua Achebe, the internationally celebrated Nigerian author orf Things Fall Apart and numerous short stories, novels and essays rewriting and reclaiming the history of his native country, has died at age 82, the Associated Press reports: His eminence worldwide was rivaled only by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Toni Morrison and a handful of others. Achebe was…
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Obama to Name Tubman Tribute as National Monument
(The Root) — On March 25, President Barack Obama will designate places honoring Harriet Tubman and Col. Charles Young as national monuments, giving them protection as American treasures worth preserving. According to a statement released by a White House official: President Obama on Monday will sign a Proclamation to designate the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad…