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President Obama and The Wire Creator David Simon Talk Criminal-Justice Reform
President Barack Obama has previously expressed his love for the HBO series The Wire (2002-2008), which chronicled the effect of the war on drugs in the city of Baltimore. Now heâs sat down with the creator of the series to talk about mass incarceration in the U.S. On Thursday the White House debuted a video…
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Liberals, Conservatives Seek Common Ground on Criminal-Justice Reform
Get tough on crime. That was the mantra throughout the United States, both at the local and federal levels, as crime boomed toward the end of the 1970s. Many laws were passed, putting more police on the street and inflicting higher and higher penalties for various crimes in direct response to fears over drugs and…
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Happy Birthday, Divas!
Editorâs note: This week weâre celebrating the birthdays of three phenomenal performersâChaka Khan, Aretha Franklin and Mariah Careyâwho not only share late-March birthdays but who also have voices that have defined their generations. First up, on Monday, is the Queen of Funk, Chaka Khan. On Wednesday weâll honor the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, and…
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Amber Rose vs. the Kardashians: How Race and Class Reshape This Slut-Shaming Beef
If an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind, what does a tweet for a tweet do? If youâre talking Khloe Kardashianâs newly minted social media beef with Amber Rose, it probably leaves most of the world entertained, while exposing the fact that even so-called sexual liberation comes with the baggage of race…
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Yes, A Different World Is a Moment in Black History
Editorâs note: During Black History Month the focus is usually on historical figures who loomed larger than life, paving the way for the progress we experience today. But black history isnât just about telling stories of our past. History is being made every day and has been made throughout our lives; itâs not just in…
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Bobbi Kristina Brown: A Timeline of Turmoil and Tragedy
Born of stars but seemingly star-crossed, 21-year-old Bobbi Kristina Brown has spent her entire life in the spotlight, fighting both her and her famous parentsâ demons on TV, Twitter and in the tabloids. Now the daughter of music legend Whitney Houston and R&B singer Bobby Brown is fighting for her life. She was found by…
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3 Black Adoptees on Racial Identity After Growing Up in White Homes
Does love know no color? The ad campaign for Kevin Costnerâs new film Black or White definitely supports that idea, pushing the hashtag #LoveKnowsNoColor while promoting the transracial custody drama. Black or White pits a childâs white maternal grandfather (Costner) against her black paternal grandmother (played by Octavia Spencer) in a legal battle for custody.…
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#ReclaimMLK Seeks to Combat the Sanitizing of Martin Luther King Jr.âs Legacy
Martin Luther King Jr. had more than âa dream,â but you might not notice that on Monday during observances for his birthday. Somewhere between his assassination and today began an MLK-neutering campaign meant to turn the famed agitatorâs holiday into a national Day of Service, a generic mishmash of good feelings that contorts Kingâs social-justice legacy…
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Upcoming Ruling Reminds Us of the 1 Thing Hurting MLKâs Legacy: His Fighting ChildrenÂ
How do you solve a problem like the King kids? Since the deaths of their mother, Coretta Scott King, and eldest sibling, Yolanda King, the surviving children of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. have engaged in some publicly destructive and embarrassing behavior. Lawsuits abound in this King Lear-ish plot as brothers Dexter Scott…
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âTerribleâ Empire Is Still Good TV
Have you ever had a feeling that you knew something was terrible, but you loved it anyway? Like the extra-greasy fast-food burger that you knew wouldnât settle well on your stomach hours later, but youâd still eat again? Thatâs the aftertaste of Foxâs new hip-hop drama Empire, created by film producer-director Lee Daniels and Danny…
