Culture
Move to rename Harlem neighborhood SoHa sparks outrage over erasing black history
New York City real estate companies' attempts to rename a Harlem neighborhood "SoHa" have enraged long-time residents of the historically black enclave, who say the move erases the community's rich cultural history.<p>The neighborhood served as home and inspiration to generations of leading African …
Black HistoryCalifornia’s Wine Industry was Built on Slave Labor
During the 1850s gold rush, vineyard owners used an army of enslaved Native American workers.<p>It’s going to be a long summer for California winemakers. The labor shortage is so acute in Napa and Sonoma counties that grape growers are trucking in workers from miles away and paying them higher wages. …
Black HistoryMove to rename Harlem neighborhood sparks outrage over erasing black history
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City real estate companies' attempts to rename a Harlem neighborhood "SoHa" have enraged long-time residents of the historically black enclave, who say the move erases the community's rich cultural history.<p>The neighborhood served as home and inspiration to generations …
Black HistoryVandals obliterate info on Emmett Till marker in Mississippi
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A civil rights historical marker in Mississippi has been vandalized, obliterating information about black teenager Emmett Till, who was kidnapped and lynched in 1955.<p>The slaying galvanized the civil rights movement when Till's mother, Mamie Till Mobley, had an open-casket …
Black HistoryOn Harry Potter's 20th Anniversary, Listen To His NPR Debut
The first book of the Harry Potter series went on sale in the U.K. 20 years ago today. It offers a convenient excuse to reacquaint yourself with a world before anyone on this side of the Atlantic had heard of muggles, horcruxes or pensieves, before tourists would crowd into London's Kings Cross …
Harry PotterIs Full Metal Jacket Kubrick’s most underrated movie?
On its 30th anniversary, we ask why the Vietnam war flick is criminally overlooked<p>It’s peculiar how often films get described as “Kubrickian” when no two Stanley Kubrick films are alike. The term tends to be shorthand for one of the director’s more popular films: <i>2001: A Space Odyssey</i>, <i>Barry Lyndon</i>,</i> …
The CIA wrote a torture manual more than 50 years ago, and then gave it to Latin American dictators
Exposed in 1997, the document is not easy to read<p>It was long suspected that the CIA was in the business of torture. But in 1997, the American public …
HistoryContested Bodies: A New Book on Black Motherhood and Slavery in Jamaica
<i>This post is part of my blog series that announces the publication of selected new books in African American History and African Diaspora Studies.</i> …
Black HistoryPlease Invite Me to the Next Rich People Séance at the Dakota
An absolutely perfect <i>New York Times</i> Style section piece walks the line between wide-eyed earnestness and subtle passive aggression. These instances …
Black PowerThis trick could help you get rid of clutter
If you balk at the idea of bringing your clutter to Goodwill, consider this tip.
Bill Cosby Trial Juror Discusses Emotional 52-Hour Deliberation
Bobby Dugan, first of the 12 jurors to identify himself and speak on camera about trial, talks about "four people crying in the [jury] room"<p>One of …
Bill CosbyCharles Darwin & Charles Dickens’ Four-Hour Work Day: The Case for Why Less Work Can Mean More Productivity
We all operate at different levels of ambition: some just want to get by and enjoy themselves, while others strive to make achievements with as …
LiteratureRoman Subway Dig Reveals Remains of an 1,800-Year-Old Dog
The pet seems to have perished in an ancient fire.<p>Another victim of the fires of ancient Rome has finally been unearthed, and this time it was a just …
ArchaeologyIncoming Georgetown Student Struggles To Pay For School That Sold Her Family Into Slavery
Elizabeth Thomas received preferential status but she believes the school could be doing more.<p>Elizabeth Thomas’ mom used to push her and her siblings’ strollers through Georgetown University’s campus when they were toddlers.<p>Her mom, Sandra, felt a special connection to the campus that was …
Black HistoryWith “I Try To Stay Out of Politics,” We Have Officially Reached Peak Ivanka Trump
When it comes to Ivanka Trump’s place in her father’s administration, it’s safe to say that it’s been a journey. First she was just “a daughter” and supposedly eschewing politics altogether. Then she flip-flopped, stepping away from her successful fashion brand and moving to Washington to become an …
Donald TrumpWith one raw, irresistible song, James Brown found the sound of the racial unrest of 1967
‘Cold Sweat’ broke one genre and helped create another<p>In early July of 1967, legendary producer and songwriter Clyde Otis penned a letter to radio …
MusicUniversity of Delaware Fires Professor Who Said Otto Warmbier ‘Got Exactly What He Deserved’
An anthropology professor at the University of Delaware who made caustic comments about Otto Warmbier, saying the student “got exactly what he …
Conservative POVJulian Bond’s bench is finally in place on Connecticut Avenue in D.C.
After nearly 20 months of bureaucratic back-and-forth, a bench commemorating the life of civil rights icon Julian Bond was dedicated Monday outside the Chevy Chase Community Center.<p>District officials, Bond’s friends and family and former members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee …
Black HistorySee Chelsea Manning take part in New York Pride
At the weekend, the recently released Manning celebrated her first pride as a free woman<p>Chelsea Manning, who was recently released after she served seven years of a 35-year sentence for providing documents to WikiLeaks, attended her first Pride parade as a free woman in New York this weekend. The …
Chelsea ManningJewish leaders angry after plan for mixed-gender prayer area at Western Wall cancelled
'This gives a very strong message that you (the diaspora) are not important to us,' official says<p>A high-profile group of Jewish leaders cancelled a …
Jewish CultureThe joy of hate-watching
Watching a film, TV show or music video you despise can offer its own pleasure – and, surprisingly, hatred can spawn success, writes Jennifer Keishin Armstrong.<p>When I first heard about HBO’s series Vinyl last year, my head nearly exploded with rapturous anticipation. A drama about the music …
TVNetflix’s GLOW shines where other female-fronted shows fail
Here we... here we... here we fuckin’ GLOW!<p><i>Spoilers ahead if you, unlike me, had better things to do this weekend than watch ten episodes of GLOW in a row.</i><p>Such is the nature of media in 2017 that before <i>GLOW</i> had even dropped on Friday, we’d been treated to a whole host of hot takes about everything …
Alison BrieWhat the Supreme Court’s Announcement Means for Trump’s Travel Ban
On Monday, the Supreme Court announced that in October it would finally hear arguments on whether Trump’s revised travel ban was legal.<p>To recap: The newer version of Trump’s original ban, called the Executive Order Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States, prevented …
Travel BanIdris Elba slays in new preview for Stephen King's The Dark Tower
The first bullseye <i>The Dark Tower</i> movie hit was casting its lead: Idris Elba as Roland Deschain, the last of the knights known as gunslingers, a lost man wandering an apocalyptic wasteland in search of the Man in Black, whose next stop on his march of destruction is our world.<p>The casting choice by …
MoviesNewswire: Adult Swim’s hosting a Rick And Morty livestream on Thursday
Dan Harmon may have recently solved the mystery of why the hell <i>Rick And Morty</i> season three is taking so long—it’s less about fighting, more about thinking—but there’s still no update on just when we can expect the return of the animated series or that coveted Szechuan sauce. To be fair to Harmon, …
Pop CultureStep Inside a 360-Degree Painting
The coldest place in Los Angeles? It might just be a curious slice of the Arctic located in a historic building a mile north of the sunny University …
Los AngelesExotic Feline Rescue Center
Lions and tigers and leopards, servals, pumas, bobcats, lynxes, and ocelots... oh my!<p>When Joe Taft founded the Exotic Feline Rescue Center in Center …
CatsComic-Con: Amazon Plans Big ‘The Tick’ Takeover
<b>EXCLUSIVE:</b> Starting as a spoof of superheroes back in the 1980s, Amazon’s upcoming version of <i>The Tick</i> is intent on making a seriously big splash at …
Pop CultureUncovering Lisbon’s Forgotten History of Slavery
By all accounts, the Portuguese capital of Lisbon is a strikingly beautiful city, but—like so many entrepôt Mediterranean cities of its kind—it is …
European TravelWho Gets to Use Facebook's Rainbow 'Pride' Reaction?
An analysis to see if the algorithms behind the new emoji contribute to political bubbles in America<p>James Berri traveled three hours to Sacramento earlier this month for his first Pride parade, one of hundreds of annual LGBTQ celebrations across America. Berri also talked about the experience on …
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