News
Cancer Survivor Grace Callwood, 9, Lives a Life of Purpose
from Atlanta Blackstar
"Making a difference in a stranger’s life takes determination — and a certain amount of Grace. Grace Callwood is a 9-year-old cancer survivor who isn’t taking the gift of life lightly."
The Ongoing Stigma of Interracial Dating
from The Daily Beast
"While many are outraged at the detainment of Django Unchained actress Daniele Watts, not all are shocked. Though she was not charged with any crime, police handcuffed the actress last week."
Tips For Playing Destiny
from Kotaku
"Greetings, Guardians! You've picked up Destiny for your gaming console of choice, loaded up your pulse rifle, and you're getting ready to head to the Cosmodrome to fight The Darkness. It's dangerous to go alone, you know."
On Serena Williams & The Racism Experienced by Black Athletes
from Clutch Magazine
"Articles chronicling the story of Serena’s 3rd consecutive U.S. Open win were accompanied with pictures of a smiling trophy-displaying Serena Williams standing in front of American flags as they wavered carelessly behind. For many, this photo represents the modern America we all want to believe in: One free of yesteryear’s discrimination and racism that would’ve disallowed Black access to the sport."
The NFL Is Full of Ray Rices
from The Daily Beast
"After the first video of Ray Rice dragging his unconscious fiancée out of an elevator surfaced in July, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended him for a mere two games. An apparent knockout punch was punished with a slap on the wrist, which Goodell later acknowledged wasn’t enough."
What Your Taste in Music Really Means About Who You Are
from Mic.com
Apparently your taste in music can say quite a bit about who you are as a person. Are you buying it?
"Rigamortis" Earns Kendrick Lamar a $1 Million Dollar Lawsuit
from Mass Appeal
"You’d think artists would dot their i’s and cross their t’s a little more these days, but it looks like that’s not happening. West Coast lyrical wunderkind Kendrick Lamar is the latest to fall to the clutches of litigation. While most rappers end up in the clink, mar their names on social networks, or engage in all other types of fuckery, some fall victim to the notorious “sample clearance.” While K.Dot may be the “savior of the culture” to some, for a couple of gentleman, he’s currently a “major label talent pirate.”"
IN REPLY: MY REFLECTIONS ON COMMENTS ABOUT OUR RESEARCH ON BLACK TWITTER
from Dayna E Chatman
"This morning, I woke up to a number of tweets concerning the research on Black Twitter I’ve undertaken with a team of researchers at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. For a run-down on the situation, please see The Root’s coverage. It’s been less than a day, and I am still processing and getting to the bottom of this situation, but I wanted to share my initial response."
USC Announces Black Twitter Study
from Clutch Magazine
Like the Civil Rights Movement, Black Twitter can be a uniting force that can—and will—magnify issues affecting the Black community, as well as shut down the Internet at any given moment. No wonder it has piqued the interest of researchers across America.
My First Few Hours With The Sims 4
from Kotaku
Sims 4 was released on September 2nd, and some people have already had enough time for a review! See what this author has to say about the first few hours with the game.
Image Credit: Buzzfeed
15 Black Women At Afropunk On What It Means To Be A Carefree Black Girl
from Buzzfeed
It’s still the summer of the #CarefreeBlackGirl. Here’s how some women define the phrase.
Nicki Minaj’s Feminism Isn’t About Your Comfort Zone: On “Anaconda” and Respectability Politics
from Autostraddle
Today’s feminist blogosphere can get super hung up on who self-identifies as a feminist and who should be allowed to, but what that conversation ignores are both the variances among us as women and the real, lived experiences of women living in those variances.
Women Significantly Outnumber Teenage Boys in Gamer Demographics
from PBS
Adult female gamers have unseated boys under the age of 18 as the largest video game-playing demographic in the U.S., according to a recently published study from the Entertainment Software Association, a trade group focused the U.S. gaming industry.
More Silly Schoolbook Drawings from Japan
from Kotaku
"School books aren't for studying, you know. They're for drawing goofy pictures in. Because that certainly makes class time fly by. Be warned that, as with many doodles, there is some immaturity! But, really, that's the point, no?"
50 Years Before Ferguson, A Summer Of Riots Racked The U.S.
from NPR Codeswitch
"Fifty years ago this summer — a half-century before the protests in Ferguson, Mo. — riots broke out in seven cities in New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Pennsylvania, sparked by confrontations between black residents and their predominantly white police forces."
The Zelda Soundtrack You Probably Haven't Heard About
from Kotaku
"The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time has an iconic soundtrack, but the game also has a second official soundtrack that was only released in Japan."
6 Reasons Why America Must Stop Ignoring Its Black Youth
from Mic.com
"The protests in Ferguson have shown the world that the voices of black youth won't be silenced. Rather than ignoring their much-needed contributions to important dialogues, it's time America woke up and actually listened."
Donald Glover Cast as Disney's Ultimate Spider-Man
from Comic Book Resources
"Donald Glover, the "Community" veteran who inspired Brian Michael Bendis in 2011 to introduce Miles Morales as the new Spider-Man of Marvel's Ultimate Universe, is finally getting his chance to play the superhero."
13 Videos Show Why You're Not Listening to Enough K-Pop
from Mic.com
"K-pop may stand for "Korean pop," but that music is a global phenomenon, and it's on the cusp of blowing up in America."
Why Does Sad Music Make Us Feel Happy?
from New Republic
"Why isn’t it painful to listen to songs about heartbreak and loneliness? The researchers believe we might actually seek them out to experience feelings we can relate to—and that experience of connecting to the song is more powerful than the sadness it describes. “People listen to music largely as a result of the desire to experience the emotions induced by listening to it,” they write—and music that combines different emotions in unexpected ways may be particularly affecting. “Music with opposite-valence lyrics is effective in the expression of complex emotions which cannot be captured only by instrumental music or lyrical content alone."