The black experience is a unique one. Not every black person thinks the same or does everything the same way whether it’s hairstyle choices or where they worship. But we as black folks do have some things in common and many of them are part of the rituals that make up our lives. This is […]

Shuffle Along was a 1921 Broadway play by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake. The show debuted at Daly’s 63rd Street theater in New York City. Shuffle Along was one of the longest running plays on Broadway, with 504 performances. The show served as a breakout role for St. Louis native Josephine Baker, who danced in […]

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is well known for his role as CNN’s medical correspondent but he’s also a published author. His well-received novel,“Monday Mornings” takes a look at one lesser-known aspect oft the medical profession – the confidential review doctors are required to go through when a patient dies or when a big mistake is made.  […]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Beyonce answered critics of her Inauguration Day performance the best way she could — with another sterling performance of the national anthem. The difference? On Thursday, it was live: She admitted during her Super Bowl news conference that when she performed for President Barack Obama and the nation, she decided to […]

Carolyn Lund has seen hesitant boys who believe the harp is a sissy instrument, pluck a string and fall in love with what their hands can do. Under her tutorage boys and girls who have never heard or seen a harp proudly perform to packed auditoriums. As director of the Urban Youth Harp Ensemble, Lund […]

I’m weary of writing about young black children being gunned down in the prime of their lives; senseless shootings after silly arguments that result in gunfire and a trail of tears. On Thursday, it happened again: a 14-year-old student was shot outside an Atlanta middle school and another student was arrested by police. Atlanta police […]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Three black former NFL head coaches say the league needs to rethink its Rooney Rule for promoting minority hiring after 15 top vacancies — eight head coaching jobs and seven general manager positions — were all filled by white candidates since the regular season ended a month ago. “I know the […]

In a proclamation released by the White House, President Obama called on the American public to observe and embrace the history and contributions of African Americans in the U.S. Read the proclamation in full below. NATIONAL AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH, 2013 BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION In America, we […]

When I was a kid, my parents had a coffee table book, “Great Negroes: Past and Present.”  Day after day, I would pass through the living room, (because there was no living in the living room) and didn’t really pay attention to the books that lived in the living room.  One weekend before I had […]

The world was rocked by Whitney Houston’s untimely death last year on the eve of the Grammy Awards. This year, her mother, singer Cissy Houston, has paid loving tribute to her late daughter, but also given her side of some of the most difficult moments of Whitney’s life. From her troubled marriage to singer Bobby […]

Is this the same NAACP that passionately backed President Obama’s health reform law? You know the law that stresses prevention as well as treatment? The one that, for many people, covers screenings for chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease – maladies that disproportionately plague black people? The one that also covers counseling for […]

Atlanta Public School officials have confirmed that there has been a shooting at Price Middle School in Atlanta.  Atlanta police are reporting that two individuals were shot. A 14-year-old student was shot in the back of the neck around 1:50 p.m. EST and was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital. The student’s condition is unknown. A […]