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Jan Brewer 'felt a little threatened' by President Obama … really?
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s now famous photo-op with Barack Obama, in which she is seen pointing her finger at the president, has gone viral. And now, so has Brewer’s explanation. According to Brewer,...
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Nubian Empire Ski Club wants to break stereotype that blacks don't ski
The Nubian Empire Ski Club in New York is attempting to break the stereotype that African-Americans do not ski. They have made it their goal to expose more minority kids to this activity because they...
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Rapper Erick Sermon denies gay accusations in VLAD TV interview
In a recent interview with VLAD TV, rapper Erick Sermon denies accusations that he’s worked with, or is himself a “gay rapper,” saying that these are old rumors sparked by television host and radio...
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High schooler told to read Langston Hughes poem 'blacker'
An African-American high school student claims he was told to read a classic Langston Hughes poem “blacker” by his English teacher. Apparently, when 9th grader Jordan Schumate failed to do so, the...
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Trayvon Martin: Black youth react to tragedy in Sanford, Florida
The death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin has saturated media coverage in recent days, with some commentators calling it a case of a modern-day Emmett Till. Details have emerged that suggest his shooter,...
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Burger King denies Mary J. Blige ad pulled due to criticism
NEW YORK (AP) — A Burger King commercial featuring Mary J. Blige singing about chicken has been pulled. But the fast-food chain is blaming music licensing issues for the decision — not criticism of the...
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10 stereotype-enforcing fried chicken commercials
Black people and fried chicken is an unshakable stereotype that has gone into overdrive thanks to the countless commercials linking us to our alleged Kryptonite. Mary J. Blige made the world to let out...
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Afro-styled dish sponges deemed racist
The British company Paladone has issued dish washing sponges shaped to look like African-Americans with Afro hairstyles. Some have called the sponges, which caricature soul legend Diana Ross with a...
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Ashton Kutcher ‘brownface’ Popchips ad pulled from web
LOS ANGELES (AP) — An online ad featuring Ashton Kutcher as an Indian man has been pulled offline after viewers called it racist. The images and video for Popchips feature the 34-year-old “Two and a...
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‘My kid would never…’ Melissa Harris Perry on the power of racial stereotypes
How do young people resist the urge to stereotype? In the Dateline special, “My kid would never do that,” a group of teens is put to the test to see if they will resist peer pressure, and racial...
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‘My kid would never do that’ teen, Elija, recalls racial bullying
High school student Elija knows what it’s like to be subjected to stereotyping, and even bullying, because of his race. The young participant in the Dateline special, “My kid would never do that,”...
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A tale of two hoodies: Mark Zuckerberg vs. Trayvon Martin
Why not invoke Charles Dickens given the dramatic times in which we are living? Two young men — one still a minor. Two hoodies. One dies in his hoodie and the other becomes an overnight billionaire....
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Media portrayal of black youth contributes to racial tension
Mainstream media often portray African-American youths, especially black men and boys, as criminals, crime victims and predators. These stereotypes, according to social justice advocates, can create a...
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In the wake of Wade Davis, we’re reminded the HIV gay stigma kills
I was happy to read the open letter of support that Wade Davis wrote to gay athletes on theGrio last week. His earnest story, his struggle, and his newfound self-acceptance — so palpable from his words...
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Are gay men the new ‘mammies’ of reality TV?
From Clutch Magazine – It is not often I read a perspective that just stops me in my tracks. Charing Ball, writing for Madame Noire, manages to do that quite often, and this time is no exception. The...
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Chris Rock, Jamie Foxx and Idris Elba all reportedly compete for lead roles...
Chris Rock, Idris Elba, and Jamie Foxx are allegedly competing for the leading role in an American remake of the hit French movie The Intouchables, which will be directed by Paul Feig. Buzz has been...
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Disney princesses rebooted as women of color
Disney has been accused of historically not portraying minorities in a positive light. Examples of insensitivity include Sunflower the servant centaur in Fantasia to the sly siamese cats in Lady and...
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What white feminists get wrong about first lady Michelle Obama
From Clutch Magazine: It does my heart good to see women of all races embrace Michelle Obama. It is too rare indeed for a brown-skinned woman, a descendant of slaves, a product of Chicago’s South Side,...
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Are blacks to blame for the popularity of reality TV?
At this point, most black people with an Internet connection have heard the news that the Oxygen network has a new reality show in the pipeline that revolves around G-Unit rapper Shawty Lo and the...
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Young Africans in America on a mission to rebrand homeland
Sandra Appiah is on a mission. The 23-year-old wants to rebrand Africa and alter skewed perceptions of the continent. The New York-based Ghana native says when she moved to the States as a teenager she...
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A Jamaican defends Volkswagen Super Bowl ad: No frowns, just smiles
“Don’t fret meh Breddah, sticky bun, come soon!” “Wicked coffee, Mr. Jim!” (Holding the cup, “I Love Good Vibes”) “You want to come with I?” “Respect, Bossman.” Volkswagen tells the story of a white...
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North Chicago hit for brochure some find racially offensive
NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. (AP) — The North Chicago Police Department is being criticized for a brochure that some say is peppered with stereotypes of African-Americans. The Chicago Sun-Times reports the...
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Women activists working to change black stereotypes on reality TV
From Clutch Magazine: In the past few months several Change.org petitions have surfaced calling for the cancellation of various “ratchet” reality shows. While it remains to be seen how successful these...
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Race of Boston bombing suspects plays a role in fallout from attack
The fact that race in America is socially constructed (not biologically-based) is a settled debate – at least in the halls of academia. But for those who remain unconvinced of this important...
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An open letter to PepsiCo regarding Mountain Dew ad
It is an unfortunate truth that in the 21st century world of advertising, African Americans often continue to be portrayed in a demeaning and stereotypical manner. Within the past week alone we’ve...
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Why white America thinks ‘too much welfare’ is a black thing
The 19th century American economy was pretty lousy, especially in the slave holding southern states. Over 600 banks failed between 1836 and 1851, the Mexican American War didn’t help and the cotton...
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How to counter the ‘angry black woman’ stereotype
In a recent episode of the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, The Haves and the Have Nots, the almost destitute maid Hanna Young (played by Crystal Fox) seemed to epitomize the stereotype of the Angry...
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Rap imagery, Trayvon Martin and why Bill O’Reilly is half right
Is it me, or does it feel like open season on the black community? Just weeks after the George Zimmerman verdict wreaked emotional havoc, causing many African-Americans to question whether American...
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‘The Butler’ backlash brings back memories of ‘Help’ hysterics
Is The Butler destined to become a facsimile of The Help? As the latest civil rights era production gets ready to grace the big screen, the question is being raised with increasing frequency and, it...
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‘My Crazy New Jamaican Life’ doc under fire for reinforcing stereotypes
A controversial British documentary claiming to showcase “all things Jamaican” has come under fire for playing up to stereotypes and misrepresenting the culture. My Crazy New Jamaican Life, a...
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How ‘knockout game’ hysteria hurts black America
The hashtag ‘#knockoutgame’ tells the story. Social media is buzzing with fear and hysteria and the spread of anti-black sentiment. The proxy war for a host of racial agendas has a new rallying call....
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#FastTailedGirls: Hashtag has a painful history behind it
Fass. For decades and even now, for black America that single misspelled and oft-mispronounced word conjures a litany of vicious stereotypes. Strip away the ill-formed enunciation and the word becomes...
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Shirley Temple and Bill Robinson broke some racial barriers while upholding...
Child star Shirley Temple Black’s life may have taken different turns in adulthood, including ambassador stints to Czechoslovakia and Ghana, but, in death, her on-screen relationship with tap dance...
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‘Afraid of Dark’: New documentary deals with ‘scary black man’ stereotype
From Sean Bell to Oscar Grant to Jordan Davis, there is a long history in this country of black men being presumed guilty because of the color of their skin. Afraid of Dark, an upcoming documentary,...
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‘Afraid of Dark’ filmmaker hopes to make black men ‘harder to kill’
Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Oscar Grant, Jonathan Ferrell. The news seems saturated with stories of young black men and boys whose lives were cut short — often because they were perceived as a...
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Young minority males combat stereotypes in music video: ‘Suit & Tie in the 217′
Young, black men at Central High School in Champaign, Ill., are cunning, clever and cool – and they prove it all in a new music video that aims to combat the negative stereotypes often portrayed of...
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Macklemore denies he was mocking Jewish stereotypes with costume
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis performed in their hometown of Seattle, Washington, over the weekend, but the Grammy-award winning duo is facing backlash for what Macklemore wore on stage while performing...
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T.I. defends his protégé Iggy Azalea: ‘Racial stereotypes in rap is wack’
Multi-platinum selling and Grammy-nominated rapper T.I. is winning. Period. The new season of his VH1 reality show, T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle, premieres August 25. His highly anticipated ninth...
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Study: Whites react more negatively to ‘black’ than ‘African-American’
A new study indicates that whites might react more negatively to the term, ‘black’ than ‘African-American.’ The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology published a study by Emory University that...
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Basketball coach calls black player ‘Buckwheat,’ says he was unaware of...
A Texas high school has placed one of its basketball coaches on administrative leave while it investigates accusations the coach called a female player “Buckwheat.” The player, Chidi Ogbuta, said she...
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Russell Simmons and Bill O’Reilly debate black stereotypes
Things got awkward between Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons as they discussed racism and crime in the wake of Michael Brown and Eric Garner During a recent segment on his...
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Naya Rivera says white people shower more than “ethnics” on The View
Glee actress Naya Rivera got herself into a stinky situation this morning during her co-hosting appearance on The View. The 28-year-old starlet, who has Puerto Rican and African-American ancestry,...
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Ohio State’s post-game ‘revelers’ re-imagined as Grambling State’s post-game...
I read an Associated Press piece about what happened after Ohio State University’s football team won the national title. Students took to the streets and set 89 fires and basically set things off. OSU...
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Comedian Aasif Mandvi takes aim at ‘Islamophobia’ in new web series
Comedy Central’s Aasif Mandvi is known for joking about certain folks’ anti-Muslim bias. As “Senior Muslim Correspondent” for the Daily Show, he’s made the faux-paranoia about Islam his signature bit....
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Man cuts off his locks to encourage youth to ‘clean up’ their image
Dominick Davis is getting his hair cut for the first time in a decade in an attempt to “improve his image.” Davis, who recently finished serving six years in prison, said that his dreadlocks were...
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Reminder: ‘Empire’ is not socially conscious TV – and it doesn’t need to be
“The revolution will not be televised.” - Gil Scott-Heron After a remarkably successful first season, Empire returned to Fox this week to kick off Season 2, and they returned with a bang. Episode one...
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White Fox News host asks black female colleague, ‘Do you make Kool-Aid?’
That was awkward. And awful. Fox News host Brian Kilmeade just couldn’t help himself. He found a way to insult Harris Faulkner — a fellow Fox host — in the most Fox News way possible. Fox anchor Steve...
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Cam Newton: ‘I’m an African-American QB that may scare a lot of people’
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has suggested for the first time that race may play a factor in why he’s become such a lightning rod for public criticism. The league MVP...
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Kevin Hart: ‘I’m trying my hardest to remove stereotypes’
After a Twitter user accused Kevin Hart of making “stereotypical” movies, Hart took to Twitter to defend himself. “From the movie business…Ex “Black Movies”….I make movies for everyone, I’m actually...
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Saint Louis University investigates baseball team’s racist texts about...
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Saint Louis University is investigating racially insensitive texts that were sent last year by two members of the school’s overwhelmingly white baseball team. The texts, first reported...
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