JayAre of the rap group Cali Swag District has passed away due to complications from sickle cell anemia. He was 25.Â
Opposition to reparations has been widespread, and the results of a recent poll shows that sentiment has not changed much. Latest research from YouGov shows a significant divide, along both racial and political lines about the topic.Â
A former employee and ex-lover of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has come forward with accusations of racism against the mogul. In her lawsuit, Maiko Maya King claims the Clippers owner fired her after she rejected “a stream of racist and sexist taunts.”Â
Music entertainer Justin Bieber has issued an apology for a racist joke he told when he was 15. A video of Bieber telling the joke shot backstage at a promotional event early in his career, surfaced on a British pay site on Sunday.Â
Academy award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o has landed a role in the next Star Wars film. The film’s earlier casting announcement was met with criticism for its lack of female roles.Â
A Michigan teacher was suspended, and later reinstated after teaching a lesson on Blackface. Al Barron teaches at Monroe Middle School, and is set to retire in two weeks. Administrators deemed his lesson to be inappropriate.Â
Kendrick Lamar is arguably one of the hottest rappers in the game right now. GQ’s “Rapper of the Year” is  not making headlines for his music, but his very modest purchase (compared to other rappers), of a home recently.Â
Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o has optioned the rights to a film based on Chimamanda Adichie’s most recent novel, Americanah. Adichie had previously hinted at the project, but the news was just confirmed recently via the Stylist Magazine blog.
On Wednesday, Google publicly released data on the diversity of its workforce, and admitted it was disappointed with its record for hiring African Americans, Latinos and women.Â
Students at Rutgers University are now earning college credit while studying Beyoncé. The course, “Feminist Perspectives: Politicizing Beyoncé,” is available to students for the summer semester. The class is part of the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies curriculum.Â
A 7-year-old Chicago boy saved a 10-year-old girl from being abducted on the city’s Southwest Side.Â
Organizers are looking to gather 100 saxophonists in Chicago’s Washington Park neighborhood to celebrate what would have been jazz composer Sun Ra’s 100th birthday.Â