A recent editorial asks the question, “Where Are Ordinary Black Youth in Popular Culture?” Are the stories of black youth that are “neither marginalized or at the proverbial mountaintop” invisible to mainstream America?
Ken Burn’s new documentary Central Park Five premieres tonight on PBS. The film recounts the “Central Park Jogger” case, in which five black and Hispanic young men were wrongly convicted of raping a white woman in New York’s Central Park.
Brittney Griner was the No. 1 WNBA draft pick last night; she’ll be rocking a Phoenix Mercury jersey next season. Griner is the second all-time scorer and the top shot blocker in Women’s NCAA history, and has a record 18 dunks. Truly a phenom.
A Florida police officer has been fired after bringing Trayvon Martin targets to a gun range.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, writer and comedian Louis C.K. says his comic vision is informed by his upbringing in Mexico, and the arbitrariness of race in America: “I had the help of a whole nation of people just accepting that I’m white.”
Set to attend Duke U. next year as one of their most buzzed-about recruits in years, Jabari Parker says his greatest joy is being able to set a good example for other young people, and to help change the narrative surrounding Chicago’s youth.
A year after her son’s arrest, George Zimmerman’s mother has penned an open letter, thanking supporters and lashing out against critics of her son: “April 11 2012 will be forever remembered by the Zimmerman family as the day the justice system failed us…”
First Lady Michelle Obama visited Chicago yesterday and made an impassioned speech on gun violence, comparing herself to Hadiya Pendleton: “Hadiya Pendleton was me and I was her,” Mrs. Obama said.
Jet magazine will dedicate its April 29th issue to a special report on the 800,000 missing black children who are largely ignored and unreported by the media. The cover says it all: “Missing & Black: Where Is The Outrage?”
Tshepo Cameron Modisane and Thoba Calvin Sithol recently tied the knot in what is being called Africa’s first traditional gay wedding. Tshepo and Thoba, both 27, hope to have children and raise a family one day. Congrats to the newlyweds!
Michelle Obama will be visiting Chicago today to talk gun violence at Harper High School, one of many high schools deeply impacted by the city’s gun violence crisis. 29 students have been shot and 8 have died in the past year alone.
“Fruitvale,” the buzz-about film chronicling the final days of police shooting victim Oscar Grant, will hit theaters on July 26th, three months earlier than expected, after garnering rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival.
