The Race Did Not Start Fairly Imagine one runner starting a race 100 meters ahead. Changing the rules later does not remove that head start. In the same way, equal rules today do not erase the effects of past unfair treatment. The Monopoly Example Imagine joining a Monopoly game after the best properties are already
Equal Rules, Unequal Starting Points Read More »
A Major Legal Victory Lil Durk was found not guilty on all five charges in his federal murder-for-hire case. The jury decided prosecutors did not prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. But He Is Still in Custody Durk is still in custody because he faces another federal case involving racketeering and gun charges. His
Lil Durk Beat the Case, But He Hasn’t Walked Free Read More »
The Numbers Are Hard to Ignore A jury awarded Chris Brown’s former housekeeper $12.9 million after a severe dog attack. Breonna Taylor’s family received a $12 million settlement after her death. Compared with the $12.9 million dog-attack verdict, the numbers can feel troubling, even though the cases were handled very differently. Different Cases, Different Rules
When a Dog Bite Brings More Than a Life Read More »
When I Heard the Story, I Wasn’t Surprised Federal prosecutors allege that Daejon Love posed as an NFL player or wealthy investor and helped take about $1.3 million from at least twenty-six women. The case shows how money, fame, and status can make an image more convincing than the facts behind it. Sometimes Proximity to
When Status Becomes the Bait: Money, Image, and the Price of Being Impressed Read More »
There Was a Real Operation Behind the Screens There is something about the 2016 election that deserves to be understood without exaggeration because the documented facts are serious enough on their own. Russia’s Internet Research Agency, commonly called the IRA, ran an extensive social-media influence operation aimed at Americans. The organization operated from St. Petersburg
When Disinformation Targets the Black Vote Read More »
Lightning Is Not Quite What It Looks Like For most of my life, I looked at lightning and assumed the bright bolt I saw was simply crashing down from the sky. That is what the eyes seem to tell us. The science, however, is more complicated and much more interesting. In a common cloud-to-ground lightning
Sometimes the Light Comes From Meeting It Halfway Read More »
Before Def Jam Became Def Jam Before Def Jam became one of the most important labels in hip-hop history, there was a teenager from Queens named James Todd Smith. The world would come to know him as LL Cool J. He was still in his teens when he started sending out demo tapes and trying
LL Cool J: One of Hip-Hop’s Original Superstars Read More »
You Can Become Almost Anybody Online The internet has made it possible for people to create identities that look convincing long before anyone checks whether they are real. A person can rent a luxury car for a weekend. They can pose inside a house they do not own. They can buy followers, alter screenshots, invent
Online, Appearance Is Not Verification Read More »
Interest Rates Are Already About Us When the Federal Reserve raises or lowers interest rates, a lot of people hear the news and assume it belongs to Wall Street. It sounds like a conversation for bankers, economists, investors, and people staring at financial screens all day. That assumption can keep ordinary people outside a conversation
When the Fed Moves, Black America Should Pay Attention Read More »
How Does the Biggest Song Get Nothing? There are moments in music when you look at an awards show and wonder how the numbers and the nominations can possibly belong to the same universe. One of the clearest examples came with The Weekend and Blinding Lights. The song became one of the biggest records in
The Grammys Are Not a Popularity Contest Read More »