By Karen Hunter
An Australian group of doctors calling themselves “The Jackson Jive ” made headlines last week when they corked up and performed a minstrel act as a “tribute” to the late Michael Jackson and his brothers on a reunion special of the Australian TV variety show, Hey, Hey It’s Saturday, which went off the air in 1999.

By Janet Singleton
The very discussion of what black women do to make African hair match Eurocentric images, and placate racism, remains one of the few subjects in America that remains taboo.

By Makani Themba-Nixon
Many children of color are trapped in underfunded schools where parents must fight for the most basic of needs: lighting, bathroom doors, books and even water.

Yes, water.

This week marks the eighth anniversary of Anthony Michael Green’s exoneration. In 1988, Green was misidentified by a rape victim and wrongfully convicted in Ohio. He served 13 years prison before DNA testing proved his innocence and led to his release in October 2001.

By Beryl Satter
Ask any American over the age of fifty about “the riots,” and a clear image comes to mind. The time is the 1960s, the place is the urban north, and the rioter is an African American, hell-bent on arson and looting. Ask the same American about the massive mortgage frauds of the 1970s, which left black urban communities across the nation in ruins, and you’ll get a blank stare.

By Desiree Cooper
With many states considering closing their prisons in order to balance their budgets, it’s time to ratchet up the national conversation about what to do with a growing number of ex-felons, especially those who are sincerely trying to re-integrate into society

By Jackie Jones
Jobs can be found, but for black graduates that likely means going outside of their comfort zones, employment experts say.

By Stacey Patton
Could it be that all this sprucing up and stocking of healthier food has something to do with the influx of the neighborhood’s white residents?

By Lee A. Daniels
As I’ve done for years, Sunday I quietly celebrated the coming of October 4, because I’ve always considered what happened on that date an integral part of the black freedom struggle—and my own good fortune.

On that day 52 years ago, the Soviet Union announced that it had successfully shot into orbit the world’s first man-made satellite: Sputnik.

By Paula L. Woods
Josh Neufeld, a nonfiction graphic artist, tells in words and pictures the true stories of seven New Orleanians and their families, some of whom evacuated the area, some of whom toughed out Katrina and the subsequent flooding.