Public Enemy wrote the song “By the Time I Get to Arizona” in 1992 as a protest against the state’s unwillingness to observe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. The song seems relevant all over again now that Arizona legislators have passed a law legalizing racial profiling. The law requires immigrants to carry [...]

SoulStice says of the song, “‘Strange Kinda Love’ is a song about universal love and tolerance. Since it was originally released, it’s won 4 songwriting contests, including the Billboard World Song Contest. In it, I reflect on my experience as part of an interracial couple and recall that it wasn’t long ago that [...]

The origin of the Ghetto Brothers is pretty fascinating. From Truth & Soul Records:
The Ghetto Brothers were a gang founded in New York City’s South Bronx in the late 1960s. They eventually spread to much of the Northeastern United States. Like the Young Lords, they were involved in Puerto Rican nationalism, including, in the [...]

You may already know that we donate ten percent of the profits from CD sales to the World Food Program. In the past we weren’t able to do the same with digital sales. This is because digital retailers don’t report data until months after the actual sale, and they all report on different, [...]

In a recent editorial, Russell Simmons discussed Proposition 8, and civil rights in general.
It pains me that we have come to a point in this country where we use the ballot box to address the civil rights of our people. If President Johnson had to take a vote, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 would [...]

NPR remembers the boombox.
The most interesting part:
When the music was loud and unavoidable, we had to listen to each other. Maybe we miss boomboxes because when we’re wearing headphones, we can’t talk to anyone else. Which makes it hard to help each other out, and makes it hard to party.
Can you remember a time before [...]

Zimbabwe is facing record food shortages with half the population needing food assistance. World Food Program (WFP) spokesman for southern Africa states, “We simply don’t have the resources to provide a full ration to all 5.1 million hungry people.”
In fact, the WFP will be forced to cut rations in half in March so that [...]

Philadelphia-based rapper iCON the Mic King will run a half-marathon for charity on January 25th, 2009. The 13.1-mile race will take place in Miami, Florida and will benefit the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America. Though iCON himself does not suffer from either of these conditions, someone very close to him does, and [...]

You may have read recently that Isaiah Washington, former star of Grey’s Anatomy, became the first African-American man to gain citizenship in Sierra Leone. Washington achieved this historical accomplishment after researching and discovering his roots came from the Mende tribe. Upon this discovery, the actor established the Reach One Million campaign.
The Reach One [...]