In this Nov. 11, 2007, file photo, recording artist Jay-Z performs at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. (AP Photo/Gary He, File) by Anne D'InnocenzioAssociated Press Writer NEW YORK (AP) — When big-name celebrities pair up with big businesses, customers often believe the adage: You are the company you keep. Rap artist Jay-Z is learning that firsthand. He has complained this week that he's been unfairly "demonized" because he hasn't backed out of his collaboration with Barneys New York after the luxury retailer was accused of racially profiling two Black customers.
In this Dec. 4, 2006, file photo, Chief Judge Robert M. Bell listens to arguments in the Maryland Court of Appeals in Annapolis, Md. (AP Photo/Chris Gardner, File) by Jessica GreskoAssociated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert M. Bell was 16 years old when he recruited classmates to join a sit-in at a downtown Baltimore restaurant. The sit-in was Bell's first, and he remembers being a little nervous. On the afternoon of June 17, 1960, the group entered Hooper's restaurant, and a hostess said she wouldn't seat them. "I'm sorry, but we haven't integrated as yet," she said. The group pushed past her and sat anyway. Police were called, and 12 demonstrators, including Bell, were charged with trespassing. Eventually, the case made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
This July 26, 2013 file photo shows the Rev. Al Sharpton gestures as he takes part in a panel discussion during the National Urban League's annual conference in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) by Karen MatthewsAssociated Press Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The Rev. Al Sharpton threatened Saturday to boycott luxury retailer Barneys if the department store doesn't respond adequately to allegations by Black shoppers that they were racially profiled there. "We've gone from stop and frisk to shop and frisk, and we are not going to take it," the Black civil rights leader said. "We are not going to live in a town where our money is considered suspect and everyone else's money is respected."
Sheila Stewart at a June, 2013 event honoring her 25 years of excellence in radio broadcasting. (AFRO File Photo/Rob Roberts)
by Avis Thomas-Lester
AFRO Executive Editor
(Updated...
This undated image provided by H&M shows plus-size model Jennie Runk, who is a size 12 or 14, in a swimsuit ad from 2012. (AP Photo/H&M) by Mae AndersonAP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — When it comes to women's clothing sizes, there's some funny math going on. The average American woman is about 25 pounds heavier than she was in 1960. Yet women's plus-size clothing, generally defined as size 14 and up, still makes up only about 9 percent of the $190 billion spent annually on clothes. What's wrong with this equation? It's not that plus-size women aren't into fashion. Rather, the fashion industry doesn't seem interested in them.
AT LAST—Linda Imani Barett celebrates finally being able to buy groceries in her neighborhood. (Photo by J.L. Martello) by Christian MorrowCourier Staff WriterApparently, waiting 30 years and one day for a new grocery store is too long for some Hill District residents. The day before its scheduled opening, Heldman Plaza SHOP ‘n SAVE operator Jeff Ross went to check on the store and found “shoppers” roaming the aisles.
2014 Mercedes Benz E Class Cabriolet by Dee Ann DurbinAP Auto Writer TROY, Mich. (AP) — Move over, silver. After more than a decade as the world's favorite car color, silver is falling in popularity to white. PPG Industries, the leading supplier of automotive paints, says 25 percent of the vehicles it supplied in the 2013 model year were white, up 3 percent from the prior year. Silver and black tied for second, with 18 percent each.
Tortillas and other items are seen in the International food aisle of a grocery store Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013 in Washington. These days, tortillas outsell burger and hot dog buns; sales of tortilla chips trump potato chips; and tacos and burritos have become so ubiquitously “American,” most people don’t even consider them ethnic. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) by Suzette Laboy and J.M. HirschAssociated Press Writers MIAMI (AP) — Salsa overtaking ketchup as America's No. 1 condiment was just the start. These days, tortillas outsell burger and hot dog buns; sales of tortilla chips trump potato chips; and tacos and burritos have become so ubiquitously "American," most people don't even consider them ethnic. Welcome to the taste of American food in 2013.
Special K Daley of the Harlem Globetrotters dunks the ball in Taipei, Taiwan. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying, File) PHOENIX (AP) — Georgia-based Herschend Family Entertainment Corp. has acquired Harlem Globetrotters International Inc. from Shamrock Capital Advisors. Terms of the deal were not revealed.
Students photograph themselves with an iPad during a class at Broadacres Elementary School in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Bob Chamberlin, File)LOS ANGELES (AP) — It took just a week for nearly 300 students who got iPads from their Los Angeles high school to figure out how to alter the security settings so they could surf the Web and access social media sites, prompting district officials to halt a $1 billion program aimed at putting the devices in the hands of every student in the nation's second-largest school system.
