theatlantic:

The Racial Divide on Sneakers

Jordans and Chucks come from the same originary sneaker, a canvas plimsoll from the mid-19th century. Both are named after basketball stars (one black, one white, we might note). So why is the former Jay-Z and the latter Dylan? How did the first become associated with black street culture and the second with white-dominated hipsterism? And what happens when said mostly-white hipsters decide they want to wear dunks too — as they did in the mid-2000s, for about 10 minutes?

Read more. [Image: Air Jordan]

shortformblog:

Hipsters renting backyards for $100/hr. in NYC: “In this Wednesday, July 25 2012 photo, a group of people hang at Timeshare Backyard on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The city’s lone timeshare backyard allows New Yorkers to invite up to 30 guests for two hours at a time and comes with grills, lounge chairs and trashy magazines.” (photo by Mary Altaffer/AP; ht @ProducerMatthew, @AntDeRosa)

Today at the UNITY Convention in Las Vegas, NPR announced that we will receive a $1.5 million grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to expand our coverage of race, ethnicity and culture.

These resources will allow NPR to form a new team of six journalists to identify and report news and perspectives, and present new voices and conversations, that capture the issues that define an increasingly diverse America.

— “NPR Deepens Coverage of Race, Ethnicity, and Culture” — Emerson Brown, “this is NPR”

“David Johnson tells Jay-Z everything.

He emails the superstar about his family, his career, and his ambitions. He sends messages about his kids written as if to an uncle. He sends what could be read as either op-eds or diary entries, depending on the context; sent from and to a personal email address, they assume a confessional tone. He sends lyrics, poems and songs, written from both his perspective and Jay’s. He sends photos and videos, tossed-off notes and page-long manifestos.”

“Tracking The Biggest Star In The World” — John Herrman, Buzzfeed

The most fascinating thing I’ve read all week. Has some interesting bits on race and celebrity sprinkled throughout.

I am Daryl Davis, 'Black Man Who Befriended KKK Members.' Ask me anything.

I think hip-hop dance is one of the most race- and gender-integrated performance art forms around today. If you haven’t watched “America’s Best Dance Crew,” you’re missing out on some amazing stuff. Make sure you watch till the Bohemian Rhapsody section, which starts at about 5:35. This is from the recent Body Rock competition in San Diego. - MT

Zino Saro-Wiwa rediscovers her natural hair.

When I set out to make a documentary about black women who are “transitioning” — cutting off their chemically straightened hair and embracing their natural kinky afro texture — I had no intention of appearing in the film. I felt I was an objective observer and really just wanted to highlight a growing movement. … But including my own story forced me to examine how I felt about my hair with more honesty than ever before.

The British-Nigerian filmmaker has a short film on NYTimes.com about black women transitioning back to natural hair. - MT