Aside from the occasional drama backed by a superstar like Oprah Winfrey, the thoughtful Hollywood film about and by black people went out with the pager. Menthol madness: Why ban blacks' preferred cigarette? Black girls rock: With all the harsh criticism lobbed at black women over the past few weeks, it's time to celebrate their accomplishments and contributions. Negritude 2.0: An article on Jimi Hendrix, the Patron Saint of Alt-Blackness. An interview with Khalil Gibran Muhammad, the new director of the Schomburg Center, the premier research center for African-American culture, on his famous great-grandfather, coming of age during the Rodney King beating and his plans for the Harlem library. The "do-it-yourself foreign aid" movement is an exciting opportunity for young people to bring help directly to children in poor countries, so where are the black humanitarians? Henry Louis Gates, Jr., on the image of the black in Western art. FDNY's black firefighter problem: Meet the black candidates who aced the FDNY supposedly racist entrance exam — and still can't become firefighters. Siobhan Brooks on how black exotic dancers are undervalued and underpaid. Reverse passing: A report that biracial people are denying their white parents seems absurd — in this country, "black" has always been a mongrel affair — but checking a census box that says "black" doesn't mean you're denying your white ancestry — it's just how we roll in America. Blacks & Whites turned out to be one of the most controversial board games of all time.
