Truth Be Told

Education, For the Record, News, Technology / January 28, 2024 Experts Seek to Diversify Tech Industry

By: Asia Alexander, Sabreen Dawud, Makenna Underwood, Amarie Betancourt Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology has made its way into various industries from convenient assistance on cell phones to self-driving vehicles. AI seems to be here to stay. However, the safety surrounding this technology, particularly for Black communities, is questionable. While AI technology appears to have advanced...

Black Lives Matter, Education, Fact-Checks, For the Record, HBCUs, News, Politics and Government / January 8, 2024 Student Loan System Causes Unequal Burdens for Black Student Borrowers, Makes Them Prey for Predatory Lending Tactics

By: Amber Smith Several years after leaving Morgan State University with a major in physical education, Marcus Dumorin found himself grappling with repaying his $55,000 student loan debt while handling monthly obligations, including caring for his young daughter and sick mother. His monthly payments had reached as high as $600, an insurmountable challenge given his...

Black Lives Matter, Fact-Checks, For the Record, News, Social Justice / January 8, 2024 Culture Remains in Barry Farms after Forced Gentrification

By Autumn Coleman, Jakeria Haynes and Hunter Stevens Today, like every day for the past 10 years residents of Barry Farms are being pushed out. The Barry Farms neighborhood is located in Southeast Washington, D.C. – which to D.C. natives is known as “east of the river.”. The neighborhood originated as a development established by...

A&E, Music

TBTRadio – Podcast #1

Hey, everyone! Hope you enjoy Truth be Told’s first podcast. Today’s subjects range from the origins of our site, to the importance of black institutions, to Missy Elliot’s new single. Plus: is Spongebob SquarePants the last great American hero? Hosts Marc Rivers and Maya Cade discuss. (NOTE: This podcast was recorded before the…

Fact-Checks

Is D.C. Still the Chocolate City?

Washington, D.C., was one of the blackest cities in the United States during the 1970s. The population of African Americans peaked at 71.1 percent, and everyone from residents to radio personalities began calling it the “Chocolate City.” Parliament even released an album and single titled “Chocolate City” as a tribute to the nation’s capital…

Fact-Checks, News

Can Ben Carson Help GOP Attract Black Voters?

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson launched a new radio campaign last week — featuring a Carson-inspired rap, meant to grow his appeal among African-American voters, according to his campaign. The $150,000 advertisement, interspersed with rhymes from rapper Aspiring Mogul and bits from Carson’s stump speech, will air for two weeks in eight urban markets. The…

Fact-Checks

Does Planned Parenthood Have a Strategic Plan for Black Genocide?

The Center for Medical Progress (CMP), an anti-abortion group, leaked deceptively edited videos earlier this summer that showcased Planned Parenthood employees speaking in offhand conversation about the selling of fetal tissue. The video series depicts months of conversation between undercover CMP employees and Planned Parenthood staff. The video series has in return added more fuel to…

A&E, Big Brotha, Music, Opinion

Black Violin Challenges Stereotypes in “Stereotypes”

Despite a rich history of classical black composers and musicians, black people are far from ubiquitous in classical music. And hip-hop, in which black people are ubiquitous, seems to operate in a world still separate from classical. Essayist and journalist David Samuels called Kanye West “the Mozart of American music” In a 2012 article in…

Opinion

Can You Spell That for Me Again?

Picking a name for a child is complicated. Parents should choose something that not only sounds right with the family surname, but they should also take future nicknames (good and awful) as well as job opportunities into consideration. Growing up with an unusual name is an experience like no other. ”How do you spell that?”…

News

Between the World and Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates returned to home to The Mecca, where he spent the day interacting with Howard University students — some of whom he praised for stumping him with insightful questions. The MacArthur “Genius” Grant recipient participated in master classes and an evening event that filled Cramton Auditorium, where he discussed everything from history and identity to…