What I’m Reading This Week – 11/03/2014

I missed last week, so that means I have quite a few links to share today. If you like what I’m doing, I’d appreciate you sharing with your friends. Let’s get to it.

• Theo Padnos, American Journalist, on Being Kidnapped, Tortured and Released in Syria. I highly recommend this one.
• I was a typical Southie kid, one of six, born to a single mother. There was only one thing that kept me on the outside: Despite my mother’s claims to the contrary, we were black.
• Oscar Contender and New Marvel Superhero Chadwick Boseman on His Journey to Stardom.
• To save himself, a top basketball recruit testifies against his mother.
• Kelley L. Carter reflects on: How “Black-ish” Reflects My Own Experience As A Black Person In America.
• While contemplating getting a vasectomy, a writer delves into the history of the procedure.
• Quick profile of writer Ta-Nehisi Coates.
• A writer talks about the new book Houston Rap, a history of Houston’s hip hop scene.
• Teddy Riley and Eddie Ferrell chat about the breakout album from Heavy D and The Boyz, Big Tyme. A fantastic hip hop history lesson.
• This series of articles is from 2011 but they are fascinating. It’s a look at the technology used in prison: how they cook in the cells, how cell phones get smuggled in, prison weapons, and how the internal prison economy works. Take a look, it’s worth your time.
• The tech boom in Silicon Valley has caused a housing crisis in San Francisco.
• The Can-Do Kid: Becky Hammon’s Incredible Journey from Rapid City to the NBA. She’s the first female assistant coach.
• Profiles of rapper TI and singer Usher (yeah mayne!).
• Negro? Prieto? Moreno? A Question of Identity for Black Mexicans.
• The Police Are Still Out of Control. Frank Serpico (yes, he’s the dude the movie was based upon) should know.

See you next week!