MSNBC

MSNBC’s James Peterson says he’s more than a pundit

Dr. James Peterson is an MSNBC contributor and Director of Africana Studies and Associate Professor of English at Lehigh University. While discussing the role of black intellectuals in public discourse, Peterson recently spoke about a February article in the New York Times, a piece by Dr. Eddie Glaude entitled “Black Intellectuals Have Sold Their Souls,” and addressed his own record as more than just a pundit for the 24-hr news cycle. He stated that his own status as on MSNBC should not obscure his work in the community.

Harry Belafonte wants to sit down with Jay-Z and Beyoncé

Entertainer/activist Harry Belafonte’s 2012 criticisms of superstar couple Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s perceived lack of activism have sparked a war of words in the media between he and Jay. The hip-hop superstar fired back at Belafonte, both in song (on Magna Carta Holy Grail’s track “Nickels and Dimes”) and in a recent Life+Times interview, where he defiantly declared that his “presence is charity.”