The funny thing about stereotypes is that they often have some measure of truth to them. As black women in America, no group has been more stereotyped, or misunderstood, or more devalued than us. As we begin the countdown on the year that was 2013, it is time for us as black women to look toward our future in the New Year that is 2014.

Thirty-five years after lifting a ban on blacks entering the priesthood, the Mormon church has offered an explanation for a practice that was in place for more than 100 years, saying it was rooted in the racism of the times.

In the 1960s, African-American civil rights leaders led this country out of institutionalized discrimination in social and political realms. During this movement, millionaires were created as a result of society's segregation and injustice. By creating our own markets that cater to African-American consumers -- sometimes the result of savvy, often the result of lack of choice -- black businesses grew and created jobs, wealth and prosperous, sustainable communities like Chatham.

Barneys New York says it will start monitoring the police as they monitor shoppers in its flagship Manhattan store.

Walmart, our second-best retailer for Editors' Choice Black Friday deals, has released its full Black Friday ad. And judging from the promotions below (which include some amazing TV deals and discounts on Apple products), we're pretty optimistic about what's to come for 2013.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) long ago lost its grounding in the Christian faith, Bishop Harry R. Jackson Jr. complained Monday at the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) "Justice Summit." He recently registered with the organization, he announced, and hopes it will return to its foundational faith.

"The Civil Rights Movement was never intended to be a black movement, it was burned from God's heart to be a revival of Christianity,"

His brief presidency didn't introduce any new civil rights laws, but JFK appointed African Americans to high positions and acknowledged Latino concerns.

The Republican National Committee commemorated the 50th anniversary of the March of Washington and Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech with a luncheon Monday.

Black unemployment, which at the end of the Bush administration broke a decades-long pattern of being twice white unemployment, has resumed its disturbing and prolonged trend under President Obama, with the rate among African Americans now at 13.4 percent, according to a new Pew Research report.

Raising black boys to be successful in a society dominated by forces that are bent on breaking them instead of nurturing them can be tough.

It's not a typo: The South Central L.A. Tea Party exists, and Jesse Lee Peterson takes a bow for founding it. He's also president and founder of the 23-year-old black bootstraps group Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny, or BOND, and serves as pastor for a nondenominational congregation at its headquarters.