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Ferguson, Mo., Stays in the Sunken Place: Re-Elects Failed Mayor
This is why we canât have nice things. Not because they are taken from us. Or hidden from us. Or placed behind a thousand-foot wall we canât scale. Nope, sometimes black people canât have nice things because we steadfastly, inexcusably, sabotage ourselves with apathy and ignorance. On Tuesday night, James K. Knowlesâthe inept, whitesplaining, cop-coddling,…
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April Ryan, Maxine Waters and Now Susan Rice: Black Women Are Natural Enemies of Trump Administration
Nature shows us many examples of ânatural enemiesâ in the wild. Mongooses will take on poisonous snakes without a thought, sea lions will mob up and attack killer whales, and a pack of hyenas will take on a lion three times their size. When you know who your enemy is; when you know youâre just…
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Understanding #TrumpFlop on Obamacare in 7 Easy Memes and GIFs
Brutal. Shameful. Embarrassing. America hasnât seen a politician take an L this bad since Papa Pope read Fitz. In case you missed the sound of a million souls crying out in joy, then suddenly drowned out by loud laughter, the Republicansâ ill-fated attempt to scrap and replace Obamacare flopped miserably today. P90X Ryan (aka the…
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âI Brought You in This World and Iâll Take You Outâ: How Black Folksâ Obsession With Whupping Is Killing Us
Spare the Kids: Why Whupping Children Wonât Save Black America is one of those necessary African-American reads, like Between the World and Me;Â Iâm Judging You; and Coldest Winter Ever. Itâs not just for dinnertime conversation or deep professional panels, itâs for everyone. Spare the Kids, written by Stacey Patton, Ph.D., professor of journalism at Morgan…
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Get Yourself a Friend Like Rod: The Top 8 Ride-or-Die Friends on Black TV
The movie Get Out will make you re-evaluate your life choices: whom you date, what kinds of dinner invitations from white people youâll accept, and your friendships. Definitely your friendships. Because if there is one shining moment in the disturbing horror that is Get Out, itâs Chrisâ ever-present, ever-woke, ever-common-sense-spouting best friend, Rod Williams of…
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How Umar Johnson Cured Me of Being a Hidden Hotep
I am a recovering hidden Hotep. Mind you, not the ankh-wearing, incense-selling, lecture-women-about-their menstrual-cycles kind of Hotep. I was more Hotep-adjacent. Hidden beneath my public-Ivy education and functional relationship with my parents lurked a man who would disappear down YouTube click holes of Tariq Nasheed, Professor Griff, ZaZa Ali and, of course, Dr. Umar Johnson.…
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Black Male Ego Sinks Black Woman Magic in St. Louis Election:Â Tishaura Jones Loses Mayorâs Race by 888 Votes
If there was a nexus between the Black Lives Matter movement and the pussy-hat-wearing, International Day of Women post-Trump-election movement, it should have been the St. Louis Democratic primary for mayor on Tuesday. St. Louis has never had a female mayor, and the top two candidates were Lyda Krewson, a 64-year-old white alderman with the…
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Trumpâs Game of Russian Roulette Could End in 1 of These 3 Ways
On Saturday morning, President Donald Trump woke up, looked at a few right-wing websites, realized that he was going down and started tweeting blame at former President Barack Obama. Trump, like most abusive men, canât get over the fact that his partnerâs ex, and Americaâs previous boyfriend, Barack Obama was pretty good. Moreover, itâs a…
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This App Lets You Take Selfies With Your Dead RelativesÂ
For a generation raised on The Matrix and two seasons of Black Mirror, we clearly have not learned enough lessons about technology running amok. This week, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the question âCan you hear me now?â went a little further than trying to get in touch with someone across the…
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Stomp the Yard: Nice Try, but Republicans Still Donât Get HBCUs
2017 is a strange time for Americaâs HBCUs. In the rearview mirror is President Barack Obama, whom African-American college students loved and voted for in historic numbers. At the same time, Obama was tone-deaf to the concerns of many HBCUs, and his policies gutted schools across the nation. In front of them is President Donald…
