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Your Conditioning Has Been Conditioned: Why Sexual āPreferenceā Is Political
Though not straightforward, there is a connection between who we think is desirable and whose life has value within a white supremacist country like the United States. This question of value came to a head in the candidacy and unfortunate election of Donald Trump. What has become even truer now is that the status quo…
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After a Trump Victory, Black People Will Need Much More Than āWeāve Been Through Worseā Language
As a 30-year-old black queer man working in majority-white spaces, I am no stranger to indescribable trauma requiring emotional check-ins: sexual assault, homophobia, racism, incessant microaggressions and other forms of institutional violence. To help cope, I frequently told myself, āBlack people have been through worse; you will get through it.ā It was a temporary help…
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Letās Be Real: Society Finds Black Women With Curvy Bodies āInappropriate,ā Not Their Clothes
Patrice Brown, also known as #TeacherBae, is a fourth-grade teacher in Atlanta. Because of her ability to have her students excel in the classroom, Brown has received the Educator of the Month award. This week, however, BrownĀ is being talked aboutĀ allĀ across social media, not for her body of work but for her body at workāand her…
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BeĀ a āRealā Man: Black Gay Man Shares Homophobic Experience in Nail Salon
I love everything about manicures: the soaking of my nails, the clipping of my stressed-out cuticles, the massaging of my hands, the polishing and dryingāand the lotion that people can never seem to find anywhere else. The nail salon has been my home away from home since my undergraduate years in northeastern Ohio. It provided…
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Korryn Gaines Doesnāt Need to Be Perfect for Black Men to #SayHerName
On Monday, Baltimore County police shot and killed 23-year-old mother Korryn Gaines while she was holding her 5-year-old son, making her the ninth black womanĀ to be killed by police this year. I feared that two common trends would find their way to the forefront after hearing the Baltimore County Police Departmentās version of events. I…
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Cops Pulling Over People to Hand Out Ice Cream Is Dangerous, Not Funny
Have you ever been pulled over by a police officer? I have. With the increasing amounts of violence perpetrated by the state, did you feel that the interaction could have led to your untimely death? I have been there, too. Itās safe to say that police officers and black people donāt have the same goal…
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In āMurica News: RNCās 5 Worst Moments So Far
On Tuesday, Donald Trumpāonce known for his famous catchphrase āYouāre fired!āāhas officially been crowned the Republican nominee for the 2016 presidential race. Considering the āMake America great againā rhetoric that emanated across this country, this came as no surprise (despite the most clear discord since the 1970s). What has also come as no surprise is…
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Deeniquia Dodds: Another Black Trans Woman Was Killed. Do #BlackLivesMatter Still?
Deeniquia Dodds, known to her friends and loved ones as “Dee Dee,” died Wednesday from a Fourth of July shooting in Washington, D.C. On a day commemorating the alleged freedom and equality for all people in this country, Dee Dee, a 22-year-old black transgender woman raised in the nation’s capital, became at least theĀ 15th trans…
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The 2nd Amendment Is So White: What the Past 24 Hours Have Taught Me About Black Peopleās Right to Bear Arms
In less than 24 hours, two black men have been killed by police officers even though the Second Amendment indicates that they should have been protected. Black America yet again bears witness to state-sanctioned violence at the hands of trigger-happy rogue copsāone in Louisiana, a state that has open-carry laws, and the other in Minnesota,…
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#PulseTragedy: Homophobic Blood-Donation Ban Puts Lives at Risk
After the terrorist attack at Orlando, Fla.ās Pulse nightclub Sunday morning, media outlets encouraged those living in Florida to donate blood. But when federal policy prohibits this from happening, then no matter how much we can rightfully blame Omar Mateen for these heinous acts of violence, we can also place some blame on institutions like…
