Opinion
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Detroit: Why The D Is the Blackest City of All Time
If I had to pick a song that defines my hometown of Detroit, it would be Dej Loaf’s “Try Me” because white supremacy has been trying to stamp a nigga out of this fine city since the Great Migration landed us there at the turn of the 20th century. We came up to Detroit to…
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What It Means When White People Call You Racist
The angriest I’ve ever been was when my cousin failed to show up after promising to give me a haircut on the day of my senior prom. Coming in at a close second is the day I gave Gray Segal (not his real name, but close) a black eye. Gray and I had gym together…
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When It Comes to Blackest Cities, Don't Sleep on Miami
OK, I know what you’re thinking. Miami? The blackest city in America? Ha! Not with all that “tiki tiki music” that everyone automatically hears once there’s any scene showcasing the 3-0-5 in movies, music videos and TV shows. But hear me out. Miami is actually the blackest city in America and I’m here to school…
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The Root’s Clapback Mailbag: Fairy Tales for Wypipo
Once upon a time, in a kingdom just outside Wakanda, there was a family called The Root who woke up at the break of dawn every day to tell the stories of black people. Some people called them journalists. Some people called them bloggers. The trolls from the gray part of the forest called them…
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On Surviving the Potential Damage Done by Jussie Smollett
I wanted to be wrong. I wanted to be wrong for the many survivors whose voices will likely not be taken seriously as a result of Jussie Smollett coming forward with his testimony. I wanted to be wrong for the gay child who was molested and afraid to speak out, hoping this story would give…
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All the Ways I Did Not Die
When sitting in the passenger seat of a car with a known drug-dealer during a high-speed chase, one should always wear a seat belt. Always. Thankfully, I came to the realization of this maxim seconds before the tire burst as I was sitting in the passenger seat of a car with a known drug dealer…
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A (Very Short) Case for Why Pittsburgh Is the Blackest City in America
I’m not going to cite the Homestead Grays or the history of the Hill District. Nor will I The Pittsburgh Courier, Homewood, Teenie Harris, Billy Eckstine, Phyllis Hyman, John Edgar Wideman, Little Haiti, The Crawford Grill, Mary Lou Williams, George Benson, Josh Gibson, Antoine Fuqua, Billy Porter, Latoya Ruby Frazier, Art Blakey, Romare Bearden, Kyle…
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In Black Memphis, Beale Street Can Talk
Beale Street can talk. She’s country, loud and a bit ghetto. She’s bold like the blackness she exudes throughout the city. She has a thick tongue and a sour drawl. She uses Lisa Akbari’s shampoo and the black tube of Ampro gel to slick down her edges. She refuses to wear a slip when she…
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To Be Young, Gifted and White
I don’t necessarily like the term “white privilege.” I use it because society has already accepted a universal, but flawed, definition of the word. Although many understand that whiteness, in and of itself, gifts one at birth with opportunities not afforded to people of color, I understand why many white people push back against the…
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Oakland Makes Everything Black, Blacker
There’s a spirit here that takes anything and makes it blacker than it was before. Shit, after you read this, you’re going to be blacker, too. Oakland, Calif., took the wheel and made the first black motorcycle club, The East Bay Dragons. Oakland took the book and made a home for the longest standing black-owned…