-
The Burden of Socializing While Black
(The Root) — This scenario may or may not sound familiar to you: You’re the only black person (or one of few) at a predominantly white social event. A friend’s wedding, perhaps. The DJ throws on a ubiquitous hip-hop hit, one you might find on a Now That’s Music! compilation album. You like the song…
-
Won't Work for Free? You're an 'Urban Whore'
Supporters immediately started the #StandingwithDNLee hashtag on Twitter when this news broke last Friday, which later resulted in an apology from Biology Online. Oh, and the editor dude was also fired. Black Twitter — with the help of some allies — wins again. If you want to see what’s hot on black Twitter, check out…
-
'Values Voters' Inspire Mass Virtual Eyeroll
(The Root) — The Values Voter Summit, an annual political conference for social conservatives, started on Friday, and the “take back America” crew wasted no time in stirring ire.After hecklers interrupted his speech, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said that it was President Barack Obama who sent “paid political operatives” to distract him from delivering his…
-
Surprise! Twitter's Board Is All White, All Male
(The Root) — We know the stats: Black folks overindex on Twitter. Latinos do, too. According to a 2012 Pew study, 26 percent of black Internet users are on Twitter, compared with 19 percent of Latino users and 14 percent of white users. Women generally use social networking sites more than men, and they make up…
-
Did You See Kanye on 'Kimmel'?
If you want to see what’s hot on black Twitter, check out The Chatterati.Akoto Ofori-Atta is the editor of The Grapevine. Like her Facebook page and follow her on Twitter.
-
Hey There. I'm Your New Grapevine Editor
(The Root) — Hi, ya’ll! I’m Akoto, and I’m your new Grapevine editor. The illustrious @BrokeyMcPoverty has moved on from her post here as your uproarious Twitter rabble-rouser and faithful steward of all things black on social media, which means that I’ve been left with quite a tradition to maintain. And if you can’t tell,…
-
Other Cool Stuff From MLK's 'Dream' Speech
(The Root) — It’s inevitable. Every January as we prepare to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, our Facebook and Twitter feeds become cluttered with obligatory links to King’s other famous quotes — gathered from various seminal texts, like the Letter From a Birmingham Jail and the Eulogy for the Martyred Children. (Jay Smooth gives…
-
19 Things Every HBCU Grad Knows
(The Root) — We often either romanticize HBCUs or disparage them. But as all graduates of historically black schools know, the truth lies somewhere in between. If you want to see what’s hot on black Twitter, check out The Chatterati.Akoto Ofori-Atta is the editor of The Grapevine. Like her Facebook page and follow her on…
-
White Man to Sisters: Bring Back the 'Fro!
(The Root) — Ladies, I know we haven’t had this conversation, but it’s time. We really need to talk about this. We really don’t talk about it as much as we should. We no longer have to conform to European standards of beauty. We don’t have to shellac wads of chemical straightening cream on our…
-
5 Things We Learned From 'Set It Off'
(The Root) — Who would have thunk it? Set It Off — the 1996 heist film starring Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, Jada Pinkett Smith and Kimberly Elise — beat out Dead Presidents, Superfly and Django Unchained in our March Movie Madness bracket. Color us clueless, but in our office pool, we had no idea…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
