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Stop Treating Black People Like a One-Issue Voting Pony
Admit it: When you finally tuned out (or logged out) of this past Sunday night’s Democratic presidential-primary debate in Charleston, S.C., you walked away with the distinct feeling that black people have only one or two issues to worry about. Watching headlines and candidate sound bites, the nation might be under the impression that the…
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Obama’s Final State of the Union: ‘I’m Out’
Seven straight years of frothing-at-the-mouth Republicans. Haters pushing derail buttons on your presidency. The irritating reality that a good quarter of the population still believes you weren’t born here. Now, in the wake of all that, you must give your last official speech before a shark-infested Congress openly hoping for your demise. What would you…
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Here’s How the Federal Reserve Just Told Black Folks ‘You Don’t Really Matter’
It may not be as sexy as the dating lives of rappers, the bad karma of a thieving white Big Pharma whiz kid or what went down in the latest episode of your favorite show. And, sure, it’s not the latest in a string of racist things a presidential candidate or Supreme Court justice said.…
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Here’s Why the Country Club Went Ballistic Over the Sam’s Club CEO
Something in the way Sam’s Club CEO Rosalind Brewer said it, or a verb or two by the way she threw it, made a bunch of white people run scared into a corner. Correctly miffed by the absence of any female or “of color” representation at a recent negotiating table, Brewer went brave and did…
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Wake Up, Black People. The Supreme Court Is Poised to Drop a Bomb on You
So, there’s nothing new about a spoiled rich white dude saying crazy things so he can get a bump in a poll. On real, tell us something we don’t know about professional megaphone Donald Trump. Yet that’s all we spent much of this week munching on … while a conservative Supreme Court quietly considered how…
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How Did These Cities Become the Top 10 Best for Black-Owned Small Businesses?
If you want to start your own business, location hits you as a major selling point. And for the African-American entrepreneur, the calculus is uniquely frustrating: It’s not just a matter of “Is where I live or where I’m moving to the right fit for my business?” It’s also the dark cloud of “Can I…
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When You’re Biracial, There’s No ‘Choice’ in the Matter of Your Blackness
It’s safe to wager that when well-meaning black actor Taye Diggs took a recent dip into controversy over his biracial son’s identity, there was no less than white former Mrs. Taye Diggs putting on the pressure in the background: “Hey, I’m here. White mom. Don’t forget about me.” And who knows? Taut playpen discussions might…
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When Terrorism Strikes, Black Lives Don’t Seem to Matter as Much
Of terrorism’s many destructive traits, none is more horrifying than its ability to unexpectedly snatch our normalcy from us. Recent attacks in Paris force us into somber, hug-your-loved-ones reflections: imagining the romantic, joyful energy of that city and its inhabitants suddenly shattered by the wholesale violence of others. That cruelty always unwraps the pure evil…
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4 Reasons Why No Sane Black Voter Should Be Voting for Ben Carson
Check the latest polls and see neurosurgeon-turned-wannabe-president Ben Carson surf on a sudden wave of black support. Not that black people are voting anytime soon in the Republican primary. But as Theodore R. Johnson III aptly points out on The Root, Carson’s black ratings look better in fictional, general-election matchups than those of his fellow…
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5 Ways the Tuesday Elections We Missed Ended Up Hurting Black People
You can’t say we didn’t warn you, because we did. And after all that protesting noise all year about the plight of black folks under the boot of racist police, it’s quite sad that no one thought to strike this year’s electoral iron while it was test-run hot. But, in case you didn’t know, this…
