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Threatening Black Phrases, Ranked
Threat level: Minor This is probably the most benign threat among the black population because it’s also a means of clarifying a misunderstanding. It’s sort of like an out for both the person using it as well as the individual being addressed to say: “I’m not here to fuck you up. I’m not sure what…
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So You’ve Decided to Make Friends With a Black Person: A Beginner’s Guide
You’ve finally decided that it’s time to make a black person your actual friend. Congrats! Let’s say you just started a new job, or maybe your kid made a new friend at school, or perhaps some black people even just moved into your neighborhood, and now you want to make nice with them. Cool. You’re…
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Stuff That Scares Black People, Ranked
Stuff That Scares Black People, Ranked From Ford Crown Victorias to Roaches
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On Being the Only Black Man for Miles (or Kilometers) in Western Canada
Full disclosure: My wife is neither black nor American. The current Mrs. Richardson is the daughter of Indian immigrants and was born and raised just outside of Vancouver in British Columbia. It’s a beautiful place, really. The Fraser Valley is the type of landscape that evenly swaps out steep hills and crested peaks for wide-open…
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White Supremacy Is the Opioid That’s Destroying America
Last week, in a moment of both clumsy acknowledgment of reality and dispatching his charges of office like a dolt, “President” Donald Trump declared a state of emergency for the current opioid crisis in America. And in the typical Trumpian form of a man whose lips probably move when he reads menus, the president thought…
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The Joy They (And By They, I Mean White People) Can’t Steal
On November 4, 2008, we witnessed a collective moment of hope and inspiration in the Black community with the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States. As a moment of pride and patriotism, I don’t think there has ever been a time in the African American experience where we’ve felt as though…
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White People Shit That Black People (Not So) Secretly Love
White People Shit. It’s the semi-pejorative term Black folks use to describe items, actions, and ideas that fall outside of the negro-normative spectrum, preponderantly enjoyed by our Caucasian counterparts. Seinfeld. Mayonnaise. Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill. Calling the police. All things that seemingly exist as the exclusive domain of white people and…
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How To Make White People Uncomfortable As An Act of Grace and Mercy
It is the unfair and uneasy burden of the minority; to explain the bad behavior of some members of our communities, to the majority and apologize for their actions. You see it when there’s a terrorist attack and Muslims have to condemn other Muslims or when there’s a police shooting and Black folks are forced…
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Confessions of a Bad Dad on the Eve of My Second Child
As my wife and I careen into the last few weeks of her pregnancy and prepare for life with our new little girl, it’s beginning to dawn on me just how bad a job I’ve been doing as a parent for our first daughter. Four, almost five, years into the game and I’m finally coming…
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Confessions of a Bad Dad on the Eve of His 2nd Child
As my wife and I careen into the last few weeks of her pregnancy and prepare for life with our new little girl, it’s beginning to dawn on me just how bad a job I’ve been doing as a parent for our first daughter. Four, almost five, years into the game, and I’m finally coming…
