-
Dutch Petition to Keep Blackface Christmas Helpers
A Dutch Christmas tradition that includes whites donning blackface got a huge boost of support on Facebook, with 1 million likes in a single day. In keeping with the children’s story of Santa Claus — or Sinterklaas in Dutch — several “Black Pete” helpers with black faces, curly hair and bright red lips arrive by…
-
Black Male Identity and 'The Butler'
Writing at the Washington Post, Stephen A. Crockett Jr. says that Lee Daniels’ ‘The Butler illustrates “the extremes of black masculinity,” with Forest Whitaker’s character working as a White House butler while his son chooses a different path: engaging in the civil rights movement. For eons the pendulum of portrayals of black masculinity has swung…
-
Deen's Racism: More Than a Twitter Joke
(The Root) — So it turns out that Paula Deen — who, with her buttery Southern charm, cozied up to us by way of the tube — was really just a bigot who could burn. Deen went hard. After being slapped with a lawsuit charging racism, she acknowledged in a deposition that she “of course”…
-
When Whites Attend HBCUs, Is That Progress?
Racial integration has long been a symbol of American progress, but Stephen Crockett Jr. wonders at the Washington Post whether white students attending predominantly black educational institutions will be remembered as a step forward or an odd joke. In the last few weeks, two white women have come out about their experiences as Howard University…
-
Top 10 Epic Fails of 2009
10. The presidential mom jeans. ‘Nuff said. 9. Adam Lambert’s American Music Award performance was, in and of itself, not an epic fail. Yes, it was tragically bad, with male-on-male sexy time and doofy outfits and crappy singing. The epic fail in this overtly sexualized messy mess of hairspray and gel was the fact that…
-
The Root's Holiday Playlist
I still believe in Christmas. It is the one time of the year that I believe the world will stay upright, that people are inherently good and kind, and that slow drivers aren’t out to deter me from getting to my destination as fast as possible. I believe in the Christmas spirit, the idea that…
-
You Barack It, You Buy It
The day after America elected a black man president, a bundle of Washington Post newspapers were going for $400 on eBay. The L.A. Times made a cool 600K in Barack Obama merchandise. The ailing newspaper industry briefly got its swagger back when people realized that they couldn’t frame their computer. Unfortunately, that is not where…
-
Why Black Comics Must Get Barack
Fade back to 1983. Reaganomics has black America in a stranglehold, unemployment is running rampant, and my sisters and I have snuck into the basement after lights out to watch Eddie Murphy, clad in a skintight red leather outfit, tell dirty jokes. Eddie says he saw Jesse Jackson working out at the gym now that…
-
Deep, Dark Chocolate
Hollywood drove Dave Chappelle out of his gourd. He bounced on a multi-million-dollar contract, went to Africa, got his mind right and realized that at the end of the day, hamming it up for The Man wasn’t what he wanted to do. Here’s the problem: Although it was great for Dave’s state of mind, it…
-
So Long, O.J.
With the conviction and likely long-term incarceration of O.J. Simpson, the United States penal system is putting together one heck of a football squad. The team behind bars could rival the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West on any given Sunday. Imagine Michael Vick at quarterback, Rae Carruth at wide receiver, Lawrence Phillips and Maurice…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
