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Date Like a Grown Man
Damon Young, writing at Ebony, says that a man can absolutely be too old to date just for the sake of dating. Black man, aware of large discrepancy between number of “eligible” Black women and “eligible” Black men, uses this to his advantage, beginning a string of ego-boosting and sexually fulfilling pseudo-relationships, because, well, he…
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My Problem With Prayer
Very Smart Brothas‘ Damon Young explains how his mother’s illness has led him to re-evaluate the religious practice. … Much of this love and support has come in the form of prayer. People praying for her, praying with her, and even suggesting special prayers for situations like this. In fact, tonight I searched for “mom”…
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3 Thoughts on the Uppercut Heard Round the Internet
Very Smart Brothas‘ Damon Young reflects on the role that he believes gender played in the recent punch by a Cleveland bus driver, and wonders whether it’s problematic that he wasn’t more upset by the violent footage. … [T]hat uppercut heard ’round the internet reminded me of the fact that some men — myself included —…
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How to Build a Black Relationship Bomb
Very Smart Brothas‘ Damon Young gives his comedic take on what happens when we idealize high-profile African-American couples. Step 1: Find a famous Black couple, and hold them and their relationships up as infallible paragons of everything right with Black love, Black dating, Black relationships, Black sex, and Black marriage It does not matter if…
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Aaliyah, Drake and Why We Lie When Famous People Die
Very Smart Brothas‘ Damon Young says we have no idea what the late singer would have thought of the “emo” rapper’s obsession with her, and we shouldn’t pretend that we do. I wonder … if Drake fans will be able to forgive him for being haughty enough to release an album featuring tracks from the…
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5 Things That Get Men All Emotional
From weight to fashion to music, Very Smart Brothas‘ Damon Young presents a list of topics about which guys are surprisingly self-conscious. Although the common stereotype is that women are the emo-est gender, anyone who’s ever spent any time around any man knows that there are certain common subjects — income, height, sexual prowess, fighting…
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Gwyneth, the N-Word and Why We're to Blame
(The Root) — At face value, there is nothing truly provocative about a (presumably) intoxicated person committing a social faux pas while partying with her equally intoxicated friends. But since this person is famous and white, and since the faux pas committed happened to involve a word that Farai Chideya once called “the nuclear bomb…
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Idris Elba Proves Cool Is More Important Than Swag
At Very Smart Brothas, Damon Young unpacks the celeb’s attractiveness and concludes that it’s all about “being placed in a position that enabled him to be cool.” Well, it seems like Black women’s feelings about Elba are directly correlated to when they first saw him. Basically, my completely unscientific opinion tells me that the majority…
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When Do We Allow Whites to Criticize Blacks?
Very Smart Brothas‘ Damon Young grapples with the way black people tend to recoil at certain comments, even when those comments address the same things we criticize about ourselves. … I know we generally do not take kindly to White people criticizing anything that has to do with Black people and Black culture. As stated…
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Why Being a Single Man Is Overrated
Very Smart Brothas‘ Damon Young reflects on half a year of being single and says it’s not bad, but it’s not all the beer commercials make it out to be. The most “interesting” of these “interesting” thoughts? Being a single man is kind of overrated … 1. It can be very lonely As a person…
