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On Those Too Stuck On ’90s Nostalgia to Appreciate Great NBA Basketball Today
There are few ironies as clear and demonstrative as the fact that Michael Jordan—a man who from 1985 to maybe 2005 was perhaps the coolest man on the planet (and is still able to sell millions of shoes from the residue of that status)—has somehow emerged as a proxy for what is decidedly uncool. Of…
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Dear White People: Here’s How to Interact With Your Black Co-Workers After They’ve Seen Roots
Hello, white people. Thanks for stopping by and reading! As many of you may already know, during the Memorial Day holiday, the History Channel began airing a four-part remake of Roots—the iconic miniseries tracing a black family’s history starting in West Africa, through American chattel slavery and up to the present day. As you can…
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Why People Have So Many Dumb Opinions About What Happened With Harambe the Gorilla, Explained
In your title you imply that many people have dumb opinions. Are you saying that people are generally stupid? I’m not saying that. I’m not not saying it. But I’m definitely not saying it. What I am saying is that none of us is immune to dumb opinions. Even the smartest and most aware of…
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Why Draymond Green Is and Isn’t a Dirty Player, Explained
Who is Draymond Green? Draymond Green is a do-everything utility man for the Golden State Warriors; the engine that steams their machine; the straw that stirs their coffee; the detergent that sparkles their dishes. He is their heart and soul, their guts and grit, their … Are you just going to speak in sportswriting clichés?…
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Why ‘Make America Great Again’ Is an Insult (and a Lie), Explained
Who is Krystal Lake? Krystal Lake is a 22-year-old New York City woman who recently received death threats after wearing a hat with the words “America was never great”—an obvious turn on Donald Trump’s “Make America great again” presidential campaign slogan. She’d also be my spirit animal if that position wasn’t already occupied by King…
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Here Is the Darth Becky Mount Rushmore
It’s been a few weeks since Beyoncé turned the entire Internet into a collection of underqualified Easy Rawlinses—theorizing, guessing, hypothesizing and attempting to deduce the identity of Becky With the Good Hair. (The verdict? Maybe it was Rachel Ray. Maybe it was a MacGuffin. And maybe it was just Beyoncé’s new way of saying Sasha…
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4 Beloved Contemporary Classics That Would Be Hated if They Came Out Today
I was late to the Love Jones train. Now, being late to things isn’t something that’s particularly uncommon with me. I think I was the last person on earth without a cellphone (didn’t get one until 2002), I started binge-watching Game of Thrones last spring, and I didn’t realize the Weeknd was just one person…
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20 Things 50-Year-Old Black Men Get to Do Without Giving a Damn
The realization that I’m officially closer to 50 than I am to 18 hit me while I was playing basketball last week. My legs were feeling especially springy, so I decided to actually try to dunk instead of doing the nonchalant, rim-grab, “almost” dunk thing I do to convince people—myself included—that I can still dunk if…
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What a Trump Presidency Would Mean for Black America, Explained
Who is Ted Cruz? Well, I feel the same way with Donald Trump. Not that he’s going to come out the closet as a Bornean orangutan. (Although that’s still on the table.) Just that I’m not at all surprised that someone like him could receive such support and advance so far. As ugly as the…
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11 Thoughts That Ran Through My Mind While Watching the Roots Remake With a Random White Woman Sitting Next to Me
Last week I was invited to a screening at the Tribeca Film Festival of the first episode of the Roots remake, set to premiere on the History Channel on Memorial Day. During the screening, which took place at the School of Visual Arts Theatre in New York City, a random white woman sat in the seat right…
