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Cornel West Seems to Believe Ta-Nehisi Coates Is Writing From the Sidelines, but Sidelines Don’t Exist for Black People
I’m writing this from the third floor of the brownstone in Pittsburgh’s Northside that my wife and I have been renting for a year and a half now. I’m in a bedroom that has been repurposed as both my office and my de facto closet. My daughter’s bedroom is on the same floor, and the…
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Each Time I Watch This Video of 16-Year-Old Ayrton Little Learning He Was Accepted Into Harvard, a Ghost or Something Near Me Cuts an Onion
Earlier today, I came across a video on my Facebook feed of 16-year-old Ayrton Little learning that he was accepted into Harvard University. In the video, several of his classmates are in the room with him, and they all erupt with joy when he receives some sort of confirmation on the computer he’s browsing. The…
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Black Thought’s Beautiful Mind
I was part of a conversation last week with two writers of color in which the concept of genius in art was discussed—specifically, how white men have anointed themselves both the sole possessors and the arbiters of it and how reluctant they can be to consider works created by people of color to be worthy…
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New Orleans Saints Season Ticket Holder Sues Team Because of Anthem Kneeling, Then Drowns in Tub of Salty White Tears
A man named “Lee Dragna” filed a lawsuit against the New Orleans Saints in which he claimed that the protests during the national anthem upset him and his family so much that he was unable to enjoy the games. I am not completely convinced that this lawsuit is a real thing—or even that “Lee Dragna”…
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White People Need to Be Better People
The vast—the overwhelming—majority of white people living in a state in the United States of America in 2017 voted Tuesday for an alleged serial pedophile; a sentient cauldron of microwaved racist lettuce who said, out of his own wretched mouth, that every amendment after the 10th wrecked “the form of government that our forefathers intended”;…
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Forget About Colin Kaepernick; I Think I’m Done With the NFL Just Because I Don’t Want to Watch Someone Die
In eighth grade, I was a starting wideout and cornerback for my middle school football team, the St. Bartholomew Bruins. Our team that year went undefeated and won the Pittsburgh Diocese, and our only close game that season came during the championship, which we won on a last-second touchdown caught by yours truly—a catch that…
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The 20 Blackest Moments From Sharon Reed’s Clapback Heard Round the World
1. At the 0:09 mark, Sharon Reed says there’s some “confusion behind the scenes.” Which is a lie in the same black-ass vein as someone beginning a sentence with “It’s just funny that … ” when what’s about to follow isn’t funny at all. This is professional Negro judo. “Sharon Reed” is Swahili for “Pai…
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Dear 24- to 45-Year-Old White People Who Live in Urban Spaces: Why Don’t You Put Curtains and Blinds on Your Windows?
A house in my neighborhood was recently purchased by a man who looks to be in his early to mid-30s. I haven’t met him yet. But after being his neighbor for a month, I already know about the size, make and model of the TV in his living room; his affinity for wearing robes during…
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The Problem(s) With Joyner Lucas’ ‘I’m Not Racist,’ Explained
Joyner Lucas is an American rapper from Worcester, Massachusetts currently signed to Atlantic Records. He garnered widespread exposure and critical praise after the release of his single “Ross Capicchioni” in 2015. In 2017, he released his fourth mixtape (and first on a major label), 508-507-2209. Joyner gained national attention when he appeared on the 2015…
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5 Life Hacks for Black People Who Want to Leverage White Guilt to Make White People Uncomfortable at Work
We all already know that America is a haven for white supremacy: a 400-year-old greenhouse for white privilege where the vegetation is watered by white tears and casserole juice. Fortunately, there’s space within this forest of whiteness to cheat the game a little bit and use the guilt some of them feel for being historically…
