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Melania Trump Acts Like She Expected Her Old, Rich and Unhealthy Husband to Be Dead by Now
Of course, I’m not suggesting that Melania Trump wants her husband, Donald Trump, the president of the United States of America, dead. I’d never say such a thing! Nor would I say that she is waiting for that to happen with the general countenance of a person who just worked a 12-hour shift and gets…
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How to Be a Better White Person
I am asked, frequently, by people who happen to be white and also happen to read my work (or perhaps happened to listen to me speak) about how to be a better white person. I’m often compelled to answer, “Go to the gym, I guess, and be nice to bartenders.” Which is an adequate answer,…
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Travis Reinking Is What Happens When Black People Are ‘Criminals’ and White People Are Allowed to Be Invisible
A few months ago, during a conversation on Facebook about one of the many mass shootings committed by a white man (I forget which one), the homie Sai Grundy wrote that (paraphrasing) one of the byproducts of the criminalization of blackness is that white people are often able to elude suspicion by virtue of their…
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Kanye’s Politics Are What Happens When You Don’t Read Books
As someone who still owns land on Yeezy Island, I was anxious when Kanye West made his return to Twitter a couple weeks ago. Because as those who haven’t yet sold their Yeezy properties know, every time he opens his mouth, property values plummet. So imagine my pleasant surprise when I saw that his subject…
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200 Words About the Ain’t-Shit Cops Who Were Called on the Black Men at Starbucks
“This is some bullshit” are the four words you’d hope a crowd of police officers—people with actual crime to fight or maybe just actual boxes of doughnuts to eat—would say when called to question and arrest two men whose only apparent crimes occurred when the Starbucks manager decided they were criminals. She literally spoke their…
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No One Told Me That Getting Older Meant That You Literally Just Keep Aging Until You Die!
In the last three weeks, I’ve flown to Los Angeles for an event with The Glow Up; to Durham, N.C., for a wedding; and to Austin, Texas, to speak at the University of Texas. Which means that because Pittsburgh is Pittsburgh, and apparently the only place to which our airport has direct flights is McKeesport,…
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I’ve Never Met Anyone As ‘Black’ as Michael Rapaport Tries to Be
Full disclosure: I’m black. I also come from a large black family, grew up in the hood, taught in the hood, watched, like, 27 different movies about the hood and even married someone who is literally from the projects. Of course, when attempting to determine my “grade of blackness,” none of this matters, because grades…
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I Don’t Trust White People in ‘Black’ Spaces. I Don’t Call the Cops on Them, but Perhaps I Should
Back when I was a high school English teacher, I had a white female colleague (“Katie”) who not only dated black men but was also one of those white women who exclusively date black men and let everyone know that they only date black men whatever chance they get. Example: “Hey, were you able to download…
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Dear White People: Please Stop Doing Silly Racist Shit. Discovering New Things to Boycott Is Exhausting
As is the case with many people who work remotely, I spend a considerable amount of time in coffee shops and cafés. I am in one now, actually, and I am currently eating Brussels spouts because they’re healthy and tasty and because the managers at said shop are so impressed with my luscious beard that…
