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White Privilege Explained, With Help From Ex-News Anchor Who Lost Her Job Over a Racist Facebook Post
Who is Wendy Bell? Before Wednesday, Wendy Bell was a lead anchor for WTAE-TV, Pittsburgh’s ABC affiliate. Today, Thursday, however, she’s the white Pittsburgh female equivalent of Tommy from Martin. So she’s unemployed? Yes. What happened? A week ago, as a response to a shooting in Wilkinsburg, Pa. (a suburb of Pittsburgh), that left six…
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WTF Is Going On With Kehlani, Kyrie Irving, PartyNextDoor, And Chris Brown, Explained
Who is Kyrie Irving? Kyrie Irving is a point guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Really? That’s the answer you’re going to give? You’re going to sit up here and pretend that Kyrie isn’t your favorite player in the league, and that you haven’t been writing about him since 2012? I didn’t think that was relevant…
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Why a Black Person Would Support Trump, Explained
Who is Donald Trump? Donald Trump is a billionaire Bornean orangutan who escaped from the Pittsburgh Zoo 69 years ago and is now, inexplicably, the front-runner to receive the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential race. If you forget for a moment the horror of the realization that a Bornean orangutan is potentially months away…
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Dear Black Men, Please Go to the Damn Doctor
As it was for many others, the news of the death of Malik Taylor deeply resonated with and saddened me. But my feelings about this didn’t have much to do with his iconic status and/or my relationship with his music. Although my backpack is as massive as any other hip-hop fan’s—shake it and a Soundbombing…
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Why "Well-Meaning" White People Like WTAE-TV's Wendy Bell, The White Privilege Turducken, Are The Worst
Wendy Bell is a lead anchor for WTAE-TV, Pittsburgh’s ABC affiliate. I’ve never met her in person before, but I know many people who have. And she’s generally regarded as a pleasant, kind, and professional woman. And, like many otherwise pleasant, kind, and professional White people, Wendy Bell is utterly clueless about race, White privilege, and…
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The Definition, Danger and Disease of Respectability Politics, Explained
So, I’m kinda new to all of this new age social-justice stuff. Of course, I’ve always been aware of what racism and sexism and bias meant, but some of the terminology used to describe specific examples of it—i.e., microaggressions, white privilege, street harassment, etc.—were also new to me and it took a while to understand…
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35 Types of Post-Racial Racism
Last week, in response to the lynching photo found at a Joe’s Crab Shack in Minnesota, I wrote a piece explaining “post-racial racism” (which has also been referred to as “Chad Crow”—Jim Crow’s laid-back cousin): In post-racial 21st-century America, no one actually wants to admit to being racist. They’ll do racist things, say racist words,…
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By Nominating Merrick Garland, President Obama Is Trolling Republicans The Way Parents Troll Kids
I forgot exactly what led to it. Maybe I was told to go to bed a bit earlier than I wanted to. Maybe I wasn’t allowed to bring my Hasbro-made Millennium Falcon replica in the bathtub. And maybe I got in trouble (again) for peeing on the neighbor’s dog (again). (Don’t ask.) Either way, I…
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Ben Carson Endorsed Donald Trump for a Job, Which Is One of the Blackest Things He’s Ever Done
You can say many things about Ben Carson, the back-ordered, decaffeinated coffee machine who recently dropped out of the presidential race. Iconic surgeon. Popeyes enthusiast. Vigilante. Black History Month book-report muse. Delusional motherf—ker. But one thing you cannot do is doubt his blackness bona fides. Yes, his actual politics, if enacted, would have put America back to 1953.…
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‘Post-Racial’ Racism, Explained
What is Joe’s Crab Shack? Joe’s Crab Shack was, until Wednesday, the place you took a date if she was in the mood for chain store crabmeat but thought Red Lobster was too bougie. Since Wednesday, however, I’m sure it’ll be the preferred space for Donald Trump rally after-parties. Why? What happened Wednesday? While dining…
