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Kanye West Doesn’t Need Another Think Piece; He Needs Therapy
Kanye West doesn’t need what I’m about to write. Mostly because he’s not going to see it anyway. (Or read it. Or care.) But someone else who is going through a Kanye-esque moment might read it and finally get the help he or she needs, so here it goes. A long time ago, before I…
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Singer Vanity Dead at 57
Sad news hit the Web Monday night just as the Grammy Awards were about to unfold: Drummer Sheila E. tweeted that her friend Denise Katrina Matthews, 57, better known as the singer Vanity, passed away. Vanity, a protégée of music legend Prince and formerly of the girl group Vanity 6, died from an abdominal illness,…
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Rep. John Lewis Wants to See Bernie Sanders’ Civil Rights Receipts
Rep. John Lewis, civil rights icon, lawmaker and Hillary Clinton supporter, intentionally or unintentionally called out Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ civil rights bona fides Thursday. Lewis, who was among several members of the Congressional Black Caucus to endorse Clinton’s presidential bid, was asked whether Sanders’ involvement in the civil rights movement swayed him. It did…
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Beyoncé Drops ‘Formation’ for the People, the Black People
Well, that was black. Cornbread and collard greens black. “Hot sauce in my bag” black. Southern black. Dirty South black. Your grandma telling you to go cut down a switch black. Did you know Beyoncé was black? If you didn’t know, if you thought she was some ethereal, raceless, colorless transformative nymph who could doo-wop pop…
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Hey, PWIs! Diversity Is Great, but Inclusion Is Better
In Lawrence Ross’ new book, Blackballed: The Black and White Politics of Race on America’s Campuses, he highlights America’s little mythology problem. “For the past 400 years, African Americans tried to assist white Americans in recording a memory of racism, often to no avail,” Ross writes. “White America clings stubbornly to a collective narrative, what Gore…
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The Real Housewives of Potomac Is a Show That ‘Bravely’ Asks, ‘Who Is Black in America?’
A long time ago, back when everyone I knew personally was black and my world was much smaller, everyone was embarrassingly blunt about their colorism because they were 9 years old and had no filters. I knew the girls who were bullied because they were dark. I knew the girls who were bullied because they…
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Fighting Racism in the Age of Obama
No one said it would be easy. After all, what’s simple about fighting something that’s baked in the cake of American society, that constitutes its original sin? Racism. That’s racism with a big R and a little one. The kind that’s in your face and explicit, and the kind that you can’t grasp with your…
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Exposed: How Keanu Reeves’ Newest Film Got Whitewashed
In a world where people are taking to the streets, saying “Black lives matter”—where TV shows and films like Empire, Selma, Jane the Virgin, Straight Outta Compton, Fresh Off the Boat and Black-ish are getting high ratings and winning awards—one movie studio allegedly said no to all that diversity and instead chose to take us…
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Chicago Police Superintendent Out, Fired Amid Laquan McDonald Video Controversy
Someone had to go, and according to the Chicago Sun-Times, the someone is Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, who was reportedly fired by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Tuesday amid multiple controversies involving the Chicago Police Department. “He has become an issue, rather than dealing with the issue, and a distraction,” Emanuel said, according to the…
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Video Released Showing Police-Shooting Death of Laquan McDonald
Video was released Tuesday night of the shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by Chicago police officers in October 2014. Officer Jason Van Dyke was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in the case. The video shows Laquan being shot 16 times as he turns away from several officers who surround him. City officials tried unsuccessfully to…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
