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Don’t Hurt Yourself: Unicorns Aren’t Real and You’re Not a Special Snowflake
Many moons ago, fresh off an unexpected achievement and gaining a toehold in both the music industry and the fun, freewheeling network that was once Twitter, I decided to celebrate my unlikely success with the social media tagline, “Just your average Grammy-nominated goddess next door … may I borrow some sugar?” Playful? Yes. Obnoxious? Perhaps;…
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‘Bad Bitch’ Gone Bawse: An Ode to Amber Rose
Amber, I think I owe you an apology. Not because I’ve ever disparaged you; I haven’t. By contrast, I was likely dismissive—not always an easy task, given how strikingly you present. But I now consider it a blind spot in my personal brand of feminism (womanism), since admittedly, I’ve clearly never given you the credit…
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My Black History: The Case for Black Art in an Anti-Presidential Era
Editor’s note: During Black History Month, the focus is usually on historical figures who loomed larger than life, paving the way for the progress we experience today. But black history isn’t just about telling stories of our past. History is being made every day and has been made throughout our lives; it’s not just in…
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Ain’t I a Woman: Marching Forward—What Now?
They came. They saw. They marched. Did you? Full disclosure: I didn’t—primarily for logistical reasons—but I watched in awe last Saturday as my social media feeds became a sea of pink pussy hats and cleverly worded signs, courtesy of friends and family attending women’s marches worldwide. As promised and in overwhelming numbers, on the first…
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Hail to the Hypocrite
On Tuesday night, along with millions of Americans and millions more abroad, I watched our exiting commander in chief, Barack Hussein Obama, give his farewell presidential address. As is characteristic of the speeches made during his two terms (and prior), the address was a study in charisma, eloquence and elegance; made all the more poignant…
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The Trouble With Jimmy Fallon
All in all, he wasn’t a bad choice to host the Golden Globes. He had the requisite clever and colorful opening number, an affable demeanor and the ability to improvise. He even started off strong with some postelection shade—though it didn’t erase our memory of his pre-election playfulness with the now-PEOTUS. And it certainly couldn’t…
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We Are All Insecure
Eight weeks ago, The Root published an article I wrote, titled, “Is Insecure Preying on Black Women’s Insecurities?” It was a simple question, based on an honest concern I’d had while previewing the show prior to its debut on HBO: As viewers—and, at times, voyeurs—of Insecure, what was our intended takeaway? Was there a deliberate…
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When Will We Learn?
You have to be twice as good as them to get half of what they have! “Twice as good” is the standard set for generations of black and brown children across America (and beyond), a warning consistently administered in stern but loving tones from parental figures as dissimilar as the fictional Rowan Pope and first…
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Who Gets to Be Black?
I don’t have to do nothing but eat, drink, stay black, and die. Langston Hughes initially penned the phrase, while Morgan Freeman’s Joe Clark famously paraphrased it in Lean on Me. Purportedly, Billie Holiday even uttered it during her first encounter with Maya Angelou. And while I might add “and pay taxes” (because the IRS…
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Trouble With the Curve … in Fashion
“Please fit … please fit … please fit …” This was the prayer I sent up, standing in my underwear, eyeing the rack of gowns that had been chosen for me. After years of modeling, it wasn’t an unfamiliar scenario, but this was different. I wasn’t being fit for a retailer’s catalog or campaign, but…
