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How Can I Get the Most Out of Online Genealogy Sites?
I believe I have discovered that I come from free black mulattoes who lived in Tyrrell County, N.C., in the 1700s to 1800s. Their last name is Hill. The last people I have confirmed in my family tree on that side are Charles Hill (born circa 1827), Joyce Bryant (born circa 1831) and her father,…
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Letter to My Daughter: I’m Not the Father I Should Have Been
Dearest Daughter: Daddy’s little girls. I’ve been blessed to have two in my life. You were the first. And you were the one who didn’t get the daddy you deserved. Today, I’m again compelled to say: I’m so sorry. I was a child myself when you were born. I was 18 years old, had just…
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What if Du Bois’ Talented Tenth Replaced Isolation With Hope?
Theodore R. Johnson is a writer and naval officer who describes himself as an “upper-middle-class black male.” He recently claimed in The Atlantic that an unintended consequence of a burgeoning group of “college-educated, middle-class black folks”—whom W.E.B. Du Bois called the Talented Tenth—has been their break from the wider black community while still not being accepted…
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In the Face of New Violence, Nigerians Are Hopeful That Their Missing Girls Will Return
Over the last two days, Boko Haram, the group claiming responsibility for the abduction of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls several weeks ago, has been blamed for several attacks on villages near Chibok, where they were kidnapped. On Tuesday, the BBC reports, 118 people were killed in a bombing in the town of Jos, and…
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We’re Dreaming if We Think We’ve Dealt With Racism
In 1903 W.E.B. Du Bois opined that one of the burdens of blackness was facing down an ever-present question: “How does it feel to be a problem?” More than a century later, the changes on our social and political landscape have led us to an equally challenging question: How do you solve a problem like…
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Here’s the Deal on Nigeria
For many Americans, Nigeria is an enigma. On the one hand, many Nigerian immigrants come to America and make a killing: They put their student visas to good use, gain admission to selective medical residency programs, get engineering jobs and raise first-generation African-American students who go on to attend the best universities this nation has…
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A Bittersweet Tribute to Black Womanhood
“Where are the ants?” It’s Mother’s Day. My mother has come to New York to spend the weekend with me, her only child. After a rooftop brunch, I insist that we swing through the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, N.Y., to see Kara Walker’s latest art exhibit, “A Subtlety” (or “The Marvelous Sugar Baby”). I’m especially…
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Is Using Lotion a Black Thing?
Genuine question: Is lotion a black thing (especially for guys)? A random white dude at the gym asked me why I use all these “products” (basically face lotion and body lotion). I asked, “Don’t you use lotion?” He said, “For what!?” I know lotion is marketed mostly to women (if advertising is correct), but I just remember from…
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Malcolm X Always Spoke Truth to Power, No Matter the Cost
The anniversary this week of Malcolm X’s 89th birthday offers us the context to reflect on the life of the man whose activism continues to reverberate around the world. After a youth scarred by trauma, the man born Malcolm Little turned his seven years in prison into a world-class political and religious education. In the…
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Bipartisan Backlash Against Police Commissioner’s N-Bomb Shows There’s Still Hope for America
On Monday, Robert Copeland—the Wolfeboro, N.H., police commissioner who admitted to calling President Barack Obama the n-word and refusing to apologize—resigned. And while it’s unlikely that he’ll be missed, I, for one, am actually somewhat relieved that our nation endured the Copeland saga. Here’s why: Throughout much of Obama’s tenure in office, we have been…
Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude
