The Internet is Losing Its Mind Over Oprah’s Crop Top and Fly Looks
All The Fabulous Black Style Seen At Paris Fashion Week
How the Hanifa Brand Upheaval Started a Viral Conversation About Black Brands and Customer Service
Did You Know JFK Jr.’s Iconic ’90s Style Secretly Came from Black Icons Like Denzel?
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Get You a Gayle: For the 1st Time in the History of O Magazine, Gayle Joins Oprah on the Cover
“We was girls together.” That’s the Toni Morrison quote I’ve often used in reference to my very best friend in the world, who has held that title since pretty much the day she and I met, at ages 18 and 19, respectively. The quote is from Sula, one of the many favorites we’ve shared over…
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Anime Lovers, Megan Thee Stallion Wants You to Have a 'Hot Girl Summer,' Too
Anime-loving blerds of the world, this one’s for you! In conjunction with the release of her highly anticipated single/summer anthem, “Hot Girl Summer,” the newly minted hip-hop goddess known as Megan Thee Stallion is also perched atop the digital cover of Paper magazine in a look so hot it’d make all of Comic-Con break into…
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‘Quiet As It’s Kept’: Artist Kara Walker Creates the New Yorker’s Cover Tribute to Toni Morrison
Anyone familiar with the work of Toni Morrison knew it was a force, as was the woman who wrote it. The visions Morrison rendered were both unflinching and tender, exposing the sometimes shameful truths of our natures and whispering them back to us like a lover’s secret. The same could be said of the work…
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Jackie Aina Just Blew My Budget—and I'm Not Mad
Jackie. Or should I say “Jackie, Jackie, Jackie, Jackie…” You know those times when you’re trying to be a responsible adult and have your biweekly budget planned to the penny, including your social calendar and contingency savings? Well, consider this an emergency, because beauty influencer Jackie Aina just threw my budget off by $45 plus…
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It's Official: Beyoncé Belongs in the Smithsonian
Last year, Beyoncé helped make history when she approved Tyler Mitchell to photograph her for the cover of the September 2018 issue of American Vogue, making the then-23-year-old the first black photographer—and one of the youngest—to shoot the cover of the world’s best-known fashion magazine in its 126-year history. In the year since, that barrier-breaking…
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The Pretty One: With a New Memoir, Writer-Activist Keah Brown Is Redefining Disability on Her Own Terms
How do you say the word “disability”? Does it feel shameful or derogatory, or does it roll off of your tongue, matter-of-factly? Writer and disability activist Keah Brown wishes we were all less precious when talking about disability, because while it may be a fact of her life, it’s far from the whole of it,…
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Internationally Known: Essence Celebrates Its Global Impact With Serena Williams and a New Design
At this point in time, Essence is an American classic, beloved by those of us who grew up with the magazine atop the coffee tables of our mothers, aunties, grandmothers, big sisters, and now, ourselves. But on the heels of the 25th annual Essence Festival, and as the magazine approaches its 50th birthday in 2020,…
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'Those Are All Little Black Faces': Georgia School Under Fire for Designating 'Appropriate' and 'Inappropriate' Hairstyles
Narvie J. Harris Traditional Theme School in Decatur, Ga., has some explaining to do. The DeKalb County elementary school is facing significant backlash as the result of a display that outlined “appropriate” and “inappropriate” hairstyles for its students. The glaring issue, aside from discussing with parents individually? All of the children pictured (though identity-protected by…
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Big Little…Lipstick? Zoë Kravitz Is Launching a Collaboration With YSL Beauté
Her character’s future may hang in the balance on HBO’s Big Little Lies, but Zoë Kravitz is indisputably winning at life. The actress and musician, who wed longtime love Karl Glusman in late June, is now making the most of her ongoing brand ambassadorship with Saint Laurent, teasing a new collaboration with the label’s makeup…






