black thanksgiving
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Family Members, Ranked
As Black Thanksgiving quickly approaches, it may be necessary for some people who are unfamiliar with this holiday to understand black genealogy. In black culture, the family dynamic is not dictated by genetics, DNA or blood. Instead, much like race, “family” is a social construct. To help our readers understand this subject, we assembled a…
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The 2019 Rules and Revisions for Black Thanksgiving
For black families, Thanksgiving is an entirely different holiday than the traditional feast enjoyed by the dominant culture. When the Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving in 1621, most black families in America weren’t invited to the festivities. In fact, legend has it that a particularly unruly enslaved African whispered to a Native Americans as they…
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Thanks-living: How a Few of Our Faves Gave Thanks This Holiday
Real talks? We don’t all agree that Thanksgiving is a holiday worth celebrating. After all, its colonialist roots resulted in the genocide and marginalization of indigenous people—and later, imported and immigrating people—the effects of which persist to this day. So, yeah…there’s that. But as black folks have been doing for centuries (see: soul food), even…
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You're Single, Childless and Your Aunt Is Nosy. Happy Thanksgiving!
The third Thursday in November is upon us! If you’re one of the brave people visiting a black family as a single and childless person, you need to devise a strategy for dealing with nosy people. Don’t think you need a strategy? Well, what are you going to do when Nana gives you a look…
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Thanksgiving Dishes, Ranked
Cranberry sauce is better out of the can, which means that people who like homemade cranberry sauce are bougie or just want to show off. I know turkey is the headliner of the Thanksgiving meal, but it’s highly overrated. The difference between a great turkey and a terrible turkey can be overcome with a little…
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The Survival Guide to Black Thanksgiving
Although I am known mostly for my groundbreaking research in wypipology and cookout studies, my family background has given me extensive experience in Thanksgiving-related arts and sciences. Seriously. Because I was raised in a family of women who love to cook and are saved, sanctified and filled with the Holy Ghost, we never had family…
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The Caucasian’s Guide to Black Thanksgiving, Part 3: Giving Thanks
Dearly beloved white people, Today we are gathered here among our cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews to celebrate the tradition called Black Thanksgiving. We have already informed you about the invited guests, so you should be familiar with all of the people in attendance. Black Thanksgiving is a holiday based on family and love,…
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Judge of Characters: Thanksgiving While Black
While we are all fully aware of the foundation of lies that Thanksgiving was built on, we’ve managed to turn the holiday into a celebrated time with food and family. [Whispers.] But we’ll never forget. First of all, there are generations of beautiful blackness all in one house, whether it’s Grandma’s house or, in my…
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Put Some Respeck on It (and Some Frank’s Red Hot): Isn’t It Time We Celebrate Chitlins?
My extended family has a text thread that we use to stay in touch. Last week, the subject of Thanksgiving came up and we started talking about our respective menu plans. Of course, we all agreed on the basics: dressing, mac and cheese and sweet potato pie. Those dishes have been part of our collective…
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Watch: The Truth About Thanksgiving
So the story is told, the Plymouth Colony Pilgrims and Native Americans gathered for a communal meal after a successful fall harvest. But we know the story didn’t go down quite like that. After the first Thanksgiving in 1621, Europeans proceeded to push Native Americans out of their own territories, slaughtered them en masse and…