black women
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Who Benefits from 'Black Girl Magic'? Google's Latest Ad Reignites Enduring Issues of Erasure
It was a moment we should’ve been wholly proud of. It was hard not to tear up, watching the triumphant array of black female dynamism on display in a minute-long film released by Google in tandem with Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day. The theme? A celebration of the everyday phenomenon we’ve come to…
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North Carolina State Supreme Court Appoints First Black Woman Chief Justice
Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, the first black woman supreme court justice to lead the state Supreme Court, was sworn in this past weekend in front of more than 1,000 people, according to the Fayetteville Observer. Beasley, appointed to the state’s highest court in 2012 by Democratic governor Beverly Perdue, was sworn in by Associate Justice…
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As Awards Season Wraps Up, the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards Honor Our Magic
The competition may be fierce for Hollywood’s top honors on Oscars Sunday, but at the annual Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards luncheon on Wednesday, it was all love … with fierceness of a different sort. This year’s honorees Regina Hall, KiKi Layne, Amandla Stenberg and the “Mother of Black Hollywood” Jenifer Lewis were all…
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Alfre Woodard Embodies the Escape a Tired Black Woman Needs and Deserves in Juanita
We’ve all heard the black woman motto around this clusterfuck of a world that needs fixing: “Fine, I’ll do it.” But what of the black woman who is tired of doing it? When does she get to rest? When does she get to escape? When does she get to just … be? Cue Netflix, with…
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What It Means That a Black Woman Is Leading Julián Castro’s Campaign for President
WASHINGTON, D.C.—When Maya Rupert walked into then-Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro’s office with a tricky problem to solve, she expected some resistance. It was November 2015, and the agency had long been mulling a rule that would require HUD-funded shelters to accept transgender people under their proper genders, not the ones they were…
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Former Alabama State University Stingettes Challenge the Odds to Instill Confidence in the Community
Former members of Alabama State University’s Stingettes dance team are using their talents to instill confidence and mold the future—one eight count at a time. The Stingettes are a part of the school’s Mighty Marching Hornets band and have been entertaining Montgomery, Alabama since 1977. These dancers have been known to snatch edges and annihilate the…
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Amanda Seales Will Have You Lifting Every Voice to Sing in Her New HBO Special 'I Be Knowin'
I first experienced Amanda Seales live and in action during the early iteration of her game show, Smart Funny & Black at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles. Since then, she has taken the popular game show on a multi-city tour. Now, Seales is leveling up even higher with more content: HBO’s Amanda Seales:…
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Barbara Gardner Proctor, Trailblazing Ad Woman, Dies at 85
In 1963, Barbara Gardener Proctor was flying to Europe to swap records while working for a black-owned record company. Upon her arrival back home, Vee-Jay records started publicizing her find. Soon, “England’s No.1 Vocal Group,” the Beatles, would be everywhere. Proctor, a trailblazing businesswoman and community activist, died on Dec. 19, according to her son…
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Beychella Named By Forbes, Vogue a Top Defining Moment In Pop Culture
Greetings, big sister Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter. Dean of Pledges. Snatcher of Edges. Wearer of Bundles. Is there anyway we can make your day better? On April 15, 2018, Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter, the King of Music, snatched the remaining edges that we had and blessed us with #Beychella, which was yet another gift that our black…
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The Women of GirlTrek, in Their Literal Movement for Black Women, Radiate Collective Work and Responsibility
The Kwanzaa principle for today, Dec. 28, is Ujima: Collective Work and Responsibility. Ujima means building and maintaining our community together and making our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems while solving them together. Vanessa Garrison and Morgan Dixon, the founders of GirlTrek, embody the principles of collective work and responsibility. Their eight-year-old outfit organizes black…