brooklyn
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Spread Love, It’s the Christopher Wallace Way: Brooklyn Block Renamed for Notorious B.I.G.
On any other day, the storm that lingered over Brooklyn, N.Y., may have been looked on as ominous or foreboding. It certainly would’ve deterred anyone from standing in it longer than they absolutely had to. But on Monday, on one block bordering the Clinton Hill and Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhoods, it was an affirmation. “Biggie is crying…
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Sky's the Limit—Brooklyn to Rename Street in Honor of the Late Notorious B.I.G.'s 47th Birthday
Baby, Bay-bayyy! On the blessed day of May 21, 1972, Christoper George Latore Wallace, who would grow to be a man of many names—Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, Big Poppa, and more—was born. This year, 2019, marks what would’ve been the late legendary rapper’s 47th trip around the sun. Now, Brooklyn will immortalize him in a…
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Proof of the Reality of Slavery ‘Up North’ in New York City and Its Aftermath Is in Danger of Disappearing Forever
A report just last year found that when it comes to teaching about slavery—the very economic and social foundation on which this nation was built—the U.S. does a piss poor job. As the Southern Poverty Law Center found: “Students lack a basic knowledge of the important role [slavery] played in shaping the United States and…
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Measles Climbs to 2nd-Highest Level in 25 Years
It’s like Plymouth Rock all over again. Or as our Entertainment staff writer Tonja Renée Stidhum so eloquently put it, “What is this Oregon Trail reboot 2520s tryna produce in real life?” While experts blame anti-vaxxers as the primary cause of the growing crisis, some ultra-orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn, N.Y., have become ground zero…
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Top Prosecutor in Brooklyn Wants to Decriminalize Prostitution
The chief prosecutor of New York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is backing an effort to decriminalize prostitution, arrests for which, according to a state senator advocating for the change, disproportionately impact black women. “I believe in decriminalization,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said during a “decriminalizing queerness” forum sponsored by the Lambda Independent Democrats…
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Stretching the Exquisite: Why Hearing Black Women’s Voices in Theater Is a Revolutionary Act
Big things were bubbling in Brooklyn two years ago. The year 2017 marked the 50th anniversary of Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, the first community development entity established in the United States. The nonprofit outfit has provided housing, employment, training and culture to residents of Bed-Stuy since 1967; 2017 was also the year the Restoration’s Billie Holiday…
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Back to the Essence: Tracy Morgan Returns to Bed-Stuy Community Garden to Kick Off 2nd Season of The Last O.G.
The Last O.G., the number one show on TBS, is heartening, sly and oh-so-real. It portrays in popular culture the collateral damage of mass incarceration—the lost time, the regrets, the broken ties, yet, the thing that makes The Last O.G. so compelling, so irresistible, is that it wraps that heavy, weighty reality in levity and…
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Where Is America's Blackest City?
How do you define the blackness of a city? For Black History Month, we challenged writers to explain why they think their city deserves the title of blackest city in America. And man, did they rep their cities hard. So now, we’re asking you, our readers, to vote for who made the strongest case. Here’s…
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Brooklyn's Blackness Is Strongest Because of Its Rich Diaspora Influences and Deep History
Black people from Brooklyn are mad proud of where they’re from. Some confuse it for arrogance, but if you grew up here it’s hard to find energy anywhere that can match it. Yes, the borough does boast hip-hop greats and is the setting for cornerstone Spike Lee films. But those aren’t the sole reasons we…