culture
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White People Are Amazed That a White Woman Was Treated Like a White Woman
All across America, white people’s mouths are hanging aghast at half-staff as they hydrate themselves to conjure up the onslaught of white tears that predictably has followed their shock and amazement since a college student blew up the internet when she exposed an amazing fact to her Caucasian counterparts. Hold on, and prepare yourselves for…
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The 2017 Miss USA Is a Proud, Black HBCU Graduate, and She’s Also Problematic as Hell
For the second consecutive year, Miss District of Columbia, a black woman and HBCU graduate, has been crowned Miss USA. Outgoing 2016 Miss USA Deshauna Barber crowned her fellow Washington, D.C., resident, Kára McCullough, 25, Sunday night in Las Vegas. McCullough is a chemist working for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Two black women were…
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How Stalking Sheryl Lee Ralph on Social Media Got These Men 2 Musicals
Who knew that stalking Sheryl Lee Ralph on social media would spawn two much-needed musicals: Mighty Real: A Fabulous Sylvester Musical and An Evening With Phyllis Hyman? The shows’ creators, Kendrell Bowman and Anthony Wayne, sure didn’t! But when they thought of the concepts behind the stage shows, they knew they had something special, and…
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How Black Moms and Daughters Can Fight to Reduce HIV Rates
The statistics are well-known. African Americans bear the heaviest burden of HIV infection of all racial or ethnic groups in the United States, says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And the burden of this disease is carried squarely on the shoulders of African-American women. Their rates of new HIV infections are more…
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#BlackGirlFeminism: Being Intentional About Raising Black Feminist Daughters
Mother’s Day is a triggering day for many women, but there is also joy and community and love. This is especially true for those of us black women who have to navigate not only interpersonal relationships with our children but also our relationship to the state. It is a terrifying task trying to raise aware,…
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Watching These Kids Interview Their Moms Will Be the Highlight of Your Mother’s Day
There’s no denying how special Mother’s Day is. It’s a holiday set aside for us to show our mothers just how much they mean to us. These are the women who carried us, nurtured us, taught us and continue to love us unconditionally. Showing these women gratitude is the least we can do. We asked…
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‘Mamas Day’ Celebrates Marginalized Women Because Mamahood Is Not One Size Fits All
Each year, beginning in the middle of April and rolling all the way up to the second Sunday in May, we are inundated with idealized images of motherhood to go along with the hallmark (or Hallmark) holiday in which we are to celebrate the woman who brought us into the world and raised us to…
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A Relationship Without Kindness Is Doomed From the Start
Recently I came across a Facebook post in which someone told a bride-to-be, “I am happy you are marrying a kind man.” That one phrase in the sea of the other congratulatory messages resonated with me because I lived with a man for six years who was emotionally distant and unkind. And the warning signs…
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Unique Views, Episode 42: When Stuntin’ Goes Wrong
Adulting is hard. This week I complain to podcast co-host Stephen A. Crockett Jr. the third that I’m having a rough time trying to keep up with all the things life gives adults. He does something that surprises me: He listens and even offers me advice. Stephen then goes on to let me know that…