culture
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Black Star Wars Characters, Ranked
If you are a popular athlete, have been attractive for most of your life or had a girlfriend in high school, then you probably don’t know that May 4 is Star Wars Day. Star Wars is the seminal piece of work in the nerd universe, and single-handedly created the serial Hollywood science fiction blockbuster. While…
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Joe Budden Needs to Leave Lil Yachty’s Happy Ass Alone
Like many reading this, I didn’t know what the hell a Lil Yachty was until a younger person explained it to me. Then I listened to him and immediately went back to playing classic artists like Future and Rihanna. “No Child Left Behind” rap isn’t always my thing. However, if there is one thing I…
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There’s No Such Thing as ‘Good Police’
In the reality-adjacent, Baltimore-centered ecosystem of The Wire, “good police” stood as the single highest honor a character could receive. It was reserved for those who possessed the inherent qualities making someone a naturally gifted police officer and who also performed those duties with integrity and verve. You had to be born “good police,” but…
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Black Guns Matter: My Day at the NRA Convention in the Age of Trump
“You know that’s just a Klan rally without the hoods, right?” “Bring Kevlar.” “SMH.” None of my friends was all that hot about me going to the National Rifle Association’s convention in Atlanta this year. No one. Not even my friends who owned guns. And definitely not those who hunt, and none who otherwise support…
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Eritrean-American Woman Became 1st Blind, Deaf Graduate of Harvard Law School
America makes it hard enough for a black woman to succeed at the same rate and pace as other people, and when you add to the mix being born blind and deaf to African immigrants, it would seem that the odds for success become nearly impossible. But Haben Girma beat those odds and then some…
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Why Wypipo Love the Confederacy, Explained
With the decision of Biloxi, Miss., to no longer fly the state flag, and cities across the country destroying monuments to the Confederacy, the debate about the meaning and historical significance of the Civil War has once again reared its ugly head. Most notable among the discussions is whether white Southerners’ affinity for all things…
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Legendary Auntie Mary J. Blige Brings That Old Thing Back With Her Excellent New Album
Even for the most dedicated Mary J. Blige fan, news of a new album might not necessarily trigger the excitement it used to. Blige has managed to continue to be largely successful through her albums and subsequent tears, but the newer material has often been the equivalent of catfish that you let cool for too…
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Sleight Is an Imperfect Magic Trick Well Worth the Ride
Sleight could, and maybe should, have been a disaster. It is not a “superhero film” in the vein of comic book legends Marvel and DC; yet it is also not a “magic film” like The Prestige or Now You See Me. It could have failed because subverting genre expectations is dangerous. Do it right, and…