culture
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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…
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The National Interest: What’s Really Wrong With White Teachers? They’re Racist
Editor’s note: Once a month, the National Interest column will tackle broader questions about what the country should do to increase educational opportunities for black youths. In recent years, an outburst of national studies (pdf) and exposés have shown that black teachers produce better academic and behavioral outcomes for black students compared with their white…
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#BeyondTheMoment: This May Day, Movements Unite for Labor Protection, Equity and Justice
On Monday, May 1, thousands of people will convene in communities around the world to commemorate May Day, otherwise known as International Workers’ Day. On this day in 1886, men and women, many of them recent immigrants, organized a nationwide workers strike that led to the creation of the eight-hour workday and other basic protections…
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NeuroSpeculative AfroFeminism Centers Black Women Here and Beyond
Transcranial stimulation. A character named Brooks—for Gwendolyn. A billion-year-old throne run by a Queen Mother in the cosmos. The defiance of gender binaries. The creation of a new black American mythology inside virtual reality. All through the cultural lens of black women as they worship at the temple of our familiar: the hair salon. “I’ve…