culture
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Do Heathens Go to Heaven?
I have a confession: Apparently, I need Jesus—or so I’ve been told. “Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior?” The grinning eyes of my cab driver inquire through the rearview mirror. I cringe. The gospel music I’d been enjoying a moment before suddenly feels invasive. I’m literally trapped in a conversation I’m…
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A Heathen’s Guide to Black Church on Easter Sunday
Easter—or, as the “woke” Christians call it, Resurrection Sunday—is one of my favorite holidays. Not because of the deep, symbolic weight of the day, but because of the fashion. Black folks are aesthetically creative on a regular day—yet, on Easter, everyone is a black dandy. There will be pastel suits, white hats and reflective sunglasses,…
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Young Black Men Are Missing in DC, Too, and They’re Not Coming Home as Quickly
Weeks ago, as social media alerts from Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department ignited an outcry about the number of missing black girls in the District, we witnessed the synergism of our community at work. We retweeted, reposted and reshared their photos and information. Folks discussed and debated the prevalence of contributing social factors. Celebrities, politicians…
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For Those Considering Blaxit, I Present to You: Stockholm
It’s been nearly a year since Ulysses Burley III first coined the term “Blaxit,” a tongue-in-cheek hypothetical response to the hypothetical question: What if black people decided to blaxodus their black asses elsewhere? The question of what would be exported began with the NBA, Beyoncé and Neil deGrasse Tyson, but then Awesomely Luvvie got on…
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Control+Assault+Delete: When Cops Destroy Video Evidence
Out of the rise of #BlackLivesMatter and the intense media scrutiny of police killings came a narrative about a brand-new, magical tool that could miraculously end police brutality by shining a light on law-enforcement misconduct. Somehow, as the public watched the endless stream of cop killings on video, everyone unquestioningly accepted the theory that more…
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Scandal Recap: What if Fitz Never Became President?
To commemorate Scandal’s 100th episode, ShondaLand treated us to an alternate timeline that answered the question, “What if Fitz never became president?” At the top of the episode, Jake Ballard posits to Olivia Pope that her life and Fitz Grant’s life would be “a million times worse” if she hadn’t rigged Fitz’s election. From Olivia’s…
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Watch: Chicago’s Love Letter to Chance the Rapper
Chance the Rapper is just days shy of his 24th birthday, and he’s already regarded as one of the most important figures to ever come out of Chicago. “He’s a true role model,” says Emily Jones, a Chicago native. “It’s kind of like what Barack was for us in 2008.” The love is reciprocal. Chancelor…
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Yes, You Can Measure White Privilege
Whenever anyone slips the words “white privilege” into a conversation, it immediately builds an impenetrable wall. For some white people, the words elicit an uneasy feeling because, for them, the term is accusatory without being specific. It is a nebulous concept that seemingly reduces the complex mishmash of history, racism and social phenomena to a…
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Unique Views, Episode 38: Where Do You Even Go to Buy a Prison, Damian Marley?!
Stephen A. Crockett Jr. and I finally did something we never do: No, we didn’t get along. We’ll never do that. We did a minisode of our podcast! Every week, when I grow weary of Stephen’s voice and personality, I say, “Ugh, let’s just make this a minisode so that we can just get in and…