culture
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BET’s The Quad Out to Prove Why HBCUs Matter
It’s been 30 years since we saw Denise Huxtable go to Hillman College, a fictional HBCU in Virginia, where she would meet Dwayne Wayne and the prissy Whitley Gilbert in The Cosby Show spin-off A Different World. BET’s new show The Quad takes us on the campus of the historically black Georgia A&M University, home…
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Class Is in Session With BET’s Madiba, Starring Laurence Fishburne as the South African Icon
The New Edition Story may have signaled that BET is in the original-content game for real. But the truth is, the network has been slowly working at this for years. And history, not music, has been the main driver when it comes to the miniseries that air on the network. Reportedly, great viewer reception to…
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Being Mary Jane Recap: Snatching Wigs With Cardi B
Mary Jane is in a quandary. How much of that is her own doing or that of a very cunning Ronda Sales? There’s room for debate here. Mary Jane’s little brother, Paul Jr., appears in New York City as a real estate agent lounging in a $15 million apartment and suited like a dashing grown…
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Don’t Let Trump’s America Shame You From Ordering the Fried-Chicken Taco
My sister called me once from her car parked right outside a company picnic. “Stevie,” she said, exasperated. “I almost ate watermelon in front of my co-workers.” She need say no more. My sister is the one in the family who got in trouble for eating a white-bread sandwich on the front porch. My mother…
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My Black History: When Magic Johnson Announced That He Had HIV, It Was a Wake-Up Call
Editor’s note: During Black History Month, the focus is usually on historical figures who loomed larger than life, paving the way for the progress we experience today. But black history isn’t just about telling stories of our past. History is being made every day and has been made throughout our lives; it’s not just in…
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The Last Black History Month
After Donald Trump issued a statement that refused to acknowledge the 6 million Jews slaughtered by Nazi Germany during the 1940s on International Holocaust Remembrance Day Friday, black America should prepare ourselves for what may be the last Black History Month. I’m sure many of you doubt that the Cheddar Comb-Over could erase a tradition…
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Wesley Snipes Isn’t Here for Trolling Trump Supporters
First there was Kirk Franklin with his Holy Ghost finger on the trigger ready to fire shots in the name of Jesus. And now Wesley Snipes is here to school people on “what you’re not gonna do.” Snipes posted several anti-Muslim-ban tweets early Tuesday evening, and of course there were those people who wanted to…
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Why Is Tina Campbell Helping President Hog’s-Head-Cheese Hussein?
If I could charter our new President Hog’s-Head-Cheese Hussein a flight anywhere, the destination would be obvious: the Seventh Circle of Hell. If his long list of sins against humanity before he was elected (insert laugh track) president did not confirm what an arrogant, selfish, greedy, cruel waste of the gift of life he is,…
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No, You Can’t Just Wake Up and Decide to Be Black
Apparently people seem to have a hard time grasping the concept of race when it comes to being black. That was clearly seen in the comments section of my Paris Jackson post about how she had declared herself a black woman. I left the ending vague and with a question on purpose because I wanted…
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Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Mahershala Ali and Hidden Figures Win Big at SAG Awards
The 23rd Screen Actors Guild Awards took place Sunday night, and on the heels of President HWSRN’s immigration ban specifically targeting Muslims, some award winners used the opportunity to speak out against the atrocities that unfolded over the weekend. Mahershala Ali took home the SAG Award for best supporting actor for his performance in Moonlight,…