culture
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$17,500,000 Reasons The Birth of a Nation Is Coming to a Theater Near You, No Matter What Anyone Says
In less than two weeks, actor-turned-director Nate Parker has gone from being praised by many to being vilified by others over his reported past actions 17 years ago. As the producer, director, co-writer and lead actor of his directorial debut, The Birth of a Nation, he is the face of the film, while slave rebellion…
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No, Zendaya in Spider-Man: Homecoming Is Not the Progress We’re Looking For
Zendaya Coleman is everything that anybody black, brown or biracial could look for in an admirable tween pop star. She’s talented; her Disney Channel show, K.C. Undercover, is a campy mashup of The Proud Family and The Famous Jett Jackson; and most importantly, Zendaya is unmistakably, irrevocably and proudly black as hell—and don’t you dare…
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The Cast of OWN's Queen Sugar Explains Why Being a Part of This All-Black Production Is Important
It isn’t often that two mystical beings kick it in the same space. You never see a baby unicorn and Idris Elba on the same day. But it happened recently when the mystical black goddess that is Oprah Winfrey and God’s favorite film director, Ava DuVernay, combined their forces to make OWN’s Queen Sugar. Winfrey…
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American Lynching: 4,000 Unpunished Crimes
When I speak or teach, I love to tell my audiences that I know, deep in my heart, that they would turn down $1 million if it were offered to them. You would, too. I use a story that those who read about A. Philip Randolph, the leader of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters,…
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Say Goodbye to Rio, Where Black Women's Bodies Were Celebrated
Simone Biles is known for her body: its power, its capabilities and the heights to which it propels her. I am completely mesmerized by it. I’m not sure if it’s the beauty of her black body prancing; her short, muscular legs seemingly defying physics; or the ease with which she does it all—with a confident,…
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The Politics of Lying White People and the Black People Who Bear the Burden
The worst whipping I ever received was when I was 8 years old. Among the draconian rules that governed my mom’s house was an archaic list of words she outlawed in the home. Along with the customary cusswords, for some reason, she forbade us from calling any other human being a “liar” or a “dog.” One…
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What Would Nat Turner Do?
When I was 9 years old, my closest friend was a swaggering, wayward, foul-mouthed Puerto Rican who counterbalanced those attributes by also being smart, precocious and charming. He was the coolest kid in my building, and it flattered my fragile ego that he chose me, a sports-obsessed bookworm, to be his sidekick. For a few…
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Luvvie Ajayi Is Only Judging You Because She Wants You to Do Better
“Clearly, we need a playbook, a guide to help people get a bit of common sense and some behavior as they navigate today’s hyper-obsession with pop culture, social-media sharing and outright navel gazing,” writes Luvvie Ajayi in the introduction to her new book, a collection of essays titled I’m Judging You: The Do-Better Manual. Ajayi…
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Al Sharpton on Nate Parker: Hollywood Trying to ‘Smear the Messenger’
The Rev. Al Sharpton has pledged not to let Hollywood “discredit” and block actor Nate Parker’s plans to release his upcoming film The Birth of a Nation, which tells the story of an 1831 slave rebellion led by Nat Turner. The movie, which won national praise from critics after its debut at the Sundance Film…
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10 Things Afro-Brazilians Want You to Know
Back in 2002, according to the Estado do S. Paulo newspaper, former U.S. President George W. Bush reportedly asked Fernando Henrique Cardoso, then-president of Brazil, “Does Brazil have blacks, too?” For Brazilians, this statement showed a stunning ignorance of the country, which is the fifth largest in the world and is one of the seven-largest…