culture
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Korryn Gaines Doesn’t Need to Be Perfect for Black Men to #SayHerName
On Monday, Baltimore County police shot and killed 23-year-old mother Korryn Gaines while she was holding her 5-year-old son, making her the ninth black woman to be killed by police this year. I feared that two common trends would find their way to the forefront after hearing the Baltimore County Police Department’s version of events. I…
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Brutal Crackdowns, Hidden Poverty: How Preparations for the Rio Olympics Hurt Afro-Brazilians
In the next few weeks, Aug. 5-21, the city of Rio de Janeiro is going to host the 31st Olympic Games. Like a mother preparing her home for 500,000 tourists, Rio has swept the city’s poverty under the rug by increasing police and army presence in favelas. As a result, part of the local population…
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Cops Pulling Over People to Hand Out Ice Cream Is Dangerous, Not Funny
Have you ever been pulled over by a police officer? I have. With the increasing amounts of violence perpetrated by the state, did you feel that the interaction could have led to your untimely death? I have been there, too. It’s safe to say that police officers and black people don’t have the same goal…
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Jesse Owens Wasn’t Alone: New Film Explores Untold Story of the 17 Other Black Olympians of 1936
Raise your hand if you knew that Jesse Owens wasn’t the only black athlete at the 1936 Olympics. Deborah Riley Draper is not ashamed to admit that there was a time she didn’t know, either. It’s precisely why she made her stunning documentary Olympic Pride, American Prejudice. “My entire life I thought Jesse was there…
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Black on Broadway: Now Is the Time for People of Color to Star in Major Roles on Broadway
Broadway is affectionately known as “the Great White Way” for being one of the first streets in the United States to have electric lights. Given Broadway’s history, one could be forgiven for thinking the nickname referred to race. However, there’s an amazing color correction taking place, with a growing number of roles for people of color…
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What’s Really Going On With Chicago’s Gun Violence, From Someone Who Actually Lives There
I have a friend moving to Chicago this fall to start a master’s program at the University of Chicago. As she prepares to leave from her Washington, D.C.-area home, many people in her life have expressed some degree of fear for her safety following her move. As if the moment she steps out into clear…
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Insurrections: Rion Amilcar Scott’s Debut Short Story Collection Hits All the Right Notes
First-time writers are often pushed into writing novels, rather than short story collections, in the belief that novels sell better. But the craft of the short story is an art form unto itself: the ability to create a whole world, rich in plot, characters and a satisfying conclusion, in a confined space. It is not…
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Where Education Reform and Sexism Collide: Firing Female Teachers and Expelling Black Girls Props Up Patriarchy
Editor’s note: Once a month, this column will tackle broader questions about what the country should do about gaps in achievement and opportunity. Tucked away from the hoopla and ruckus of the Democratic National Convention at a quaint restaurant a few miles away, approximately 200 people gathered at a fundraiser for Rights4Girls to rally around…
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Is Hair-Texture Hierarchy the New Colorism?
If you aren’t up on your Twitter hashtags this week, Smoochr created quite the (I’m sure intended) buzz when #shutdownsmoochr began trending earlier this week. On Blavity, Tyler Young called the new dating app a “digital paper bag test.” Allowing users to filter their prospects based on skin tone, lip size and hair texture, it…