culture
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4 Reasons Why Greenleaf Is the Show the Black Church Needs
Editor’s note: The following article contains spoilers. Having worked in a black church for over 10 years, I think I can say without concern of successful contradiction that church folks can be petty. From disagreements over who will sing lead in the mass-choir musical to bickering about what color the toothpicks will be at the…
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On Reclaiming ‘Boy’ and Giving Young Black Men Something to Celebrate
A few days ago I was so inspired by Chance the Rapper’s unfiltered and unwavering joy during MTV’s Video Music Awards that I had to write about it. And after chatting, my co-workers and I came up with the idea to hashtag #BlackBoyJoy. This tag already existed on social media, often used at the ends…
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You Can Walk, Chew Gum, Be Pro-Black … and Stand Up for the National Anthem
Here’s a neat little trick: You can be unapologetically pro-black, disgusted with systematically oppressive institutions, outraged at bigoted cops killing black people, done with a government that does little about it other than useless after-the-fact probes and consent decrees, perpetually stumped by white people who vote against their own best interests just to maintain a…
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Why Black People Are Being Left Out of the Weed Boom
Editor’s note: This is part 2 in an ongoing series that looks at the growing legal marijuana industry and its effect on the black community. Zulu, a Maryland resident who calls himself the African Herbalist, sells marijuana on the black market. The 32-year-old is using a pseudonym to avoid being picked up for breaking the law…
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The Conveniently Missing Racial Politics of EpiPen Access
The availability of essential lifesaving tools like the EpiPen never rises to being a crisis until the price hits white people’s wallets. Foreclosures and the lack of affordable housing drew Big Short condemnation when idyllic Caucasian suburbs went into meltdown. Drug wars go into cease-fire and even Republican presidential candidates, of all people, view addiction…
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10 Tips for Postpartum Survival
It’s common knowledge that pregnancy is divided into three trimesters, but no one tells you about the fourth period: life with a newborn. Some people actually refer to the early postpartum period as the fourth trimester, and it’s rough, especially for first-time parents. I’m 17 days into parenthood at the time of writing this, and…
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The School for Magical Negroes
Hello, people of color! Are you tired of bearing the burden of walking around as the scary, dark-skinned demon who makes white women clutch their purses in Wal-Mart parking lots and clinch their anuses in elevators? Have you grown weary of candidates for president painting you as a Muslim bogeyman who needs to be expelled…

