culture

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • The Military Isn’t a Monolith: An Open Letter From an Active Duty Officer to Colin Kaepernick

    Dear Colin, Your decision to stage a silent protest against racial injustice by remaining seated during the national anthem is one of great courage and intestinal fortitude. Your protest and follow-up comments have been met with excessively vitriolic reactions, including condemnation by members of the military on whose behalf detractors purport to castigate you. Members…

  • 'No, You’re a Racist Bigot!': Clinton and Trump's Insulting Race War Is Ridiculous 

    The 2016 election cycle always promised to have more questions than answers. Would expectations be higher or lower for the nation’s 44th white commander in chief than they were for President Barack Obama? What would black voters demand—or settle for—as revolutionary fire continued to burn through the streets? Would Ben Carson ever admit that he resides somewhere over…

  • 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…

  • Colin Kaepernick and America's Black Hype Men

    On Friday, Colin Kaepernick took a stand by taking a seat. He said enough with black death and quietly sat as “The Star-Spangled Banner” played. When asked after the game about his stance, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback eloquently explained: “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…