culture
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#BlackGirlsSwimFast: On Simone Manuel and Swimming to Freedom
Following their 1-2-3 finish in the 2015 NCAA 100 swimming finals, Mark Anthony Neal tweeted #BlackGirlsSwimFast to celebrate the magnificence of Lia Neal, Simone Manuel and Natalie Hinds. On Thursday night at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, it took 52 seconds for Manuel to swim the fastest. And when she touched first in a…
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An Ode to Lisa Nicole Carson
This past Saturday, while I was out of town and couch-crashing, I managed to come across a very interesting show on Centric TV. It was called Being: Lisa Nicole Carson and it chronicled Carson’s rise in the acting game throughout the ’90s up until her sudden disappearance throughout the 2000s and, now, her return. I…
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5 Mysteries Surrounding the Life and Death of Dr. Sebi
What if I told you I had a cure for AIDS? Would you believe me? What about cancer? Or diabetes? There are those who believe that Dr. Sebi, born Alfredo Bowman—a world-renowned vegetarian herbalist, healer, pathologist and biochemist—had the cure for all of them, all the diseases that bring devastation and an altered existence before…
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Ray Rice Isn’t Being Blackballed by the NFL for Domestic Violence. He’s Just Not Good Anymore
Ray Rice, barring a dramatic set of miraculous circumstances, will never play for the NFL again. I know it. He knows it. Me, you, your mama and your cousin, too, know it. The homegirl from around the way knows it. Bonita Applebum may not know it yet, but she’s about to know it once I…
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The 7 Most Outrageous and Racist Acts Found in DOJ’s Report on Baltimore Police Department
The Department of Justice’s scathing report on the Baltimore Police Department spelled out in exacting detail how the BPD violated the constitutional rights of black residents through a series of brutal and abusive tactics that basically had a community under siege. Perusing the pages of the report is like reading some bizarro crime novel, where…
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How a Ga. Mom Is Promoting Social Awareness Through Black-Themed School Supplies
In a world where black people, especially black women, are underrepresented in many fields, one woman believed that this needed to change, and that it could start with something as simple as school supplies. And so Nneka, a young entrepreneur and military veteran who goes by one name, came up with the idea to start featuring black culture…
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Yes, We Innovate: These 8 Engineers and Scientists Are Creating the Future Today
Those of us working in down-to-earth jobs can only tip our caps to those working in more lofty professions like space travel, biotechnology and systems gaming. There is no doubt, in the age of autonomous vehicles and virtual reality gaming systems, that behind these innovations lies a talented group of engineers pushing the proverbial bar…
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Gabby Douglas Only Has 1 Job—and It Isn’t to Fix Her Hair to Please You
Let’s begin with what really matters: Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas, the first African American to win the individual all-around event at the Olympics in 2012, earned yet another gold medal last night as part of “the Final Five,” Team USA’s contingent of fierce, female gymnasts. This is Douglas’ third gold medal and her second…
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I Want to Travel Solo for My Birthday, but My Boyfriend Wants to Tag Along
I’m turning 30 this year and wanted to go away by myself. I told my boyfriend about it. He said, “OK,” then asked, “Where are we going?” Should I take it to mean he doesn’t want me to go solo? I made it pretty clear that I wanted to go by myself. I don’t want…