culture
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The 6 Times This Year the US Gave African Americans Reasons Not to Celebrate Independence Day
The U.S. loves its holidays—from the patriotic red, white and blue Fourth to the fake ones (hint, hint: Columbus Day). Given this, it’s only fitting that black Americans acknowledge how “good ol’ America” has treated us so far this year. Let’s take a moment to commemorate and raise a glass to celebrate our status as…
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Burp on the 4th of July: Meet Gideon Oji, Champion of Competitive Hot Dog Eating
Fourth of July weekend is officially the end of the major-sports season and the high point of summer fun. LeBron already has his championship, Wimbledon is almost over, and everyone is barbecuing and taking road trips. That is, unless, your name is Gideon Oji. Oji’s biggest game of the season is on July 4 at…
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A Blow-by-Blow Account of the Harris Family’s 2016 4th of July Cookout
Every year we receive so many unbelievable stories, tall tales and arguments about one particular black family’s barbecue. In an effort to dismiss all of these fantastical claims, this year we sent our own reporter undercover to get to the bottom of the facts about the Harris family’s cookout. Although we still haven’t heard from…
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The 10 Greatest Cookout Songs of All Time
The Fourth of July is almost here, and hopefully you’re almost done preparing for your cookout. (Remember, it’s a cookout, not a barbecue. A cookout is an event. Barbecue is a sauce.) There are other people throwing lesser cookouts than yours; they’re online right now researching raisin-walnut chicken-salad recipes, but not you. You know what…
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Stacey Dash and the Psychology of Puppets
There is a little-known technique in some areas of psychology called “puppet therapy,” whereby patients use dolls or puppets to express emotions and points of view that they are uncomfortable saying themselves. The puppet becomes a de facto voice for people to vent their feelings freely and release their true thoughts because, after all ……
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Why ‘How to React When Being Called a N–ger’ Is So Complicated, Explained
Who is Emmy Victor? Emmy Victor is a morning reporter for KCCI-TV in Des Moines, Iowa. According to her Twitter bio, she’s also a New York City-Washington, D.C.-area native and a Howard University alum. And, according to the footage I saw of her, she might also be a Tibetan monk. A Tibetan monk? Why would…
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#OscarsNotSoWhite? Here’s a List of the Black Invitees to the Academy
Cheryl Boone Isaacs is one film industry leader who is taking the #OscarsSoWhite criticism to heart and instituting change. Back in January, Isaacs, president of the Oscar-granting Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, publicly announced the academy’s plan to double the number of women and members from diverse backgrounds by 2020. And on Wednesday, the…
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First Phife Dawg and Then Prince; It's Time to Have a Frank Talk About Black Men's Health
I’m done with 2016. We’ve lost Phife Dawg and Prince—just to name two this year. Many of my musical heroes, whose sounds were the ambient noise of my childhood, are gone. We now live in a world where Michael Jackson, Luther Vandross and Prince are dead. No matter how hard I try, I seem unable…