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  • #ReesesRoadtoRio: Brittney Reese Sets Record With US Olympic Trials Long Jump Win

    Not only did Brittney Reese secure her spot on Team USA during this weekend’s Olympic trials, but she also set an Olympic-trials long jump record. With a jump of 23 feet, 11 3/4 inches Saturday at the U.S. Olympic track-and-field trials, Reese won her seventh national outdoor title and third trip to the Olympics. And with that jump,…

    By

    Yesha Callahan

    Published

  • Chance the Rapper Is Making Avant-Garde Gospel Music Under the Guise of Rap, and It's Divine

    There is a Dorothy Norwood song I first heard in 1994 that deeply impacted me. The song, “Somebody Prayed for Me,” goes as follows: Somebody prayed for me, had me on their mind.Took the time to pray for me.  The song speaks to the selfless nature of communing with a divine being on behalf of another.…

    By

    Lawrence Ware

    Published

  • Beyond Carnival: This Caribbean Cruise Helps People of Color

    Lynda and Harry Taylor of Palmdale, Calif., stood under a thatched roof in El Cupey, surrounded by smiling Dominicans and their children. They’d just finished helping teach people in this mountain village in the Dominican Republic to speak English—a skill that’s vital to their chances of getting a job in a nation where 40 percent…

    By

    Allison Keyes

    Published

  • 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…

    By

    Chanté Griffin

    Published

  • 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…

    By

    Jason Johnson

    Published

  • 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…

    By

    Michael Harriot

    Published

  • 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…

    By

    Michael Harriot

    Published

  • 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 ……

    By

    Michael Harriot

    Published

  • Come on, Tyga, You Wanted to Keep Up With a Kardashian and Now You're Complaining?

    Unless you have been living under the largest rock in the world with no cable or internet access, when it comes to the Kardashians, you know what it is. If anyone asks you what they do for a living, they’re being insincere and smug. We know what they do: They tell us every tidbit of…

    By

    Michael Arceneaux

    Published

  • 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…

    By

    Damon Young

    Published