culture
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Living With Sickle Cell: ‘I Don’t Know What It Means to Be Without Pain’
Nikki Peterson, like approximately 100,000 other Americans, was born with sickle cell anemia. The 43-year-old lives in Upper Marlboro, Md., and ends up in the hospital about four times during what she calls a good year. Once a month, she undergoes a grueling process called hemapheresis. All of the blood is removed from her body,…
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What My Father and Juneteenth Taught Me About Having ‘Expectations’
I wouldn’t know Juneteenth without my father. He’s the Texan. He grew up celebrating the holiday that started on June 19, 1865, when slaves on Galveston Island, Texas, finally learned they’d been freed under the Emancipation Proclamation two years prior. Even though he now lived in St. Louis, he’d always make the same jokey reference…
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Imma Let You Finish, Hamilton, but Donald Trump Is the Best Politician-Rapper of All Time
The musical Hamilton goes hard. But the Donald Trump Mixtape goes harder. My review: 1. He spits bars. Trump doesn’t give speeches; he freestyles. The Washington Post wrote, “Donald Trump says a lot of things twice.” But he’s not repeating himself. That’s just the hook. He invents whole new parts of speech: the past-tense clueless (“When…
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4 Columbused Hairstyles That Have Made Headlines
In these very uncertain times, there are few things of which we can be absolutely sure. At the top of this short list are taxes, birth, death and cultural appropriation. As long as there are people walking this earth, dominant groups will find a way to “borrow” (read: steal) stuff from minority cultures and Columbus…
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Watch: Estelle Tells Her Truth and Serves Food for Thought
Grammy Award-winning artist Estelle is a truth-speaking force. The British singer-songwriter first came on the scene in the early 2000s, and with her charming accent and vivacious spirit, she has made her mark on the music industry—stateside and abroad. Estelle has made herself vulnerable through her willingness to sing about life’s complications. Expect for the enchantress’s music…
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What Would It Take to Scare America Into Passing Stricter Gun Control?
It’s been exactly one year since Dylann Roof decided to make himself infamous by walking into Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church—less than five minutes from where I’m sitting now—to, according to prosecutors, commit murder, get his racist merit badge and join the ranks of the worst people from South Carolina ever. He accepted the kindness…
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What Sugar Babies Can Teach Women About the Value of the Emotional Work They Put Into a Relationship
Earlier this week, the New York Post ran one of those “news” stories that come either on slow-news days or shortly after big-news tragedies that have left folks emotionally spent. Sometimes you need some “fluff” as a distraction. Enter the story of Nina Peterson, a 37-year-old, self-described “sugar baby”— i.e., a woman who dates wealthy…
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Racism in Asian Countries and Fear of the Black Male
“Now the Chinese are talking s—t about us, too?” My friend Keba semiwhispered, wide-eyed, leaning into her MacBook Pro. We were sitting side by side in the café, and she had just complained about how much time Facebook was sucking. “What happened?” I asked without turning away from my screen, brow wrinkled, frustrated from my…
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Apollo Spring Gala Honors Prince With Star on Walk of Fame
The legendary Apollo Theater recently celebrated its rich legacy of showcasing the best in black music. Now in its 11th year, the Apollo Spring Gala is an unforgettable night that celebrates the theater with a spectacular one-night-only concert followed by a star-studded party with dinner, music and dancing. Proceeds from the event support the theater’s…