culture
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Watching Lupita Braid Her Homegirls’ Hair Is Peak Black Woman Excellence
I am a woman whose spirit is less secure than Humpty Dumpty, and consequently, I’ve taken great pains to avoid spending extensive amounts of time on Facebook. There are not enough crispy-chicken wraps in the world to help me bounce back from the deluge of unintentionally inaccurate black history facts, passively racist status updates from…
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In a Kafkaesque Turn, a Black Man Wakes Up White, Except for His Blackass
In Franz Kafka’s classic novel The Metamorphosis, young Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find himself turned into a giant cockroach—and his entire life is upended. Gregor’s family shuns him, he cannot get work, his life is threatened at every moment; he retreats into isolation and depression, unable to understand the violence and anger…
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It’s Bent; Is It Broken?
Dear Drs. Lewis and Gail Wyatt: I am a 24-year-old woman dating a 31-year-old man. I like him, he likes me, and we have a chance for a long-term relationship because we get along and the sex is great! There is one strange thing about him, and it is his penis: It’s really crooked. I…
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Black Girls Rock! Because, Yeah, We’re Awesome
“The minute you learn to love yourself, you will not want to be anyone else,” said Rihanna at BET’s 2016 Black Girls Rock! awards show, which took place April 1 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. And the superstar was in good company. This year marks 10 years of the Black Girls…
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Here Are Some Petty Reasons Not to Vote for Donald Trump
I have a confession: I’m the voter from hell. Wait, maybe that sly bastard has a plan—he’ll put himself on all the small bills so other countries won’t want their change back and we can build our own reserves! All I know is, as a real estate developer, he should know when it’s time to…
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Tidal Is the Streaming-Service Equivalent of My Ex’s Mom’s Runny Eggs
In my early 20s, I dated a woman (“Kim”) for a little over a year. We met at the Gap—she was working there and I entered the store while she was working there to pretend like I was buying a “sweater for my sister” with the hope that she’d ask if I needed any help…
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Black Lives in Germany: A Multigenerational Struggle for Acceptance
Who am I? It seems like a simple enough question, but it is one that thousands of Germans of African descent have to ask themselves every day. In a country that defines identity with a great deal of precision, those who fall outside the norm find themselves trapped in a kind of limbo, neither here…
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Meet the Creator of the Women Over 40 Be Like Video Series
It took a two-minute video for stand-up comedian Tyree Elaine to capture the hearts of women everywhere. Her three-part video series, Women Over 40 Be Like, took off because of her spot-on impersonation of women in the I’m-doing-me stage of life. Within three days, Elaine’s videos had racked up over 2 million views and thousands…
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The Price on Our Heads: New GapKids Ad Sparks Racially Charged Controversy
Editor’s note: This article contains social media posts that some may find offensive. But it was the scene in its entirety that, perhaps, troubled me the most. The degrading pain being inflicted upon the young black woman while everyone looked on, unwilling to interfere, serves as a prescient illustration of how black women and girls…
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Born, Bred and Buttered in Harlem: Chef Melba Wilson Talks About New Cookbook and How Soul Food Is American Comfort Food
When she speaks, chef and entrepreneur Melba Wilson has the same warm vibe that is found in her Harlem restaurant, Melba’s. Wilson fell in love with cooking watching her grandmother, but she didn’t pursue a culinary career immediately. She initially started her own business providing chauffeurs, but when her aunt Sylvia Woods, of the legendary…