culture

So, I’m kinda new to all of this new age social-justice stuff. Of course, I’ve always been aware of what racism and sexism and bias meant, but some of the terminology used to describe specific examples of it—i.e., microaggressions, white privilege, street harassment, etc.—were also new to me and it took a while to understand…

You know Tarzan was a bunch of garbage, right? The idea that some white guy got left in the middle of the jungle, was raised by apes, and somehow became the biggest, baddest, smartest guy in all of Africa is equal parts ridiculous and racist. But “white man who masters the culture, skills and talents…

This week’s episode of Scandal was one of those episodes during which the majority of time was simply spent positioning characters for what’s to come in future episodes. Here’s a quick recap of where everyone landed. Olivia is on to Jake. While Olivia Pope has dessert at her father’s house with Jake Ballard and his new fiancee, Vanessa,…

Last week, in response to the lynching photo found at a Joe’s Crab Shack in Minnesota, I wrote a piece explaining “post-racial racism” (which has also been referred to as “Chad Crow”—Jim Crow’s laid-back cousin): In post-racial 21st-century America, no one actually wants to admit to being racist. They’ll do racist things, say racist words,…

What do Prince, fine food and Soul Train have in common? All three are major obsessions of the Roots’ Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. The Philadelphia-born drummer wrote about one of his passions in 2013’s Soul Train: The Music, Dance, and Style of a Generation. Now he’s dishing on his love of eating well with his new…

HBCUs have come under fire in recent years as questions abound as to whether these academic institutions are doing enough to equip black students for careers in high-growth industries and fields related to science, technology, engineering and math. Despite research showing that HBCUs produce the majority of black science and engineering graduates who pursue advanced…