culture
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Blessed by the Blade
Editor’s note: The story was first published by Univision. Despite his rugged looks, this is the man to whom all players on the Miami Marlins baseball team entrust their necks. The former gang member says that “his art” saved his life. His childhood years in a modest barrio changed life for Hugo Tandrón, better known…
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Fighting Poverty, Plagued by Violence: Why 10,000 Black Women in Brazil Marched for Their Rights
They were lawyers, feminists, Christians, transgender women, domestic workers, militants, favela dwellers, politicians, students and many more. Despite their differences in beliefs, education and income, on Wednesday they came together behind the one thing they had in common: being a black woman in Brazil. On that day, more than 10,000 black women from all over…
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5 Wines That Will Make Thanksgiving Dinner Just Perfect
The first time sommelier DLynn Proctor fell head over heels for wine, it wasn’t when he was drinking it. Instead, it was while watching a somm, as they are typically called, in action, blind-tasting a deep, rich Italian red wine called Brunello. “I had never seen anything like it,” he said. “It was almost mystical…
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7 Things I Appreciate About America After 10 Days in Brazil
I’ve just returned home from a 10-day trip to Brazil. It is worth the mandatory (and exhaustive) visa process to go. Brazil was glorious. It’s everything it looks like in the best photos, but 10 times better in person. The folks who are headed there for the Olympics next year are in for a treat.…
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Scandal Recap: Is It Really Over?
This week’s episode of Scandal brought us the end of Olitz, the beginning of Mellie as a national hero and a fresh start for Papa Pope. Olitz-erated It’s Christmastime at the White House, and Olivia Pope is wearing holiday red (as opposed to her usual muted tones), hosting White House tours and encouraging America to eat healthily.…
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The 5 Most Shocking How to Get Away With Murder Midseason-Finale Revelations
The midseason finale of How to Get Away With Murder answered some burning questions, not least of which was “Who shot Annalise?” But in typical ShondaLand style, more questions resulted as the body count increased. Who will get away with murder this time? 5. Asher doesn’t deal with anger well: He seemed like one of…
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Babies Aren’t Birth Control; Finding Day Care Is Birth Control
There really is no way to prepare for a baby. Not necessarily the baby itself, but the impending change to your life once you become a parent. It’s one of the few instances in life when you may think you know, but you truly have no idea. See, even though they know, show and care…
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What Mizzou and the Cam Newton Letter Really Exposed About White America’s Relationship With the Black Athlete
It is apropos that the Charlotte Observer would publish Rosemary Plorin’s hysterical open letter to Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton a week after a threat of a boycott by the black football players at the University of Missouri led university President Tim Wolfe to step down. Because both instances—while separate in scale and seriousness—articulate how…
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Maybe You’re Single Because You’re Wack
Perhaps it’s not them and the dating pool isn’t filled with pee…it’s just you.
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When You’re Biracial, There’s No ‘Choice’ in the Matter of Your Blackness
It’s safe to wager that when well-meaning black actor Taye Diggs took a recent dip into controversy over his biracial son’s identity, there was no less than white former Mrs. Taye Diggs putting on the pressure in the background: “Hey, I’m here. White mom. Don’t forget about me.” And who knows? Taut playpen discussions might…