culture
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How to Get Away With Murder Recap: A Calm Before the Storm
Annalise Keating has come to the rescue of her law students and her clients. She handles what comes her way without disturbing an eyelash. Whether it’s a murdered husband, a lying defendant or a tenacious district attorney, she doesn’t lose her head. She knows how to assess a situation and minimize the damage, leaving as…
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Scandal Recap: Olivia Comes Clean
This week’s episode of Scandal set us up for next week’s big winter finale. At the beginning of the episode, Olivia Pope has yet to tell her boyfriend, President Fitz Grant, that she worked with his ex-wife, Mellie, to have her father, Rowan, released from prison in exchange for Rowan stopping the Senate’s impeachment investigation of Fitz’s…
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3 Reasons Why It’s Dumb to Say That Black Mizzou Students Should Have Gone to HBCUs
In the wake of recent events at the University of Missouri, a troubling trend has emerged on social media. A number of black folks have decided that now is an appropriate time to openly question the college choices of the black students who enrolled at Mizzou, as well as other blacks who attend predominantly white…
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Empire Recap: Mama’s Gun
We get a lot of history about Lucious’ childhood trauma in this episode. Lucious has taken on such a villainous role that the show may be trying to redeem him by explaining what made him this way. Lucious is so unlikable that he’s past the point of no return in my eyes, but his tale…
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My 8-Year-Old Decides What She Will Eat—and I Think That’s the Best Way to Go
One evening, when I was 7 years old, my mother served peas for dinner. I hated peas with a passion. I ate everything else on my plate and then stared at the peas for a good 20 minutes. My mom made it clear that eating the peas was nonnegotiable. I slipped a few onto my…
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My New Husband Constantly Invites Family to Stay Overnight Without Asking Me and I Hate It
I’m a newlywed. I hate having family stay over at our house. I love entertaining, but I want folks to leave at the end of the night. My husband likes overnight company and will often invite his family to stay a week at a time and won’t tell me until they are already en route.…
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Jennifer Holliday Unsung: A Once-in-a-Generation Voice
Google the soulful ballad “And I Am Telling You (I’m Not Going)” and Jennifer Hudson’s name pops up first. Not Tony Award winner Jennifer Holliday, who originated the role of Effie and sang the legendary showstopper in the original 1981 Broadway smash Dreamgirls—which is why this Unsung has been a long time coming. As powerful…
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Being Mary Jane Recap: Who Gon’ Stop Me?
M.J. has decided that she’s been patient long enough. When she wants something, God bless anyone who gets in her way. Cece was sorely missed, but I’m digging the less loathsome, happier M.J. whose resilience is pure badassery. Greg wants to continue with Marisol in M.J.’s coveted spot. Since M.J.’s meeting with Greg didn’t go…
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That Time We First Discovered Ladies Love Cool James
Along with rappers-turned-actors like Will “Formerly Known as the Fresh Prince” Smith, LL Cool J helped lay the blueprint for how to transition from hip-hop to film and television. Thirty years before he was solving crimes on NCIS: Los Angeles and hosting award shows like the Grammys, LL Cool J was a 17-year-old with a gold-certified album.…
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Buying a Home, Having a Baby: Are You Ready for Your Financial Future?
Harriette Cole is the author of the book of meditations 108 Stitches: Words We Live By and a contributing editor at The Root. Follow her on Twitter.