culture
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A Man’s Take on Being Mary Jane
I remember when Being Mary Jane first hit the BET lineup. I didn’t love the show, but I also didn’t dislike it. I largely watched the show because of black Twitter and the tremendous shade tossed the way of Pauletta Patterson, aka Mary Jane Paul. Mary Jane was one of those women who never saw a bad…
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Sister to Sister: When Breast Cancer Hits Close to Home
Breast cancer is a special and urgent concern for black women. We are 10 percent less likely to develop breast cancer than white women but 40 percent more likely to die from it, particularly when diagnosed in the earlier stages. We are also more likely to develop it earlier (before age 45) and more likely to…
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Meet Cornelius Smith Jr., Scandal’s Newest Gladiator
There’s a new gladiator in town, and his name is Marcus Walker. Well, Scandal fans know he is not completely new. When fans were first introduced to Marcus, he was an activist at the center of a Ferguson, Mo.-esque scenario in which a black male teenager was shot and killed by a white police officer.…
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7 Ways to Stay Fit Under All Those Layers This Winter
Fall is here, and winter will be upon us before we know it. Since the temperature has dropped, it’s also time to drop into those bulky sweaters, some comfort food and those television marathons. If, however, you want to finish these final months of 2015 with that “get fit” resolution you set last January, then…
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Black Lives Can’t Matter Some of the Time
The conversation about black lives “mattering” has once again entered the public discourse through the door of police brutality. Only this time, it was through the schoolhouse door. Earlier this week, Ben Fields, a sheriff’s deputy and school resource officer at Spring Valley High School in South Carolina, dragged an African-American teen from her desk…
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My Religious Parents Never Let Me Celebrate Halloween, but Things Are Different for My Kid
Never, not once, did I ever celebrate Halloween as a kid. I never dressed up in costume or went trick-or-treating. On Halloween, I stayed on the porch, handing out candy to my friends in the neighborhood as they went from door-to-door. My parents were in the Nation of Islam when I was born. And although…
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Instagram Celebrates Everyday Women With Its Amazing #MyStory Initiative
On Monday, over 250 people attended Instagram’s launch of #MyStory, a celebration of women on the social media platform. Every day, women use Instagram to share their visual stories. In the process, they are building audiences and leading communities all over the world. #MyStory seeks to draw attention to these women—artists and activists, scientists and…
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The 2nd-Dumbest Reason to Hate NBA Basketball Has Everything to Do With the NFL
At the moment, the New England Patriots, partially fueled by a gaggle of sociopathic self-righteousness after being “vindicated” in Deflategate, are undefeated and would seem to be the early favorites to win the Super Bowl. This information should come as no surprise to anyone who’s even a casual fan of the NFL. Because that exact-same thing…