culture
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8 Times the Black Characters of Orange Is the New Black Made Us ‘LOL’
Netflix released all 13 episodes of the third season of Orange Is the New Black last week, so you’re all caught up now, right? Season 3 played with our emotions. There was intense drama—including a suicide attempt, a hate crime and heartbreaking visits to the SHU—but OITNB also delivered inspired comedy. You can thank a…
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‘Things Fall Apart’: On Mother Emanuel and White Terrorism
Zion Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Natchez, Miss., the church of my youth, was established in 1866, approximately 50 years after Emanuel AME Church, referred to as “Mother Emanuel,” in Charleston, S.C. It is the intertwining legacies of these two institutions that came to mind when I first heard that Emanuel’s pastor, the Rev.…
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Moms vs. Dads: Is the Competition Real?
I tell all young, new fathers: “Be Dad. Never try to compete with who and what Mom does. Not your job.” I stand by that statement 100 percent. A month ago, restaurants, florists and third-grade school projects all spiked in anticipation of Mother’s Day. I am not hating “good job” Mom. However, I am an…
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Charleston Shooting Gets Strong Response From Congressional Members
Strong reactions came from the political world Thursday over the tragic massacre of nine people at a historic black church in Charleston, S.C. Wednesday night, alleged shooter Dylann Roof, 21, opened fire on a Bible-study group meeting at the “Mother” Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, killing six women and three men, including the church’s pastor,…
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Civil Rights Groups Speak Out on Charleston, SC, Church Shooting
Several civil rights organizations issued responses to the Wednesday shooting deaths of nine people at the hands of alleged gunman 21-year-old Dylann Roof. Roof allegedly opened fire on a Bible-study group at the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., killing six women and three men, including the church’s pastor, state Sen. Clementa C.…
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America Urgently Needs a History Lesson About the Confederate Flag
Editor’s note: This article was first published in April before the Supreme Court ruled June 18 that the state of Texas was within its rights when it denied the Sons of Confederate Veterans’ application for a proposed specialty license plate featuring the rebel flag. In light of June 17’s church shooting in South Carolina, allegedly by 21-year-old Dylann Roof,…
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Black Churches Have Always Been Targets of Domestic Terrorists
In the late 1790s, Richard Allen and former enslaved people in Philadelphia were tired of praying in the upper regions of St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church and came down to the altar. When they were summarily removed from their prayerful positions, they came together to birth the African Methodist Episcopal Church—the nation’s first of its…
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Slain SC Pastor Was ‘All-Around Good Guy’
He served the people, both in the church and as a state senator, and he was tragically killed in his own church during a shooting Wednesday that also took the lives of six women and two other men. He was South Carolina pastor and state Sen. Clementa C. Pinckney, one of the victims of a…
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This Season’s Top 5 Sweat-Approved Beauty Products
If you’re the type to skip makeup when you’re getting your heart rate up, then I want to tell you that you should consider wearing a little something-something next time you work out. Don’t worry—fitness-club and nightclub makeup aren’t the same. So why should you wear makeup while you sweat? Because fitness clubs are the…
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Movie Review: Dope Is Actually Pretty Dope
First, let’s get this out of the way. Dope is a good movie. It is enjoyable, watchable and sweet. But it is also so sweet that if it were a drink, it would be a hipster, artisan rum punch drowning in simple syrup. And it ties up so neatly—despite all of its early wit and…