culture
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In the Rush to Aid Baltimore’s ‘Minority-Owned Businesses,’ Will Black Businesses Be Left Out?
Prominent black conservative political activist Ali Akbar couldn’t contain his right-side-of-things glee. Just moments after a random reporter’s tweet described Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s dismay at the loss of more than 200 “minority-owned” local businesses in the Baltimore unrest, Akbar grabbed the Twitter mic in a May 3 burst of awkward black outreach. “So…
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African Immigrants: Highly Educated and Underemployed in America
Back home in Guinea, West Africa, Nasser Diallo had a law degree and a good job working as a political journalist for a radio station. That all came to an end in 2009, he said, when the military abruptly opened fire at a protest he was covering, massacring dozens “until they ran out of bullets.”…
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Fall TV 2015: Networks Get a Clue About Diversity
The big four broadcast networks—ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox—made their “upfront” presentations last week to announce their fall prime-time lineups, as well as 2016 midseason replacements, which usually begin airing between January and March. Although Fox’s megahit Empire arrived a little late in the season to have a huge effect on the upcoming season’s new…
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Coming of Age in the Time of the Hoodie
Earlier this year I decided to read Joe Brainard’s cult classic, I Remember. The book had long intrigued me for I had heard that it was widely taught in creative writing courses and was a favorite of many authors, including several well-known authors whose work I admire. I was immediately drawn to Brainard’s style, each…
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For Black Scholars at PWIs, Speaking Truth to Power on Social Media Can Be ‘Professional Suicide’
African-American scholars at predominantly white institutions are faced with a challenge that resonates from the streets of Baltimore and Ferguson, Mo., all the way to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.: Tiptoe lightly around white supremacy or face consequences. Saida Grundy, an incoming associate professor of sociology and African-American studies at Boston University, faced swift condemnation this week…
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Tom Brady and the Privilege of Whiteness
Editor’s note: This piece was first published at New Black Man (in Exile). Tom Brady demonstrates the unflinching power of whiteness in contemporary America. Black people are punished and demonized for cheating. White men like Tom Brady get to do all sorts of s—t for a competitive edge, and they are gaming the system. This…
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Keeping Tubman Off the $20 Bill Would Be Crazy
I watched in horror yesterday as the Internet began to be peppered with pushback on the idea of putting Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, an idea very nobly put forth through the recent Women on 20s campaign. Although thousands voted in an online poll to petition the Treasury Department to replace President Andrew Jackson…
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There’s Something Mighty Fishy About This Drama Over Kenya Moore’s Married Boyfriend
Technically, I’m on vacation. I’ve rented a (cheap) car, and woe is me (insert sarcasm) that there’s no way to connect my iPhone to the stereo to listen to my playlists. I’m forced to listen to the radio, which I rarely do at home. The talk of Miami’s Hot 105 this week has been…
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Scandal Recap: Here Comes the Sun
The Scandal season 4 finale picks up with right where we left off—with Papa Pope masquerading as a big-money donor who wants to support Mellie’s campaign. Mellie should have known something was amiss when he introduced himself as “Demascus Bainbridge.” I guess when creating an alias to use right before ruining someone’s life, you should have some fun with it.…
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A Segregated Prom, a Racially Charged Murder and Questions About Racism
In this extended season of slayings of black males—never for a good-enough reason—discussions about race have become common again. From students in school hallways and random pedestrians on the street to protesters in Baltimore and Ferguson, Mo., and all over our country, the Black Lives Matter movement seems to be making a difference. When it…