culture
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Tracing Your Roots: How Did My Ancestors Come to Texas?
On the trail of a great-great-grandfather from Louisiana who farmed in Texas at the height of Jim Crow. Dear Professor Gates: I have been working on my family history for several years; now I have hit a brick wall with my great-great-grandfather John H. McCants. I have only been able to locate him in the…
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Watch: Taraji P. Henson Kills (People) in Her Latest Role in Proud Mary
Taraji P. Henson is a stellar actress, but sadly, most people recognize her from Empire. Maybe they were under rocks for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Hustle & Flow, Hidden Figures, Baby Boy or any of the other silver screen hits in which she’s appeared.. And while Henson has made her Empire character, Cookie,…
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The ‘Gay Agenda,’ Explained
No problem. I love our little talks. What would you like to know? Yes, I am. I have no idea. I know, I know. I have been accused so often of being a part of the mysterious gay agenda that I have accepted my role—even though I have yet to receive a copy of this…
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So You’re Afro-Latinx. Now What?
Congratulations, mi negra! It finally happened. Today you looked into the mirror and said, “I’m black. Soy negra. Vaya.” You embraced your black or brown skin, your curls and kink. No small feat for a Dominican. You’re ready to forgo the centuries of Dominican anti-Africanism and embrace your brothers, sisters and cousins of the African…
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How Do You Label Your Sexuality? How Do You Define It?
When it comes to sexuality or sexual orientation, “straight” and “gay” have become somewhat simplistic in a sea of new terms that provide complex definitions for the varying ways in which people describe themselves. You can be gay and monogamous or straight and polyamorous. The way we define our sexuality is as unique as the…
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Nipsey Hussle, Homophobia and Toxic Black Masculinity
What is the gay “agenda”? Can you point me to the document that explains and outlines it? What is the goal of the gay agenda? How is it that with everything else going on, people want to point to the gay agenda as the thing that is tearing the black community apart? Those questions are…
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How io9’s Evan Narcisse Went From Writing About Comics to Writing Rise of the Black Panther
Oprah’s Golden Globe speech. The 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. The Atlanta season 2 trailer. Marvel’s Black Panther dropping in a month. We’re only a week into 2018, and the official Conscious Negro Advent Calendar is already half full. However, Oprah, Atlanta and MLK are all known properties, but aside from a…
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The Opposite of ‘Monkey’ Isn’t ‘Royalty’; It’s ‘Human’
Fashion brand H&M raised the ire of many when it released a racist ad of a young black boy in a green hoodie with “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle” inscribed on the front. The ad sparked immediate backlash on social media and prompted boycotts of the Swedish retailer. Even one of its celebrity spokesmen, the…
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What’s Genius? The Making of Yeethoven II, the Kanye West, Beethoven Orchestral Mashup
“I personally don’t like that word and just avoid it in general,” says Johan, the co-creator and arranger of Yeethoven II, premiering at New York City’s Lincoln Center on Jan. 18. He’s talking about the word “genius” and whether it applies to Kanye West, a term the rapper-producer has bandied about—about himself—for years. “I think…
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What The Chi Gets Right (and Wrong) About Chicago
Chicagoans are protective of their city, and for good reason. Over the past few years, the City of the Big Shoulders has been the go-to dog whistle for Republicans and what-about-black-on-black-crime enthusiasts alike. The city’s spot on America’s Wheel of Sensationalism has dominated the larger national media gaze as the premier symbol of the black…