culture
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Choke Me, Spank Me, Pull My Hair: For the Women Who Like It Rough
First of all, let me give props to the rapper Xzibit, who gave us a hot-ass song that is both a mood and an anthem for the women like me who like it a little rough in the bedroom. Plain old missionary is not enough for us. We want to be spanked. We want to…
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It Took 20 Years to Share My Mental Health Struggles. My Silence Could Have Killed Me
This past weekend, there were reports that Lowell Hawthorne, founder of Golden Krust, committed suicide. Early reports indicate that his employees were shocked and had no clue that he might have been dealing with some issues. There were comments like “If only he had spoken up” on social media sites. So, what if he had…
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Is the South More Racist Than Other Parts of the US?
I was born and raised in South Carolina, attended college in Alabama and—except for a few stints in Washington, D.C. (which is technically below the Mason-Dixon Line, but not considered “Southern”), and periods living outside the U.S.—have always lived in the South. I often hear people who live in other states, especially in the Northeast,…
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#BlackGirlMagic: Meet the Creative Gunning to Bring Black Movie-Streaming to the Diaspora
DeShuna Spencer admits that the idea of an online library of black indie films started from ambitions she’d admit to being “a little self-serving.” “The idea literally came to me after scrolling through a bunch of cable channels and not seeing anything that I wanted to watch,” she says. “I was frustrated because there was…
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Rapsody on Her Grammy Nominations Being ‘Good for the Culture,’ Her Unconventional Journey and Thoughts on Cardi B
When Marlanna “Rapsody” Evans stepped onstage in Oakland, Calif., for her Wisdom Is Power Tour, the tiny emcee with the commanding voice behind her lyrical wizardry was met with an ovation unlike any other she had ever experienced. “I tried to address the crowd before I started, and I couldn’t even talk because they were…
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Someone Should Have Gotten Tyrese Off of Al Gore’s Internet Years Ago
Maybe you’ve noticed, but in recent weeks and months, Tyrese Gibson has been more annoying than usual on social media. From swinging back and forth from the Rock’s jock to sharing far too many details about his child-custody case, down to claiming that Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith slid him $5 million, the former…
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BBWs Are Popping, and We Have the Sauce
Recently, a big girl hopped up onto the checkout counter at Walmart to make an important announcement that everyone needed to hear: BBWs are popping. We have the sauce. When Senior Editor Stephen A. Crockett Jr. posted this video in our Slack chat early Friday afternoon, I felt it in my spirit. That big girl…
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‘It’s OK to Be White,’ Explained
Another controversial wypipo movement has reared its ugly head, so we thought we’d— I’m not making anything up. There is actually a movement dedicated to telling white people that it’s OK to be white. Well, what do you call it when a conservative is hired to give an “It’s OK to Be White” speech at…
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Tracing Your Roots: How Were My Ancestors’ Lives in 19th-Century Arkansas?
In a common scenario for African Americans, the paper trail disappears once a reader gets to the 19th century. Dear Professor Gates: I have been working on my family tree for years. I am having difficulties finding information on my paternal great-grandfather. His name was Leon Turner (born in 1901) and he married Birdie Todd…
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On This World AIDS Day, Where Do We Go From Here?
As we roll around to yet another World AIDS Day, it’s clear that the HIV epidemic, which is still very much an epidemic, has faded into the background in a lot of our activism. More than 35 years into the fight, the urgency of years past has faded—in large part because of the gains made…