culture
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Sports Illustrated Whitesplains Why It Left Colin Kaepernick Off ‘Sports United’ Cover
Imagine being a major sports magazine doing a cover story on the players and team leaders who spoke up and spoke out on the issues of race and inequality, and the right to freedom of personal expression—just to leave out the player who is the reason these discussions are being had in the first place.…
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March for Black Women Organizers Want to Put Our Issues Front and Center During March for Racial Justice
There’s another social justice march this weekend, and black women are refusing to be left behind. The March for Black Women will take place Saturday in Washington, D.C.—smack in the middle of the March for Racial Justice. While the March for Racial Justice is billed as a “black and indigenous led multi-community movement” that 30,000…
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From Hallmark to the Royal Family: Why Made-for-TV Movies Are the Break From Reality We All Need
Terrible made-for-TV movies are my anti-drug and have been since I was a child. Back then they were often called “Movies of the Week” and were usually based on true stories. The “based on a true story” tag was used liberally because often that just meant, “Once there was a person who lived in a…
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Jemele Hill and the Social Burden of Being a Black Woman in Media
When the situation involving Jemele Hill, ESPN and Donald Trump first made headlines, I remember being grateful that I work for a black media outlet. Day after day, I write posts that include news about the Trump administration, and in each of those posts, I ridicule the president and his administration while simultaneously calling out…
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Colin Kaepernick, Sports Illustrated and How Media Complicity Is Erasing His Movement
Sports Illustrated’s latest cover, which debuted Monday, is a tribute to the athletes, coaches and leaders of the sports world who took a stand this weekend against Donald Trump, attacks on our constitutional and civil rights, and the injustices suffered by blacks and other people of color in this country. The cover title, “A Nation…
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An Apology to Ray Lewis, Who Says He Was Praying, Not Protesting
Dearest Ray, I hope this letter finds you well. I know that you are a busy man, so I pray that I haven’t interrupted you midshuck or disturbed your daily regimen of rigorous jiving with this letter. On Sunday, seconds after someone sent me a photo of you bent prostrate during the playing of the…
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Patriotism Is for Black People
We have all stood in the grocery store and watched a kid (usually white) scream at his or her mother in a volume and tone that defies our mama’s mantra of “When we go in this store, you bet’ not say nothing, touch nothing or want nothing.” Alternately, we’ve all heard a mother (usually black)…
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JusticeLA Coalition: Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Black Lives Matter Co-Founder, Partners With Organizations to Halt Los Angeles Jail Expansion [Retracted]
RETRACTED (6/12/18): This story has been removed because we have discovered it was in breach of our editorial standards. If you’d like to know more, you can read an editor’s note here. A cached version of the story is available here for transparency.
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Sponsors Are Dropping NFL Players for Protesting. This Is What We Mean When We Say ‘White Supremacy’
I want to show you something. It is the first message I received Monday morning after the NFL protests over the weekend. A Denver car dealership announced that it will “evaluate” Denver Broncos star Von Miller to decide whether it wants to continue its endorsement deal with the All-Pro linebacker. Last year, Broncos linebacker Brandon…