culture
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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…
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The Rape of Recy Taylor Looks Back at a Horrific but Largely Forgotten Case From the Jim Crow South
Say her name: Recy Taylor. In 1944, 24-year-old Recy Taylor and two friends were walking back from a late-night church service in Abbeville, Ala., when seven young white men in a car stopped them and threatened them with a gun. Taylor was forced to enter the car, and the men drove off with her into…
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How to Protest Without Offending White People
Many people were surprised when President Donald Trump suggested that NFL team owners fire players who quietly choose to sit out the national anthem before games, but I was not one of them. Even though they thought they’d solved the anthem problem by blackballing protest starter Colin Kaepernick, the residual insolence displayed by the players…
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10 Things Less Disrespectful Than Kneeling During the Anthem (According to Donald Trump)
According to the twisted logic of Donald J. Trump (the “J” stands for “jerks off to pee porn”), anyone who chooses to kneel during a rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” is disrespecting the flag, hates soldiers, and was born to and raised by a bitch. While it is understandable that some are protective of the…
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Patriotism Is for White People
The American flag, drenched in the blood of American Indians and enslaved Africans, has been romanticized as a symbol of guardianship for all citizens of this nation. One of the main centerpieces of patriotism encapsulated in the flag’s meaning is military service. Be it the Revolutionary or Civil War, World War I or II, or…