new orleans
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Janet Hubert Spills the Tea About That Infamous Pink-Leotard Dance Episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Janet Hubert is known as the “blacktress” in these internet streets, but she’s more widely known and adored as Aunt Viv from the classic ’90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In fact, according to the unwritten and unofficial black culture handbook, Hubert is the only Aunt Viv we recognize. Imma let you finish, light-skin…
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A Case for Educational Reparations for Formerly Incarcerated People
We don’t like to think of social justice as a zero-sum game. But there are costs associated with bringing equity and fairness to victims of discrimination, especially for those incarcerated throughout this nation. Those restitutions won’t come out of thin air. Stanford University research shows that the black incarceration rate nationwide is five times the…
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New Orleans Police Kept a Secret, CIA-Backed Policing System for Years; Guess Who It Targets?
As if the police weren’t scary enough. A new investigative article recently published by the Verge offers comprehensive and detailed evidence that a Silicon Valley company, Palantir, has provided software to the New Orleans Police Department since 2012. The technology, implemented after New Orleans’ murder rate was the highest in the nation, traces so-called criminals’…
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Robert E. Lee Beads Bring Mardi Gras’ Historic Racism Full Circle
The ongoing national debate over race and Confederate monuments reared its ugly head during this year’s Mardi Gras. Some of the infamous beads thrown into the crowds reflected the image of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee to protest the removal of his statue from New Orleans’ most prominent traffic circle, which has been a symbolic…
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After Making History, New Orleans’ 1st Female Mayor, LaToya Cantrell, Is Ready to Shape the City’s Future
New Orleans Mayor-elect LaToya Cantrell didn’t set out to make history. But as the city celebrates its 300th anniversary this year, she, too, will become part of its story as its first female mayor. For nearly 30 years, the Xavier University grad has been making New Orleans her home and the people her community. It’s…
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Joe McKnight’s Killer Faces Up to 40 Years in Prison After Manslaughter Conviction
The answer to the question of whether or not a jury with only one black person on it would be able to mete out justice in the killing of former NFL running back Joe McKnight is “sorta.” After seven-and-a-half hours of deliberation Friday, a jury in Louisiana found Ronald Gasser, 56, guilty of manslaughter in…
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Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige Headlining 2018 Essence Festival
Secure your wigs and get your best shout-singing voice ready because the 2018 Essence Festival is coming with a star-riddled talent lineup. Queen Janet Jackson and double Oscar nominee Mary J. Blige will be bringing it to the crowd with their headline performances, but it doesn’t stop there. There will also be a headline set…
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Calling Professional Black Girls Everywhere! Ready for a Road Trip?
“Professional Black Girl is, like, my favorite thing that I didn’t plan to do.” Dr. Yaba Blay is talking about her self-produced sleeper-hit video series, Professional Black Girl, which quietly rocked our worlds when it debuted in fall 2016. The 14-episode first season was an exploration of what Blay calls “black-girl culture”—in all its regular,…
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New Orleans Icon Leah Chase Is 95—and Fabulous
It’s dinnertime in the dining hall of the famous New Orleans soul food haven Dooky Chase’s Restaurant. Executive chef Leah Chase goes table to table with her walker, greeting and taking pictures with patrons who have come to dine on her world-famous fried chicken and gumbo. The place is teeming with history; Dooky Chase’s sits…
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Anita Baker Announces ‘Farewell Tour’ for 2018
When R&B songstress Anita Baker hit the scene in the mid-’80s, it was as if we didn’t know what we’d been missing. Her cool, low register gifted us hits like “Angel,” “Sweet Love” and “Rapture,” and with all our hearts we loved it, baby. And then she disappeared. Baker, who hails from Detroit, said she…