race & politics
-
Bill Clinton Is Not An "Honorary Black Person." Bill Clinton Can Go Fuck Off Somewhere
My second favorite line in Anchorman comes when an inebriated Champ Kind admits to a romantic crush he’s had on Ron Burgundy (“I miss your musk… When this all gets sorted out, I think you and me should get an apartment together!”), and Brian Fantana replies “Take it easy, Champ. Why don’t you sit this next…
-
Bomani Jones's "Caucasians" Shirt Is The Blackest Thing That Ever Happened Today
Although calling Bomani Jones the Internet’s greatest troll — which is how EBONY’s Jamilah Lemieux introduced him to me through an email a couple years ago — might seem like an insult, it’s not. It’s actually a compliment. Because there are two types of trolling. The first kind is the most common and also happens to…
-
How "Braids," Lupita Nyong'o's Vogue Short, Captures Peak Black Woman Awesomeness
I’ve taken great pains to avoid spending extensive amounts of time on Facebook. There are not enough crispy-chicken wraps in the world to help me bounce back from the deluge of unintentionally inaccurate Black history facts, passively racist status updates from college acquaintances, and awkward selfies from my uncle’s second ex-wife. I can even feel…
-
White Privilege Seems Like An Abstract Concept, Until You Remember It Kills Black People
My mom was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in November of 2012. At that point, she was given four to six months to live. But she held on for an entire year, not succumbing to the disease until November of 2013. Her diagnosis, while devastating, was not a surprise. She was a smoker for…
-
The Most Entertaining Piece Of Hate Mail I've Ever Received, Deconstructed
It’s been a little over a week since I first wrote about Wendy Bell, the WTAE-TV news anchor whose racially insensitive Facebook post led to her losing her job. In the time since, I’ve received approximately 300 Bell-related emails. Most of which — I’d say 85 to 90 percent — have been very positive, appreciative, and…
-
Thoughts On WTAE-TV Anchor Wendy Bell (The "White Privilege Turducken") Getting Fired Today
When I wrote about WTAE-TV anchor Wendy Bell’s racially problematic Facebook post last week, I began by stating I did not intend for her to get fired. This was true then and is still true now. I wasn’t writing with that aim. And even now, after learning she was let go earlier today, I don’t feel particularly happy…
-
On Kehlani, Nick Young, And Gender-Based Double Standards For Cheaters
In recent days, artists and ball players have provided a gotdamn clinic on how NOT go about several facets of everyday living. They’ve also exposed one of the most significant double standards we have in the Venus vs Mars debate. For those not in the know, a singer you don’t know named Kehlani used to…
-
Did I Get White Saviored #OrNah?
On Tuesday evenings, my daughter has dance class. She takes a combination tap and jazz class and is a good dancer. She is now seven years old and her mother and I have had her in dance since she was nearly two. I’ve been a dance dad for a very long time. Even now, I’m getting…
-
Ways Slavery Wasn't Really All That Bad, At Least According To (Some) White People
There’s a bit in one of Patrice O’Neal’s stand-up specials where he talks about how arrogant Americans (generally) are, how proud we are of that arrogance, and that this arrogance about our arrogance is why people from other countries hate us. To make his point, he jokes that people in other countries know who the American…
-
My Facebook Is Really Black
Do you remember a few months ago when people were unfriending folks left and right because they found out their friends were Donald Trump supporters or über-conservative or even sometimes closet racists? Yeah, that never happened to me. In fact, I’ve only had to side-eye a few people because of their pseudo-support for Bill Cosby,…