It all began so innocently—just like a child’s toy should. Just three Barbies (or two Barbies and their black friend?), preparing to watch a documentary about ... themselves.
Symone Sanders loves a good rant—which is great, because we love a good rant from Symone Sanders. The political strategist, former press secretary for Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and current CNN commentator has become well-known for her show-stealing, straight-shooting, mince-no-words…
Once upon a time (somewhat) long ago, I had a hankering for Popeyes Chicken during lunch hour at work. It was one of our extra-busy days, so I needed to do a grab-and-go.
I’m a black woman who is over 35, and for a little over a decade, I was a sex worker. It doesn’t matter what kind of sex work; what matters is that I have an adult lifetime of experience, not only in sex work, but also with the painful stigma attached to it.
Cardi B, we’re really happy for you and we’re gonna let you finish, but girls from the hood been at this for a minute ...
Blackness is not a monolith.
Tiffany Haddish has had quite a year. From her breakout role in the film Girls Trip to landing her own comedy special on Netflix, Haddish has become quite the household name. Recently she had the opportunity to be the first black comedienne to host Saturday Night Live in the show’s 42-year run. While much of the…
“That’s a nice dress,” the officer said as I stood frozen while she snapped my picture. I thanked her without smiling as she led me to the bright cell with cornflower-colored bars where I would stay until I was summoned once more to be fingerprinted. I wondered how the woman in the cell across from mine could sleep,…
Many moons ago, fresh off an unexpected achievement and gaining a toehold in both the music industry and the fun, freewheeling network that was once Twitter, I decided to celebrate my unlikely success with the social media tagline, “Just your average Grammy-nominated goddess next door ... may I borrow some sugar?”
Is there a causal connection between hairstyles worn by black boys and their future success, and should we strongly encourage these boys to avoid wearing dreadlocks and braids? That’s what Steve Perry, Steve Harvey and the U.S. Army seem to be arguing. Recently, they teamed up to disseminate pearls for success to an…
Recently, for The Guardian, Naomi Campbell shared an excerpt from a limited edition, two-volume book that chronicles her life as a groundbreaking and highly successful supermodel and all of the opportunities stemming from that. Yet for all that is shared in the excerpt—her as a supermodel, her speaking with world…
Being “twice as good” won’t save you from becoming a target.
In the wake of the Emanuel AME church in Charleston, South Carolina, this letter is equally outdated and timely.
At times like these, when the uncomfortable behavior of (mostly) Black people is broadcast to a (mostly) White audience and becomes a national discussion point, a particular type of Black person tends to emerge. Actually, "emerge" might not even be the best word, because it implies that this person rose from…
"while the word female is appropriate under certain contexts, beware of the cat who uses it as his universal descriptor of all women. honestly, although i have a few theories (my favorite one has something to do with sting and the police), i have absolutely no idea why this is such a strong indicator of aint sh*tness.…
I have a confession: Every time I hear someone say music “ain’t what it used to be,” my ass itches. I mean this figuratively but you get the picture: This is, IMHO, a top tier bullshit statement — one of many that have somehow become hallowed communal knowledge. We peddle in many generically “truthy” statements that…
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