respectability politics
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The Revolution Will Not Have a Dress Code
There’s an iconic scene in Spike Lee’s 1992 biopic Malcolm X, in which a real-life standoff with the NYPD that occurred on April 26, 1957, is reenacted for the screen. Following the police beating of both a young black man and Nation of Islam member Johnson X Hinton, who’d attempted to intervene, lines of men…
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Virgil Abloh's Comments About the #FedUprising Weren't Just 'Off-White,' They Were Way Off
When a moment as significant as the George Floyd protests evolve into what has been dubbed the “Fed-Up-rising,” people are bound to have an opinion about it. On the flip side, those very opinions are open to critique, especially in an era where frustration, desperation, anger and sadness has bubbled under the surface for years…
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Shameik Moore Dives Deep Into the Spider-Curse of Respectability Politics
When audiences finished the Oscar-winning film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, there was one particular scene that stuck in everyone’s minds: the moment Miles Morales officially became Spider-Man. After many minutes of self-doubt, Miles finally took a leap of faith and we all realized he wasn’t falling, but flying. This shot right here: That happened on…
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'Jog for Ahmaud' Ain't Activism, It's Respectability
Ahmaud Arbery was shot and killed after he was stalked and approached by two armed men suspicious of his presence in the neighborhood he happened to be in. That he was black, and that the men who killed him are white, matters because of the historical context of whites believing they possess a birthright to…
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I Wonder What Ja Rule Thinks About Popeyes Chicken Sandwiches, Said No One
Gather around citizens: Ja Rule has some thoughts on the cultural phenomenon known as the Popeyes Chicken sandwich—because we certainly wondered and asked! On Tuesday, the rapper and businessman decided to add his thoughts on the deliciously crispy piece of chicken having relations with a couple of pickles between a brioche bun, which made its…
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Respect or Respectability Politics? A Houston Principal Sparks Controversy With a Parental Dress Code [Updated]
Over the past year, The Root and The Glow Up have reported on any number of restrictive school dress codes. Recently in Houston, a local high school principal has sparked controversy with its new rules for parents. As the Houston Chronicle reported, in an April 9th letter to parents (pdf), Carlotta Outley Brown of James…
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To New Orleans with Love: Professional Black Girl Launches Season 2!
Who dat? Oh, she’s just a Professional Black Girl, back home in New Orleans for Season 2! Following a successful 2018 crowdfunding campaign that surpassed its $25,000 goal in two days, educator, activist, creator and curator of Professional Black Girl, Dr. Yaba Blay, returned to her hometown with her groundbreaking video series “created to celebrate…
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Mo'Nique to Steve Harvey: 'We've Lost the Integrity, Worrying About the Money'
Mo’Nique and Steve Harvey finally sat down to discuss their differences—on his daytime talk show. The 51-year-old actress-comedian appeared on Steve Wednesday to hash out a disagreement between the two regarding the way she handled her Netflix negotiations and claims that she’d been blackballed in the industry for years. Steve pointed out how Mo’Nique’s contention…
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It’s Complicated When It Comes To The Cancellation of Luke Cage
I’m always in two camps when TV cancellations happen. Either I’m extremely bitter about it and ask God for the eleventh time why Supernatural is still on TV yet my new shows can’t flourish or I’m like “well, it had it coming”…mostly because the show was never good, never bothered to hit its stride, or…