social media
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VMI Cadets, Roiled by Accusations of Racism on Campus, Respond by….Being Racist on Social Media
Allegations about a racist, sexist culture at the Virginia Military Institute, the oldest state-funded military academy in the country, are certainly not new—particularly for a school that has such unapologetically close ties to the Confederacy. But a series of reports about racism at the school, followed by a call for an independent investigation into VMI…
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Rapper Chika Does Us All a Favor, Explains Why People Should Stop Questioning Fat Women About Their ‘Confidence’
For many men and women, loving your body is no small challenge. But if you’re fat and have the audacity to love and be confident in your body, even the compliments are barbed. Rapper Chika highlighted this dynamic on Tuesday night, responding to a well-intentioned Instagram commenter who asked her how she “[stays] positive about…
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Yo, It's 8 'Nicks' Before Nickelodeon. Cut the 7 Shit Out. That Don't Math
If you spend some time on social media, you may have scrolled right past one of the most important discussions happening in the 21st century: How many “Nicks” are there before “Nickelodeon” in the old Nickelodeon theme song? There is a school of thought—let’s call it the School of Hard Knocks—that thinks it’s 7. Hard…
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Advertisers and Social Media Companies Agree On Steps to Curb Hate Speech
Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have come to an agreement with a collective of advertisers on steps to curb hate speech and other harmful content on their platforms. They’re baby steps but steps nonetheless, I suppose. According to Reuters, the move comes three months after the George Floyd protests spurred advertisers to boycott Facebook over its…
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Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert Welcome Second Daughter—Again, in the Bathroom of Their Home
Congrats are in order for entertainer Teyana Taylor and her NBA star husband Iman Shumpert, who celebrated the birth of their second daughter, Rue Rose, on September 6. The infant made her debut on Instagram in posts sent out by her parents on their respective pages on September 8. “At 3:28 am on Sept 6th…
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Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Announces He and His Family Contracted COVID-19: 'It's a Gut Punch'
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been hit with chairs in the wrestling ring and verbally taken to task by Kevin Hart multiple times in film. However, on Wednesday, he said his most current challenge is “one of the most difficult” he’s had to face, especially as it involves his wife and two youngest daughters. In…
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Twitter Sets Former NFL Star Brian Urlacher Straight After He Comes for Jacob Blake
Social media is a graveyard for common sense. It’s also a cesspool of bigotry, fallacies and white supremacist rhetoric that endangers the lives of those we hold dear. In a past life, NFL Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher—which is Wakandan for “this man is about to get dragged”—was a force of nature; a six-foot, six-inch…
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'Our Activism Has to Have Legs': Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Monique Judge and Chloë Cheyenne Say That Movement Building Must Go Beyond Social Media
The 2020 uprisings have proven that “the revolution” has gone far beyond being televised. This moment of racial reckoning has taken the world by storm—the “revolution” is broadcasted on television, in the streets, on our phones and online. No doubt social media has impacted movement work. Activist Brittany Packnett Cunningham reminds us that while the…
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Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Monique Judge and Chloë Cheyenne Unpack Movement Work in Social Media at The Root Institute
Where, exactly, does social media and movement building intersect? As ‘me too.’ movement founder, Tarana Burke, reminded us in an earlier Root Institute panel, movements are strategic and require long-term planning. Make no mistake: Movements don’t happen by osmosis. But, with the advent of social media, there is an ease with which communities are able…
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LeBron James, Cardi B, Michael B. Jordan and Others Express Outrage Over Shooting of Jacob Blake
The shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake at the hands of police in Kenosha, Wis., on Sunday has sparked national outrage. In a video of the incident that has been widely circulated, the unarmed Black man—who reportedly was there to break up a fight—was walking back to his vehicle while being followed by police. While he…
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