verysmartbrothas
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10 Quick Things About What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker, an Upcoming Memoir in Essays From Damon Young
Yes, I did. It’s right there in my bio, man. But just in case you didn’t read—and you very obviously didn’t—in the fall of 2016, I signed a two-book deal with Ecco Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. This is the first book. It’s a look at some of the absurdities, angsts and anxieties of existing…
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Black Bosses Making Moves with VSB and The Glow Up!
On Thursday evening, The Root, Very Smart Brothas and The Glow Up joined forces for a panel in Washington, D.C. The evening’s theme? Boss moves. After all, bossing ain’t easy. The Long View Gallery was standing room only—come through, D.C.! Imagine a sea of beautiful black people joined together to talk about how one can essentially…
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Why We Joined Gizmodo Media Group (GMG), Explained
WAIT WHAT!!!! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN??? The deal became official last Friday (June 30th), but it had been in the works for four months. I NEED A MINUTE OR TWO TO SIT DOWN. Sure. Take all of the time you need. I’ll be here. ***two minutes pass*** Ok, I’m back. Better now? Maybe? I think…
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21 Times in Get Out When Chris Should Have Gotten the Hell Out
Although Jordan Peele’s brilliant (and now record-breaking) Get Out inverts classic horror tropes and societal expectations by making the “well-meaning” white people the bogeymen and the black dude the damsel in distress, its dramatic tension still relies on one thing you’ll find in pretty much every other horror film: the protagonist ignoring his gut and…
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A Prayer, Because I’m Just [Censored] Tired
Dear 175-pound, carpenter god-God, Afro-pick-utilizing, banned-from-the-USA Jesus, I’m tired. My feet are weary even though you’ve allegedly been carrying me whenever I go to the beach. Though, I’m saying, they don’t look like Birkenstocks in the sand, is all I’m saying. Royal heathen Kevin Gates is not tired despite having six jobs, but I’ll bet…
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11 Questions You Probably Don't Have About VSB's Washington Post Profile But I'm Answering Anyway
Last week, The Washington Post ran an extensive profile of VSB. Below are answers to some questions you might have had about it. Wait, what? The Washington Post ran a feature on VSB? Yes. When did this happen??? Um, last week. Just like I said. How come you all didn’t say anything about this? I’m…
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Queen Sugar Hits This Dad Right in the Feels
I love Queen Sugar. Let’s start there. I’d take Queen Sugar on a $200 date, juju on the beat with it, and cook greens, beans, tomatoes and potatoes just so it would have something to take home in case it got hungry. For those who aren’t familiar, the Ava DuVernay-helmed show is the story of…
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The Half-Woke CliffsNotes to Homophobia and Misogyny
I never used CliffsNotes. Not because I believed in some uncompromising code of ethics that made me reject shortcuts in favor of hard work and discipline. My mother just wouldn’t let me use them. When I was a rising 10th-grader, I tried to get her to purchase a copy of the CliffsNotes for Albert Camus’…
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White Lives Matter and the Lost Art of Shutting the F Up
I consider myself a practitioner of a dying art form that is slowly disappearing from society. Long before it was an internet acronym or a text message abbreviation, this unique skill was passed down to me as a man who was raised by a single mother in a house with three other sisters. I honestly…
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A Dear John Letter to the Democratic Party
Dear Democratic Party, First, I want to tell you that I appreciate all you’ve done for me, but I have just begun to realize that our relationship is abusive. I know that most relationships are based on what we see our parents do, and I watched mine get stuck in this same kind of toxic…