voting

  • Everything We Need to Know About the 53 Percent, We Can Learn From Watching The Handmaid’s Tale

    Why would they vote against their own self-interests? This was the question many of us asked—in anger, horror and complete confusion—after the election of the least competent president in recorded history (thus far). How could they do it? The Rust Belt, “alt-right” and Republican die-hards were expected, but masses of college-educated, presumably politically aware women?…

  • Supreme Court Rules That Disenfranchising Voters Is OK … as Long as It Isn’t Racist

    The U.S. Supreme Court issued a devastating blow to race-based gerrymandering Monday when it ruled that North Carolina’s Legislature used racial considerations in redrawing two of the state’s voting districts. That’s the lead you’re likely to read as news outlets everywhere report on the high court’s 5-3 decision declaring that North Carolina’s Republican-controlled Legislature relied…

  • Stop Portraying White Millennials as Less Racist Than Their Votes and Poll Responses Suggest

    Whether it’s a Bantu knot, a cornrow or some Paula Deen recipe that was likely “inspired” by her former black chef, white people are always being assigned credit for the work done by darker people. This is not a new phenomenon by any stretch of the imagination, but it is perpetually annoying. And when it’s…

  • Donald Trump’s Baseless Claim That Illegal Votes Cost Him Popular Vote Is Classic Trump

    President-elect Donald Trump is continuing the same ridiculous stunts that got him elected. On Sunday, after learning that Hillary Clinton had joined Jill Stein’s movement to challenge voter results in three states, Trump tweeted that millions of votes were cast illegally for Clinton. “In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won…

  • We Are the Future Our Ancestors Fought For

    Since Tuesday, I have read countless posts from Facebook friends sharing some of the racist experiences they have endured since Donald Trump was elected president. Many of them express hurt and pure shock at being called the n-word, being told to go back to Africa or Mexico, or being taunted and targeted for how they…

  • For Black People Who Have to Work With White People in the Age of Trump

    Listen, I know this has been a tough few days. The morning after election night, you probably went to work shocked, stunned and disappointed in America, like when George Zimmerman was acquitted for killing Trayvon Martin, or the first time you heard of the Luther Burger. Such is life for black people in America. It’s…

  • The Unfiltered, No-Holds-Barred Election Live Blog and Prayer Circle

    We’ve finally made it: Election Day 2016 is here. Unlike the previous two national elections, when we anxiously awaited the sure election of the black president, today feels different. It feels like the bus ride home after your teacher called your parents when you acted up in school, or the good night kiss after a first…

  • It’s Election Day; You Know What to Do

    Today is the election, and like millions of other African Americans, I’m headed to the polls to cast my vote. I can’t really say who I’m voting for, but let’s just say that I’m voting for a woman, and her party symbol is a jackass donkey. But wait; you say you’re not gonna vote? Why?…

  • 7 Ways to Stay Safe and Sane This Election Day

    This Election Day kind of feels like the day you’re scheduled to get your wisdom teeth pulled: You’ve gotta do it, and it’s gonna hurt, but you’re not sure how much it will hurt. For better or worse, we’re gonna have a new commander-in-chief-elect by the end of the day. Here are seven ways to…

  • An Open Letter to Woke Young Brothers

    Shout out to all the woke young brothers who’ve stood up in response to the injustices we’ve seen too frequently these past years, like when the lives of Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Dontre Hamilton and Sandra Bland and too many tragic others were lost needlessly with callous impunity. I hear from many of you from time…