washington, d.c.
-
DC Police Now Have to Learn Black History. Will It Curb Brutality?
On Friday morning, on the steps of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel E. Bowser announced that D.C. police officers will be required to take a critical-race-theory program. “We are committed to accountability,” Bowser told reporters, “to strengthen the bonds of trust between MPD and our residents.” As…
-
Washington, DC, May Give 16-Year-Olds Right to Vote for President
In the three years that I taught Intro to Journalism at the City College of New York, we’d have the most fun during our “Op-Ed” lesson, where students would have an in-class debate. Whenever we argued the question, “Should the drinking age be lowered to 18?” the pro side would inevitably argue that if kids…
-
Why Do Some of You Suck So Much at Parking?
Every day I get reminders about the inadequacies of public driving instruction in this country. It never fails. I’ll come home, preparing to park my behemoth Suburban along my street—I have on-street parking—and some individual for whom parking in a neighborly way is more inconvenient than economical will put a tiny-ass car smack in the…
-
The 1st Museum Dedicated to America’s Historically Black Colleges Is Open in Washington, DC
A 638-square-foot storefront on Georgia Avenue in Washington, D.C., now houses the first museum in the world dedicated to HBCUs. Inside it, visitors will find historic photos and memorabilia from different HBCUs and prominent grads, as well as important artifacts from black American culture, like early issues of Ebony and Jet. The museum, which opened…
-
How in the Hell Are People Paying for Weddings?
Since I became engaged at the end of 2017, my household has been in constant wedding-planning mode. From creating guest lists—we possibly know way too many people—to seeking out and touring venues to general discussions about budgets, one thing has constantly kept coming up in our talks: Just how in the hell do people afford…
-
The Top Cities People Move to Differ Drastically When You Look at Race
A series of new charts compiled by the Washington Post looks at where Americans moved to between 2012 and 2016. At first blush, the numbers, which were pulled from the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent statistics, look fairly predictable—New York City, the largest metropolitan area in the United States, drew in the most newcomers, while…
-
I’m Pretty Sure a White Woman Who Almost Killed Me Thinks She Saved My Life, and I Hope Sandra Bullock Plays Her in My Life Story
I believe I have my own white-savior story that might actually be a Magical Negro story at the same damn time. I think the proper term for this story that I’m about to tell is an allegory. What’s the deeper, potentially political, meaning behind it? I don’t know. It sure as shit means something, though.…
-
Washington, DC, Teen Killed Over $200 Pair of Jordans, Mom Says
A Washington, D.C., teen was killed this week all because of his brand-new, bright-red Nike Air Jordans, his mom believes. According to the Washington Post, James Anthony Smith had desperately wanted the shoes for Christmas, and so his mother paid $220 for the coveted shoes and gave the 17-year-old his Christmas gift early. James, a…
-
I Paid Attention to the Cotton Fields of Alabama for the 1st Time
I’m a Southerner. Like most of my fellow military brats, I spent a considerable amount of my youth growing up in Europe (in my case, Frankfurt, Germany), but I was raised by two black Southerners—my father and stepmother—and during the summers, I split time between Michigan (where my birth mother lives; I hate making these…