Very Smart Brothas
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Mark Lilla's "The End Of Identity Liberalism" Is The Whitest Thing I've Ever Read
A predictable but still fascinating byproduct of the election is the emergence of a new sub-genre of discourse and literature solely comprised of White people attempting to explain Trump’s win without saying the words “race” or “racism.” Its almost as if they’re engaged in some sort of devolved, pre-racial game of Taboo. “Quick, explain what happened…
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Those "I'm Not My Grandparents; You Can Catch These Hands" Shirts Are Disrespectful As Fuck (And Wrong)
I was invited to New York City Friday evening for an advance screening of the screen adaptation of Fences — August Wilson’s iconic play. Afterwards, the cast — including Denzel Washington (who also produced and directed the film) and Viola Davis — took part in a panel discussion about the story the film told, August Wilson’s genius, Pittsburgh…
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Trump's Proving That Those Who Called Clinton "The Lesser Of Two Evils" Didn't Know What Evil Looked Like
So, I’ll be honest. After the shock of the election began to subside and the waves of the post-shock tsunami began to recede, there was a tiny, infinitesimal, Lilliputian part of me that began to look for silver linings. And, even, the subset of hope responsible for giving someone the benefit of the doubt. “Maybe Darth…
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As A Dad, Queen Sugar Hit Me 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 a Louisiana agricultural family—the Bordelons—dealing with…
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Nigga Neurosis, Explained
A month or so ago, the homie Rebecca Carroll reached out to me about contributing to a podcast essay series she created for WNYC. Titled Dear President: What You Need to Know About Race, the series also features Robert Jones (Son of Baldwin), Kirsten West Savali (TheRoot.com), Theo Shaw (Jena 6) and Samaria Rice (Mother of…
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Why 13% Of Black Men Voted For Donald Trump, Explained
According to exit poll numbers, 13% of the Black men who voted in the Presidential election voted for Donald Trump. Yeah, I know. This even surpasses the number of Black male voters who went for both McCain and Romney. I know that too. Can you explain how that happened? Why would 13% of Black men…
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Def Comedy Jam Returns With All Def Comedy
As a kid growing up in the 80s and 90s, my parents had a random but effective rubric for what I was and wasn’t allowed to watch with them. Ultra-violent and ultra-adult movies about the mafia and other crime sagas were cool. Movies with explicit sexual content or language that would frequently refer to explicit…