Black News and Black Views with a Whole Lotta Attitude

Very Smart Brothas

Very Smart Brothas

Shit Bougie Black People Love: 31. Unnecessary Hashtags

Bougie Black People are always doing things. In college, while the rest of their classmates were doing things like “listening to Sisqo” and “fucking on twin beds,” Bougie Black People spent the bulk of their time “writing spoken word poetry they’d never perform” and “vacillating between ‘hating White people’ and ‘dating White people.” As they transitioned…

By

Damon Young

Published

February 18, 2016
Very Smart Brothas

Lessons In Blackness From Yale University's Black Solidarity Conference

(This will be long and yes, that is what she said. There’s a lot to unpack in these words. Grab a seat and come along for the ride. Also, keep in mind, I’m an HBCU graduate so my perspective is rooted in that fact. Perspective is everything.) This past weekend, Damon and I had the…

By

Panama Jackson

Published

February 18, 2016
Very Smart Brothas

An Ode To SWV

I grew up in Frankfurt, Germany, as a military brat in the mid-’80s and early ’90s. Those of us who grew up overseas had one channel to watch on television: AFN, which stands for the Armed Forces Network. We all watched the same cartoons, the same soap operas (General Hospital was followed by Guiding Light), and the…

By

Panama Jackson

Published

February 17, 2016
Very Smart Brothas

Ask Agatha: The Debt-Related Danger Of Accepting Drinks From Men

Kali from Durham, NC asks: If a guy buys me a drink, do I owe him something? I feel like they think I owe them something and I hate having them trail after me all night because of a cocktail. Well debt collectors are nothing if not persistent. And that’s what these men are, debt…

By

Agatha Guilluame

Published

February 17, 2016
Very Smart Brothas

Things As "African" As Meryl Streep And Bill Clinton Are All Of A Sudden Claiming To Be

Sometime during an international film festival, in response to an inquiry about a quite caucasian jury being able to evaluate and understand North African films, Meryl Streep decided to go full hotep and inform us that “we’re all Africans really.” That clink you hear is the sound of Lady Meryl officially falling off the list of…

By

Shamira Ibrahim

Published

February 16, 2016
Very Smart Brothas

Kendrick Confirms It: February 2016 Is The Blackest Black History Month Ever

February is the month designated to be Black History Month. It is also the shortest month of the calendar year. This happens to be a coincidence — today’s Black History Month is the evolution of Carter G. Woodson’s “Negro History Week,” created in 1926 and intended to be recognized the second week of February — but I…

By

Damon Young

Published

February 16, 2016
Very Smart Brothas

The Worst People To Walk In On You Having Sex, Ranked

Last week, I had a conversation with someone about whether it would be worse for your parents or your children to catch you having sex. She thought the answer (parents) was obvious. I agreed, but thought it depended largely on age-related variables. Your parents walking in on you when you’re grown is not the same…

By

Damon Young

Published

February 15, 2016
Very Smart Brothas

"The Life Of Pablo," Reviewed, By Someone Who Cannot Be Objective About Kanye West

So, let’s get three things out of the way first: 1. The Life of Pablo was made available to stream on Tidal early Sunday morning. It, apparently, will not officially be for sale for another week. By the time you read this, it will be (at the earliest) Monday afternoon. Between then and now, I’ve listened…

By

Damon Young

Published

February 15, 2016
Very Smart Brothas

Movies That Make My Eyes Sweat Even Though I'm Super Hardbody Real and Stuff.

I’m pretty much the hardest, realest dude I know. I don’t always make my bed in the morning. I almost never pay my mortgage on the first of the month; sure, I pay it before its late but never when they ask me. I’m that real. Sometimes I even get three donuts at a time…

By

Panama Jackson

Published

February 12, 2016
Very Smart Brothas

Underrated Moment in Black History: When Bobby & Whitney Set The Bar for Black Love

After “who made the potato salad” and “what had happened was”, Black love is one of the most ubiquitous topics of discussion within 21st century Negronia. Over the years, there have been many couples that come to mind that have embodied the concept – Cliff and Claire Huxtable, Denzel and Pauletta, Cam and Juju, Oscar…

By

Shamira Ibrahim

Published

February 11, 2016