Very Smart Brothas
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Mo'Ne Davis Is Better At What She Does Than You Are At What You Do
Sunday afternoon, 13-year-old Mo’Ne Davis — a pitcher for the Taney (Pa.) Dragons — became the first girl to throw a complete game shoutout in a Little League World Series clinching contest, throwing pitches that reached 70 mph. I also had a busy Sunday afternoon. I went to brunch, ordered extra sausage, drank a kiwi Belini,…
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Seriously, If Shaneen Allen Goes To Prison, F*ck Everybody
I first read about Shaneen Allen, the Philadelphia mother who was arrested for driving through New Jersey with a handgun, a month or so ago. It was a ridiculous story then, but I assumed common sense would prevail and Allen — who had a permit to carry and didn’t realize it didn’t apply to New Jersey…
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How Safe Do You Feel In America?
America is not a safe place for the Black American. It’s an obvious but sad truth, one every Mike Brown (and every Eric Garner, and every John Crawford, and every Oscar Grant, and…), every news story about weekend violence in whichever city you’re from, and every memory of how your life is impacted by a…
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Trying And Failing To Make Sense Of The Murder Of Mike Brown
I was at dinner with friends the night the Zimmerman verdict was announced, making plans for the rest of the evening. It was between bites that Twitter informed me about the jury’s decision, and my appetite and resolve that justice would be served evaporated in the same breath. We didn’t go out that night. Mike…
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Waiting For 'Black Jesus' To Rise
(Aaron McGruder’s highly anticipated ‘Black Jesus’ debuted last night. Damon and Panama exchanged a few emails about it this morning.) So, let me tell you about my day yesterday. Between 8am and 11pm, I wrote an 800 word piece for EBONY, wrote a 400 word piece for Madame Noire, edited and formatted Alex’s piece yesterday,…
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The Gospel of P*ssy Prosperity, Explained
In last week’s piece about the Universal He Fine/He Ain’t Shit Matrix, I referenced The Gospel of Pussy Prosperity. I received a lot of follow up from folks curious about it. I sat down with my sister-friend Ashleigh J. (@filthycharm) to get answers. So Ash. The people want to know. What is the philosophy behind Pussy…
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On Returning To America After Life In Panama
I just moved back to the States after roughly two-and-a-half years in Panama City. I spent my time there teaching Business English, dance, and fitness classes, as well as becoming fluent in Spanish. I also consumed enough calories to put your most bisonly uncle to shame and learned about my family’s Panamanian/Jamaican roots. It was…
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Why Gospel Rap Struggles for Acceptance
“…people ask for God, ’til the day he comes/see God’s face, turn around and run/God sees the face, of the man/God shakes his head, says he’ll never understand…” ~ Dice Raw of The Roots, “Understand” …and then you shoot your cousin I’m not a fan of gospel rap. Well most of it anyway. I’ve listened to…
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Shit Bougie Black People Love: 18. Being Upset About Kanye West
No one was happier for Kanye West’s early career than Bougie Black People. While others merely enjoyed Kanye’s music, Bougie Black People were enchanted by him. “Finally” Bougie Black People exclaimed, between sips of green machine Naked Juice, “a rap artist who speaks to me.” To their credit, the parallels between Kanye West and the…