Very Smart Brothas
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10 Black-Ass Things That Were Awesome About the 1st 2 Episodes of Grown-ish
Last night, the Yara Shahidi-led vehicle Grown-ish debuted. For those not in the know, it’s a spinoff from hit ABC show Black-ish that focuses on Shahidi’s character, Zoey, and her journey from super-sheltered private school student to college freshman in this millennial world. Comparisons to A Different World will undoubtedly exist, but fuck that shit.…
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Shit Bougie Black People Love: 34. Making and Sharing Their Plans for the Black Panther Premiere
Perhaps, while in Slack or while looking at your Google calendar today, you noticed that an unusual percentage of the bougie black people you happen to work with are taking vacation days on Feb. 16. (And by “an unusual percentage of the bougie black people you happen to work with are taking vacation days on…
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The Mayor of Pittsburgh Had Young Black Drummers Dressed as Civil War-Era Soldiers at His Inauguration and I Have Questions
Bill Peduto was inaugurated as mayor of Pittsburgh on Wednesday, officially beginning his second term in office. I don’t really have many thoughts about Peduto himself. He seems like he’s perpetually campaigning to be the mayor of a city that only exists in Nancy Meyers movies, but I guess that’s ambitious or something. I do,…
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10 Reasons I’m Most Likely Going to Watch Netflix’s Step Sisters
On Jan. 19, Netflix is going to set Twitter afire with the release of its original film Step Sisters. I remember when Drumline: A New Beat (effectively Drumline 2) came out on VH1 (and was terrible), black folks had a field day tearing it to shreds. But this shit right here? This shit right here,…
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Thoughts Can Do Harm: In Defense of ‘Policing’ Our Fantasies
I wanted to kill my boyfriend in ways that let me observe his suffering and return the power in our relationship to my hands. The thought crossed my mind in the heat of an argument. It is a dangerous, albeit relatable, thought for many people who have experienced romantic love. Although I will not commit…
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Taunting Kim Jong Un Into World War III Seems Like a ‘Violent Threat,’ so Why Won’t Twitter Suspend Donald Trump’s Account?
If, by chance, you happened to be invited to my house to play Mafia and eat some takeout from Nicky’s Thai Kitchen (I recommend the crab fried rice and the shrimp pad Thai) and you were greeted at my front door by my 2-year-old daughter, you’d probably think it was cute but mostly vaguely neglectful.…
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10 New Year’s Resolutions for Introverts
Hey, y’all. I just had a birthday last weekend. And since 39-year-old dads don’t really get gifts anymore other than alcohol and “Hey, I’ll take the kids this afternoon so you can stay home and watch the NBA League Pass in your drawls in peace,” I think of my birthdays now as opportunities to give…
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If You’re Reading This, Thank You for Everything (and Also for Reading This)
On a macro level and, I think, by most objective measures, 2017 was a fairly shitty year. I don’t have the time or disposition to run down everything that went wrong, but in a nutshell: Our president sucks, Congress sucks, our white electorate sucks, white people keep white-folkin’, we lost a bevy of great people…
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Thank You, Woke Baby Jesus, for Giving Us Ashymania ’17 Between Tariq Nasheed and Dr. Umar Johnson
It is the War to End All Lotions. The Thrilla in the Manila Folders. The Notep Telenovela Marathon. The Battle of Waterloo. And by “Waterloo” I mean “Did these niggas shower today?” On Friday evening, it was revealed that our good friends Dr. Umar Johnson and Tariq Nasheed—men who were assumed to go hand in…