Very Smart Brothas
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The Story of Tuskegee University and the Normalcy of Black Black Blackity Black Sisterhood
I learned to trust black women at Tuskegee University, not to be confused with the Institute, as the old heads would point out upon hearing that. The paradigm shift that we now lovingly acknowledge as Black Girl Magic is nothing new to me because of the acts of support and sisterhood I experienced as a…
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30 Reasons Why Your Favorite Team Won’t Win the NBA Finals This Year
The NBA—the best professional sports league in the history of history—is back Tuesday night, with 30 teams all vying to be the one that wins the last game of the season. Here’s why none of them will. 30. Chicago Bulls Because I triple-dog dare you to name five people on their team without Googling the…
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There’s Nothing Like That Morris College Love
Once upon a time, on a network where a digital stereotype host named Miss Cita lived, there was also a show called Hits From the Streets. It was a silly sketch show on the BET network that sometimes visited popular colleges and coined phrases like “Moo Phi Moo.” The show was kind of dope for…
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The Sloping Hills and Verdant Greens of North Carolina Central University
Just the thought of “the sloping hills and verdant greens” of North Carolina Central University makes my soul smile. Even though walking those sloping hills was no joke. So many people talk about their college experience like the best and worst years of their lives. NCCU only holds good memories for me; even the bad…
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Black, Hamptonian and Ain’t With the Shits
When I was in high school, the laws in my small, white Virginian hometown were simple: Jesus is the reason for every season: Christmas, football, deer and killa. Platinum FUBU is the Gucci of country-Negro couture. Black politics are just like good white folks like ’em: respectable, self-deprecating and don’t hold white people accountable for…
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Candyman, the Scariest ‘Leave Them Damn White Girls Alone’ Movie Ever, Is 25 Years Old This Week
I can’t believe it’s been 25 years. Candyman was released on Oct. 16, 1992, but I remember it like it was yesterday because I couldn’t look in a reflective surface for a week after first seeing this film. To be honest, it took me over a year before I was able to enter the bathroom…
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Carrying On Mary’s Legacy at Bethune-Cookman University
I was lucky to find my Bethune-Cookman hoodie just before my Uber arrived to carry me to the airport. Well-worn and worn with pride, it always creates conversations on planes with folks who’ve never heard of it. “Bethune-Cookman College,” my row mate read slowly. “It’s University now,” I said, wishing I wasn’t desperately looking forward…
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The Mighty, Mighty Panthers of Clark Atlanta University
I was 8 years old when A Different World premiered, and after watching the first episode, I knew without a doubt that I would be attending an HBCU. I didn’t know much about life, or even where or what exactly an HBCU was, but I was absolutely certain that I was going to a school…
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When America Makes You Hate Your Skin So Much You Shoplift Bottles of Ambi Fade Cream to Get Lighter
I was 13 years old the first time I shoplifted. My sister, at 15, was my lookout. We were at the tiny pharmacy in tiny Newton Falls, Ohio, in the “ethnic” section. There was, as there is now, an array of products. Products for making your hair wet and curly—not so “coarse.” There were products…