celebs
Why Zendaya’s Refusal to Be Diminished is Important For Us Black Girls
In order to understand why Zendaya’s appearance at the Oscars is important we have to understand the daily slights Black women have to contend with about their hair. My best friend’s mother had a live-in boyfriend who would frequently refer to me as a “wild child” because of my hair. Boys would constantly make fun […]
A Letter to Marshawn Lynch
I get it. You just don’t want to fucking talk. Despite the media’s best efforts, I won’t sip their koolaid and attempt to demonize you because you don’t want to answer their inane questions. I’m not going to compare following rules at an anonymous 9 to 5 to caving to the demands of an […]
Alia Atkinson Becomes the First Black Woman to Win a World Swimming Title
Alia Atkinson became the first black woman to win a world swimming title when she triumphed in the 100m breaststroke at the world short-course championships in Doha on Saturday as more records tumbled. Jamaican Atkinson, 25, claimed the title and equalled Ruta Meilutyte’s world record of 1min 02.36sec in the process – although under […]
Hands down, Shut up: White America’s Message to the Rams
We’ve seemed to reach a familiar, awkward juncture in America: the intersection of race and sports. Several St. Louis Rams players decided to take a stand on Sunday by walking onto their home field in a “hands up, don’t shoot” gesture of solidarity with protesters of police brutality. On November 24th, a Ferguson, Missouri grand […]
Out of the Mouth of Babes – In Defense of Willow and Jaden Smith
You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist. -Nietzsche It is very disturbing that all of the people criticizing Jaden and Willow’s remarks are adults who have had their own growing up time and opportunity to question the meaning […]
Gabrielle Union’s response to Leaked Nude Photos
by Gabrielle Union as as told to Abigail Pesta for Cosmopolitan A day after I got married this past August, rumors spread on the Internet that my name was on a list of more than 100 women whose private photos had been stolen off Apple’s iCloud. I had been so happy that week, thinking about […]
(Video)A Dark-Skinned Girl’s Response to Lupita’s Oscar Win
Long after Lupita Nyong’o won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in 12 Years A Slave I lay in bed awake. Although she was most deserving, past experience has taught us not to anticipate the recognition of talent if possessed by a person of color. We’ve learned to expect very […]
The Heist: Macklemore’s Hold on Homosexuality in Hip-Hop
“If I was gay, I would think Hip Hop hates me.” Not quite, Macklemore. People still hate you. Sunday night’s Grammy Awards sparked an uproar as breakthrough rapper Macklemore and producer Ryan Lewis’s seven nominations landed them four wins. Taking over the music industry with their 2012 album The Heist, selling over 1.5 million records, […]
Chris Brown and Why Its Easy to Ignore Rape of Black Boys
The UK paper The Guardian recently published an interview with Chris Brown in which the superstar reveals his first sexual experienced occurred at the age of 8 with a 14 year old girl. While Brown labeled this sexual act as him “losing his virginity” the reality is less innocent. Brown is a victim of child […]