When your newsroom is owned by a corporation—or worse yet, a private equity firm—you find that …
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Tag: writing
When will the truth about Uvalde come out?
This is the problem when outlets simply report what the police are saying and use that as the narrative. The police don’t always get it right, and as stated earlier, sometimes they flat out lie. The narrative from law enforcement in Texas has shifted so many times, it’s almost as if they are making it up as they go along.
What Really Happened in Uvalde?
This summer’s anthem is…
Listen. If Kandi doesn’t do anything else, she is going to give you a catchy bop to sing along to. After all, this is the woman who penned “No Scrubs,” “Bills, Bills, Bills,” “Tardy for the Party,” “The Ring Didn’t Mean a Thing,” and who has writing credits on “Bug a Boo,” “There You Go,” and “U and Dat.” She knows her way around a hit.
‘Legs and hips and bawdeeeeee’: Kandi Burruss has given us our summer earworm
These corporations don’t care about Black people
So please explain to me why Walmart had the unmitigated gall to put out a “Juneteenth” flavor of ice cream under its Great Value label? And why was there a trademark symbol next to the flavor’s name?
Walmart was wrong AF for that Juneteenth ice cream
When I tell you O-T Fagbenle is a delight, please believe me
“I’m a man whose greatest wealth and honor is my family. That’s number one. I’m a person who cares a lot about young people,” he says. “…I guess I’m an artist. I’m a person who is driven to contribute stories to people, and I think in some ways the job of the artist is to reflect the most intimate parts of themselves to others.”
O-T FAGBENLE IS SHOWING US A DIFFERENT SIDE OF BARACK OBAMA ON THE FIRST LADY
I have a new weekly column at DAME
I’m not saying that journalism as a whole is completely fucked up, but it is trending in that direction. And this is scary because journalists are supposed to be the watchdogs of society. We have an obligation to be truthful and tell the people what is happening. That doesn’t always happen these days.
U.S. Journalism is a Hellscape Right Now
America doesn’t care about Black women
“About a third of our population is African American; African Americans have a higher incidence of maternal mortality. So, if you correct our population for race, we’re not as much of an outlier as it’d otherwise appear. Now, I say that not to minimize the issue but to focus the issue as to where it would be. For whatever reason, people of color have a higher incidence of maternal mortality.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy proves America doesn’t care about Black women
Let’s talk about the concept of ‘professionalism’
Not only is professionalism a double standard in how it’s applied, but the actual standard itself is grounded in a set of beliefs that are meant to control and subjugate people of color, including Black people.
Professionalism Is a Racist Construct
Why are Black women always expected to be the bigger person?
Black women are always expected to turn the other cheek when it comes to the people who mistreat them. We are always expected to be the bigger person, to rise above it all and act like we are indifferent to the hateful speech, abusive behavior and gaslighting that goes on in situations like this.
Black women don’t owe Kevin Samuels anything
For theGrio, I wrote about how Black women are being asked to show grace to Kevin Samuels in light of his death, despite the fact that he had none for Black women when he was living.
30 years later, policing in Los Angeles is still a problem
“Both the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department have horrible reputations and track records when it comes to their interactions with the residents of the city. The sheriff’s department, in particular, is known to be filled with internal gangs that target the city’s residents of color. The county sheriff himself is currently embroiled in a scandal in which it is alleged he attempted to cover up a video of a deputy kneeling on a handcuffed inmate’s neck—a case reminiscent of the murder of George Floyd.”
30 years after the 1992 Los Angeles Rebellion, policing in the city hasn’t changed much
Today is the 30th anniversary of the Los Angeles Uprising
“In April 29, 1992, the city of Los Angeles erupted into a state of civil unrest following the not guilty verdict in the trial of the Los Angeles police officers charged with the brutal beating of Rodney King. For six days, people angry about the trial’s outcome took to the streets, businesses were looted and the city burned. While the verdict was the final straw for many, the fuse for their anger was lit years before.”
30 years after the 1992 Los Angeles uprising, not enough has changed
Sometimes, being Black in AmeriKKKa can make you want to scream
I don’t want to have to worry about white people policing me, trying to “put me in my place,” being suspicious of me simply because I am Black and taking every opportunity to foist their opinions or their “advice” on me.
It Is Absolutely Exhausting Being Black in America
Let’s celebrate 4/20 while remembering those held hostage by antiquated ‘drug’ laws
So I’m going to leave you with this: As you spark up today, put one in the air for brothers and sisters still locked down because they sold a dime bag. Blow one for the ones who just had a joint on them and got the most extreme forms of “justice” just because some judge could. Light one for all the soldiers in the struggle who are still serving time for the same thing a lot of white people are making millions off of now and getting away with it because they have a storefront.
As we celebrate 4/20, let’s remember that the ‘weed man’ has been gentrified by white people
Y’all can’t drive
Continue reading “Y’all can’t drive”“I have had plenty of accidents where someone has hit me, including one horrible hit-and-run accident 12 years ago, and all of these accidents have shown me that people really don’t obey the rules of the road or know how to drive.”
5 reasons why y’all need to take driver’s education again
It’s all about the way we see ourselves
Continue reading “It’s all about the way we see ourselves”“First of all, I realize that my body is mine and mine alone. This means that no amount of outside messaging should be able to impact how I feel about myself. Coming to that realization was a process, and we all come to it at different times, but once you get there, it is the most liberating feeling in the world.”
I no longer wish to be ‘at war’ with my body
Have you ever heard of the Orangeburg Massacre?
While Jim Crow legally ended in the 1960s, its legacy and the legacy of the white vigilantism and terror that preceded it still lives on in both our criminal justice system and our everyday society.
White Vigilantism Is American History
White people lose their shit every Black History Month. Why?
The problem is that whiteness is centered so much in our world, people like this don’t know how to respond when it isn’t. White people don’t have to worry about their “culture” being left out of anything, because it’s always present, but they still complain when they can’t see themselves in something. They will even go so far as to insert themselves where they don’t belong.
Why Can’t We Just Enjoy Black History Month?
Kanye West and his abusive behavior
Continue reading “Kanye West and his abusive behavior”“Kanye apologists and even Kanye himself will say this is about her keeping his children away from him and things of that nature, but if this were really about his children, he wouldn’t be going to such great lengths to humiliate their mother.”
What Kanye is doing is not OK, and he needs to be held accountable
Harlem Nights is one of the greatest Black comedies of all time
Continue reading “Harlem Nights is one of the greatest Black comedies of all time”“I remember the anticipation when Harlem Nights was coming out. We knew Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor were putting together a movie for us by us. We knew it was going to be exceptionally funny. We had no idea what we were in store for.”
28 Days of Black Movies: ‘Harlem Nights’ is an all-star Black comedy classic
Waiting to Exhale is still a good watch all these years later
Continue reading “Waiting to Exhale is still a good watch all these years later”By the end of the film, these women are tired of the same old same old and ready to open themselves up to the possibilities, even if that means being single for a time until they find the right one.
28 Days of Black Movies: ‘Waiting to Exhale’ is the romantic drama in which sisters choose themselves
I’d be willing to bet everyone loves Set It Off
Continue reading “I’d be willing to bet everyone loves Set It Off”“Cleo leads the police on a high-speed chase that ends with her being cornered by them. She lights a cigarette, takes a few pulls, and then gets out of her car and starts shooting at them. This is where my favorite phrase “Going out like Cleo” comes from because the police light her up, but she went out like a GANGSTER, OK?!”
28 Days of Black Movies: ‘Set It Off’ depicts a perfect example of what we mean by ‘ride or die’ friendships
If you have never watched Sprung, it’s time you did
Continue reading “If you have never watched Sprung, it’s time you did”“Before we go any further, can we please talk about how underused Paula Jai Parker has been in the film industry? She is hilarious and generally eats up every scene she is in. She has a way of emoting and expressing things with her voice that makes her hysterical to watch. Her attitude, the way she rolls her eyes, rolls her neck and generally gives you that good hood sister attitude is something we got a peek of when she played Joi in Friday. In Sprung, she steals the show in my opinion.”
28 Days of Black Movies: ‘Sprung’ is a hidden gem among ’90s Black rom-coms
We still miss Whitney, 10 years later
Continue reading “We still miss Whitney, 10 years later”“Her death impacted us just as deeply as that of Michael Jackson before her. It sent a shockwave through our entire community. And when the details finally surfaced about what may have happened, we were saddened and mourned even more for a life lost too soon.”
Ten years later, losing Whitney still hurts
Friday is definitely a hood classic
Continue reading “Friday is definitely a hood classic”“For instance, I can’t tell you how many times I had already watched the movie before it was pointed out to me that when Joi calls Craig to confront him about his alleged trip to the movies, there is a dude in blue khakis lying in bed beside her.”
28 Days of Black Movies: 5 reasons why ‘Friday’ is an iconic Black film
When is the last time you watched The Wash?
Continue reading “When is the last time you watched The Wash?”“Dre and Snoop play Sean and Dee-Loc respectively, two friends and roommates who have just been served a three-day notice for eviction by their landlord. As if that isn’t stressful enough, Sean has also been laid off from his job at Foot Locker, and even if he wanted to go out and get a new job, how could he when there is a boot on his car? My man Sean was down bad, yo.”
28 Days of Black Movies: ‘The Wash’ is hoodtastic entertainment at its finest
I think Tariq may be a better Ghost than his daddy
Continue reading “I think Tariq may be a better Ghost than his daddy”“Ghost benefits from everything Kemp, the showrunner for both shows, learned from making its predecessor. She has the benefit of the experience of a highly successful six-season show, and with that knowledge comes vast improvements in the storytelling and the action. Couple that with the feedback the show regularly receives on social media, and the powers that be have given us fans exactly what we want on a weekly basis—an even better show.”
‘Power Book II: Ghost’ may be a better show than the original, and Tariq is a better Ghost
My first column for Dame Magazine implores America to wake up
People are hungry, poor, and tired. Classism, racism, and capitalism have joined forces to become a Voltron of oppression, and those elected to serve our interests will not fix it because they are too busy serving their own personal agendas.
It’s Time to Wake Up, America!
What did you think of the new Sex and the City?
“Listen. We want to see ourselves reflected in the art we consume. I love Sex and the City, but there was a part of me that always knew the experiences reflected on the show were those of white women in their 30s and 40s, living a New York City life that made it possible for them to be completely oblivious that there were equally successful Black women walking around that city having similar experiences and conversations. I could never fully see myself in the show because we weren’t there.”
Representation Matters, But Not Like This
Ageism in any direction is wrong
Ageism is an ugly practice that needs to end
“As I have matured and become more aware of the way ageism works, my thinking and behaviors toward age have changed. I realize how damaging it can be, especially to us as Black women, and I have vowed not to participate in it in any fashion.”
What are your plans for the new year?
If I am honest, I had a lot of plans for 2020 that fell by the wayside when the coronavirus took over. The initial shock of the moment turned into months of playing the lottery each time I went to the store, hoping to find things like disinfectant, toilet paper, and soap. Even when that part of the nightmare was over, we were still stuck inside and finding things to do that didn’t include eating my way through the refrigerator or giving my credit cards a workout became harder and harder.
2020 II? 2020, Too? If 2022 is a do-over, I’m taking advantage