The hip-hop thing.

Saw this article by Juan Williams awhile back, referring to an interesting Pew Research Center poll of the African-American community on AA issues. What caught my attention in this piece was what Williams chose to focus on — most notably, his comments on hip hop culture.
Williams is no fan of this culture, as he’s [...]

Dear Black People: Stop Embarassing Me Pt. 2 — Damn, Jim.

So, one of the icons of the Blaxploitation era is looking to carry on in modern times:

Brown insists that his OG Nation is all about creating a climate of inclusion and diversity. Some of the ad copy found at the company’s site makes for entertaining reading. “”Lagers have been around for over 2,000 years, dating [...]

No, we’re not gonna take it

In the October 15th issue of Newsweek I read a little sidebar piece on Race & Gender titled “We’re Not Gonna Take It”.
At no small personal cost, Anucha Browne-Sanders stood up and demanded an end to the kind of abuse African-American women regularly tolerate from some black men. We are not “bitches” or “ho’s” [...]

Dear Religious Black People

Speaking as a black woman who was raised in the church (AME Zion, to be precise, but I have strong Baptist ancestry, too), speaking as a woman who is still deeply spiritual though no longer Christian, speaking as a woman who is queer, I have something to say: Knock it the fuck off.
I understand the [...]

Dear Black People: Stop Embarrassing Me

Though this website is mostly a people of color positive zone, every now and then I feel the need to vent a bit about my own people. It generally happens when I want black people to stop freaking embarrassing me!
First up, hip hop artist Plies. Yes, his name is Plies. It’s embarrassing [...]

Criticizing the Critical

On the Kids Hair post, La - msviswan made this comment:
…it also seems black women with natural hair are putting emphasis on black women who prefer their hair straight as having some kind of self-hate. This insinuation (not saying by you) usually offends me.
Which dovetails nicely into a conversation started by Ren over at Feministe [...]

Mamas, Don’t Let Your Daughters Grow Up to Hate Kinky

Oddly enough, the most consistently visited posts on this blog are the ones relating to hair. They no longer come out top everyday as they did last year, but they get at least 20-30 hits daily. Moreso lately because one was linked by Feministe (hi there!). Since I’ve been given this soapbox [...]

John McWhorter, What is Wrong With You?

Hey kids, remember John McWhorter, the shufflingest shuffler that ever shuffled? He’s still shuffling.
blac(k)ademic caught him on CNN last month and… it wasn’t pretty:
i turned on my television yesterday and came across your two hour talk on cnn, where you were promoting your new book, “winning the race.” i never watch cnn, but i [...]

In response to: Juvenile Politics Under a Cute Afro

Dear Mr. McWhorter,
Regarding your piece: Juvenile Politics Under a Cute Afro in the New York Sun
You couldn’t be more wrong about Aaron McGruder, The Boondocks, and race relations in America. In light of your body of work, this doesn’t surprise me. But then, there are lots of little Thomases like you running around, [...]