by Damon Young on Very Smart Brothas, shared by Damon on (#5CHD4)
Even as the pandemic has handcuffed so much of our activity, think for a moment of all the shit you still have planned for the next several days. A virtual yoga class you wish to take. A book you need to finish. A show you want to binge. A recipe you’re anxious to try. A bedroom you need to reconfigure. A car that…Read more...
For the past two weeks, I’ve been dealing with some heavy personal stuff that’s taken an immense toll on both my mental and emotional state. Coupled with the growing restlessness of the seemingly never-ending pandemic and the lack of social experiences to counteract said restlessness, by the time the New Year’s…Read more...
I think it’s safe to say that anybody who openly rails against the Black Lives Matter movement, insists that politics and sports shouldn’t intertwine, or sponsors a bill that targets transgender athletes is a less than ideal fit for owning a WNBA franchise.Read more...
The president of people who raided Congress like Walmart was having a sale on those singing fish plaques, has been banned from Facebook until he is out of office, which is the equivalent of Sonic fast food establishment banning me from eating there when I’ve never seen a goddamn Sonic in my life.
On the same day that “John Lewis Democrats” Ralphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff emerged victorious in Georgia’s runoffs, which has finally provided Democrats with control of the Senate, something unprecedented—and painfully alabaster—occurred.Read more...
A state advisory board in California has recommended that police agencies routinely review the cell phones, computers and social media pages of police officers for racist and otherwise offensive content in an effort to weed out officers who are prone to racial profiling.Read more...
I must say that when I heard that terrorists were coming to town to march for their leader I was excited. Not because I wanted these clowns in the city that raised me, but I thought a front-row seat to some good ol fashioned white-on-white violence would be entertaining. I know. Call me what you want. But the idea of…Read more...
Merrick Garland wasn’t supposed to be eligible to become attorney general because he was supposed to be a Supreme Court Justice. But then Mitch McConnell stepped up and never gave Garland a chance to have a confirmation hearing and thus Trump stacked the court.
After a whirlwind day that saw a mob of Trump supporters storming the U.S. Capitol, which prompted the evacuation of lawmakers and a delay in the Electoral College vote count, Congress finally certified Biden’s victory as the next president of the United States.
by Shanelle Genai on The Grapevine, shared by Shanell on (#5CG9J)
It seems like just yesterday I was riding around and gettin’ it to Grammy-nominated artist SZA’S album CTRL, singing (albeit loudly and offkey) to “Love Galore.” To say that that particular single was one of my favorites off the album would be an understatement. To say that I, along with countless other SZA fans have…Read more...
A former San Diego County police officer is finding out the hard way that—especially considering the national spotlight on systemic racism in policing in America—he can’t just go around handling Black people any kind of way and then lie about what went down in his report. Not only was the officer fired for manhandling…Read more...
Describing the ongoing chaos being wrought by Trump supporters in Washington, D.C. as a “dark moment” in American history, President-elect Biden issued a direct statement to President Trump on Wednesday afternoon calling him to “step up” and tell his supporters to end their siege on the U.S. Capitol.Read more...
For years, Jemele Hill has thrived at the intersection of sports, entertainment, politics, and pop culture. And prior to Tuesday’s Georgia Senate runoffs, she sat down with Latosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter, to discuss how Brown’s organization reached out to thousands of Black voters throughout the…Read more...
by Panama Jackson on Very Smart Brothas, shared by Pa on (#5CG40)
Once upon a time not long ago, when people didn’t wear masks and hit outdoor shows, I wrote an article about the fact that I wasn’t a big fan of Nike’s Air Jordan 3. I questioned if, as a sneakerhead, this was some sort of sacrilege, especially because when it comes to ranking Jordans, many people—sneakerhead or…Read more...
Instead of just filing a two-week notice and coasting until Inauguration Day, the Justice Department has opted to drastically shift civil rights protections for underrepresented groups.Read more...
As Congress convened to certify the election of President-elect Joe Biden, a mob of angry Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, placing both the Senate and House chambers on lockdown and pausing the certification.
There’s a thin line between celebration and the kind of deification that can veer into a sort of dehumanization, and too many people seem to cross it when it comes to Black women.Read more...
Time and time again, we’ve seen police officers go unpunished for unruly behavior that targets the Black community, so while Tuesday’s announcement that the officers involved in the shooting of Jacob Blake will not be facing any charges wasn’t exactly surprising, that doesn’t mean it wasn’t any less infuriating.
by Damon Young on Very Smart Brothas, shared by Damon on (#5CFW1)
Meghan McCain’s face, captured here in a thousand-yard death stare while Brady-Brunched with her castmates on The View and Raphael Warnock, is not a bottle of Mylanta Maximum Strength Liquid Antacid/Anti-Gas Classic. Nor is it a pancake, a Cadillac Seville, a tent, a three-on-three basketball tournament trophy from…Read more...
On Wednesday, when it appeared that Mitch “Turtleneck” McConnell was on the verge of no longer being the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer reportedly grabbed the Kentucky senator by his flabby neck skin and told him, “Look at me! I’m the captain now.”
The Chicago Police Department is notorious for its use of force–especially against Black residents of the city–as well as its frequent habit of trying to keep the public from seeing video footage that proves this practice of brutality.
On Tuesday, The Root reported that a bigoted old white woman was recorded harassing a Black woman in Bayonne, N.J., by following her down the street and calling her the n-word numerous times. The recording was posted to Facebook, and it caught the attention of a New Jersey assemblywoman who called for an investigation…Read more...
The first thing to know about Wednesday’s Electoral College certification in Congress is that they do a rack of shit with our votes that I never knew happened because before Trump everyone else accepted defeat. Leave it to a failed real estate tycoon to become America’s first presidential squatter forcing us to learn…Read more...
Rev. Raphael Warnock became the first Black senator elected out of Georgia, but another senator who once held his seat believed men like him should be lynched. In October of 1922, Rebecca Latimer Felton was appointed to the U.S. Senate out of the state of Georgia for one full day. She was a leading voice for white…Read more...
by Tonja Renée Stidhum on The Grapevine, shared by T on (#5CFFM)
The hip-hop industry experienced quite the scare on Tuesday, but it looks like everyone can breathe a sigh of relief at the moment. Yesterday afternoon, TMZ first reported that Dr. Dre, born Andre Young, had been admitted to the ICU in Los Angeles after suffering a brain aneurysm.Read more...
It’s not always easy being a writer whose main focus is documenting racism and racial injustice in America. It’s a job that consistently requires the covering of sad and often infuriating stories. Among the hardest stories to cover are those that involve Black people spending years and even decades in prison for…Read more...
As a result of the chaos that ensued from a pro-Trump protest in Washington, D.C., last month, the mayor has requested the National Guard be deployed ahead of a similar protest scheduled for this week.
The officers involved in the shooting of Jacob Blake—who was shot seven times in the back, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down—will not face any charges.Read more...
by Tonja Renée Stidhum on The Grapevine, shared by T on (#5CEN7)
The live-action world of The Little Mermaid just got a little bit bigger. Noma Dumezweni (The Undoing) has been cast in the upcoming Disney flick, per Deadline.Read more...
The Root is sad to report the death of celebrated African-American contemporary author Eric Jerome Dickey. The news was confirmed on Tuesday by a representative from Dickey’s longtime publisher, Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random House, in the following statement issued to The Root:Read more...
by Panama Jackson on Very Smart Brothas, shared by Pa on (#5CEN9)
Despite my pretty obvious penchant for and desire to support the spirit behind “rooting for everybody Black,” I’ve been pretty intentionally absent from the Kwanzaa party. Let me go on ahead and note here that I’m fully aware that the founder of Kwanzaa (or at least the individual given the credit for its founding),…Read more...
by Tonja Renée Stidhum on The Grapevine, shared by T on (#5CEJY)
If you have “Jan. 31” marked on your calendar (as I do, since it’s like, my job), then scratch it off. A rep has confirmed to Variety that the 63rd Grammy Awards have been postponed to a later date. There’s not an updated date yet, but sources told Variety the ceremony may be moved to sometime in March.Read more...
There are two types of people who want us to stop using “Karen” as a pejorative term for racist and/or entitled white women. The first is, well, racist and/or entitled white women who complain that it’s unfair that “Karen” is used in such a way (with bonus white tears if their name is actually Karen) despite said…Read more...
For some reason, Republicans in Ohio thought that the proper response to 2019’s mass shooting in Dayton was to make it easier for people to legally shoot each other. Despite previously indicating he may veto the bill, Ohio’s governor signed a “Stand Your Ground” bill into law on Monday.Read more...
by Maiysha Kai on The Glow Up, shared by Maiysha Kai on (#5CEG6)
Happy New Year! It’s the first Big Beauty Tuesday of 2021—and after the heaviness of 2020, we are understandably looking to lighten up this year, in every way imaginable. “Here’s to a collective sigh and release of what needs to be discarded, dismantled and moved away from as we gather all the good, and move towards a…Read more...
by Tonja Renée Stidhum on The Grapevine, shared by T on (#5CEG7)
It’s 2021, and we kicked off the first full week on Monday night by getting to know the first-ever Black Bachelor. Introducing Matt James, the leading man of the 25th season of The Bachelor—a season the New York Post has referred to as “the horniest season yet.”Read more...