We can discuss the etymology of ‘ratchet’ all we want, but long story short, it is one of the few words in the English language that can equally serve as an adjective (“That club is pretty ratchet.”), verb (“We need play some Fat Trel so we can ratchet it up in here.”), and noun (“This […]
In all, 505 (mostly Black and Latino) Chicagoans were murdered in 2012, including 108 young people. The awesome Black Star Project has collected the names of the 108 youth who lost their lives to violence. We too wish to honor these young lives…
Megan Piphus, an upperclassman at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, recently appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. She’s using music, ventriloquism, and puppetry, to inspire youth to dream big and in color!
Every week, the Black Youth Project collects the top news stories about black youth from across the country. Click here to check out our archive of weekly news round-ups, and check back every Monday for a new roundup of headlines about young black America
A bizarre impersonation of Serena Williams at an exhibition game in Brazil has many charging tennis player Caroline Wozniacki with racism. The 22 year-old stuffed her bra and underwear with towels and began strutting around the court, mocking Williams. Should she apologize?
A few weeks ago I threatened to record an album of me performing Christmas carols as spoken word pieces. It seemed like a genius idea at the time until: 1. While trying it in the privacy of my own home I realized that although initially funny, it gets annoying really quickly, and 2. DMX performed […]
Willow Smith’s wild style has many criticizing the Smith’s parenting skills. Jada Pinkett-Smith says its healthy self-expression for a young girl. What do you think of all the hoopla surrounding Willow’s style?
Malissa Williams & Timothy Russell, killed by Cleveland Police Officers Many of us were already reeling from the news of another unarmed Black teenager killed in Florida. 17 year old Jordan Davis was killed when 45 year old Michael Dunn objected to the loud music Jordan’s friends were playing from their car at a local gas station. Michael Dunn […]
Jordan Davis was hanging in an SUV w/ friends outside of a convenience store. 45 year-old Michael Dunn pulled up alongside of them and asked that they turn their music down. After exchanging words, Dunn suddenly pulled out a gun and fired at least eight shots into the SUV.
We, the youth of Generation Y have elders all across the world that we must consult in this daily struggle to find freedom. Our elders found me on my trips through the labyrinth of NYC yesterday—through Harlem, through the Bronx, through Queens. These kinfolk who have endured the 1968 Olympics, when Tommie Smith and John […]
In a recent interview, NY emcee Saigon said he’d like to punch rappers like 2 Chainz and Rick Ross for hurting young people with the messages in their music. What are your thoughts on the state of Hip Hop music? How can we bring some much-needed balance to the genre?
16 year-old Alicia Chanta Moore went missing on November 2nd; Her body was later found in a trunk off the side of a highway on November 6th. Her family believes the police grossly mismanaged the case. Where was national news coverage? Where was an Amber Alert?
