2442 Search results for "black life"

This morning, Barack Obama, the first African-American President of the United States, will take the oath of office and begin his second term. Although black folks are crunk, the event does not seem as grand as the first time. Four years ago I, having managed to cop two of second most important documents in black […]

Lauryn Hill was special. She was an actress, a singer, a songwriter, and even a rapper. Her voice, a voice that only pain and experience can give one, told the story that so many of us were living to hear. Love was exceptional, love was rare, love was fleeting, and love was worth the chase.

After igniting a ton of controversy for its portrayal of slavery and racism, Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained has made a fortune at the box office. And now they’re cashing in with a line of action figures inspired by characters from the film. Has Tarantino gone too far here?

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 […]

Jasiri X and Pharoahe Monch at the Brooklyn Bowl for the Sandy Relief Concert (Photo by Paradise Gray) On “Our World with Black Enterprise“, hosted by Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, we discussed the current state of Hip-Hop and it’s future, with Hip-Hop artist Pharoahe Monch, Dr. Tricia Rose, chair of the Department of Africana Studies at Brown University and myself. […]

The Catholic Church lead by Pope Benedict XVI continues to spew out homophobic teachings as he (a man disconnected by at least 5 generations) called me “unnatural.” As the Pope ironically celebrated his pagan holiday by lighting a Christmas tree, he also used the stage as an opportunity to tell women what they could and […]

Appearing on his Smiley & West show with Tavis Smiley, Dr. Cornell West pulled no punches while discussing the current national conversation surrounding gun control. While he’s happy the discussion is happening at all, he laments the fact that it takes white people getting shot for the debate to be taken seriously.

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!

I had planned on using this morning’s post to conclude my silly holiday special. Since I took time last week to make a mixtape of rappers covering Christmas songs, I figured I’d spend this morning telling you all about this new, mythical black Christmas figure I had invented. Since Kwanzaa is insufficient and the idea […]

In the LGBTQ community there is something called “throwing shade.” A colloquial term used to describe instances when one individual verbally and offensively altercates another. I am not interested in the shade itself, but moreso the reasoning as to why this experience is so common among interactions between youth of color in the LGBTQ community. […]

According to a report in the Journal of American College Health, one in five young women have experienced attempted or completed sexual assault while a student. Horrific. What can be done to transform the sexually violent culture of so many college campuses?

Two young black women use notecards to discuss parallel struggles with abuse and suicide; and how they found strength through friendship, faith and love.