76 Search results for "jazz"

White former U-Hart student who poisoned Black roommate receives just a slap on the wrist
Brianna Brochu, the disgraced former University of Hartford student who bragged on social media about contaminating her ex-roommate’s personal items, received a slap on the wrist in court this week. The Hartford Courant reported that Brochu will receive a special kind of probation that could enable her to skip a criminal record. Victim Chennel “Jazzy” […]
Call me Akata: Reclaiming our birthright as Indigenous and African people born on American soil
by Chelsea Neason In 1964, Malcolm X made history with “The Ballot or the Bullet”. With this speech, he proclaimed a bone-shaking truth: Black people born in America are not Americans. In Detroit, MI during one of the most impactful decades of visible Black resistance in the United States, Malcolm declared: “We are Africans, and […]
The question of Blackness: How conversations about Bruno Mars and Cardi B miss the mark
by Briana L. Ureña-Ravelo There has been much conversation regarding Blackness as of late. What it is, when and how it matters, and who can and cannot claim it. At times the conversation has been very illuminating and compelling, but more and more it has become overwhelmingly caustic and mired in elitist, ahistorical, and colonial […]
Singer and actress Della Reese dies at the age of 86
Della Reese, accomplished jazz, R&B, Gospel singer, and actress was mourned all across social media when the news that she passed away broke. Perhaps best known for her role as Tess, a heavenly messenger on CBS’ Touched by an Angel television series or as Vera, a 1920’s era Madam, in the 1989 film Harlem Nights. […]
Brianna Brochu, white student who “poisoned” Black roommate, arrested & suspended from Hartford University
After a month and a half of being admittedly inhospitable and criminally unsanitary, and then a two-week “investigation” into her terrorizing actions, Brianna Brochu was finally arrested and charged with two misdemeanors after “poisoning” her Black roommate. In addition, the West Hartford Police Department says it is also still pursuing charges against Brochu for felony […]
Esperanza Spalding joins Harvard University faculty
They say the next thing to do after you reach the top of the mountain is to reach back and help someone else make it there. Esperanza Spalding has already won pretty much every award she can in music – including Grammys, an NAACP Image Award, a Boston Music Award and a Soul Train Music Award. Now, […]
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu delivers powerful speech on removal of Confederate monuments
Over the past couple of weeks, New Orleans has been at the heart of the debate of free expression vs. “erasing history.” For decades, the city has been home to multiple monuments to the pro-slavery Confederacy. Eventually, city council voted to remove them. This decision came with plenty of controversy from Confederacy sympathizers and those […]
Producer Jahaan Sweet Speaks Black Art and the Joke that Helped Him Graduate from Juilliard
By: Imani J. Jackson Asking people how they self-identify is more instructive than presumptively assigning them labels. So I asked Jahaan Sweet, during a recent hour-long, sit-down interview in an artsy enclave, who he is. “I consider myself a music maker.” He added that he is a burgeoning businessman, “I just like to create shit.” […]
This is what happens when political resistance goes digital
By: Imani J. Jackson To many millennials’ chagrin and not of our own doing, American capitalism continues to operate despite its negative impact on Black and Brown communities. Confronted with this economic system and sustained government violence against Black and Brown people, activists are increasingly combining traditional civil rights tactics, like protests and economic boycotts, […]
Why ‘Taking the High Road’ Won’t Save Us and Maybe a Little Shade Will
By Jasmine Banks “Taking the high road” is a myth and a distraction from revolution. It wasn’t even two days after the United States of America established Donald Trump as president that calls to “take the high road” started. The calls came from white folks who did and didn’t vote for Trump and Black folks […]
Black Transgender Woman Found Dead In Alabama Hotel
Jazz Alford, a transgender black woman, was found dead in a hotel in Birmingham, Alabama, according to Mic. Her body was first found on Sept. 23, but she was unfortunately misgendered by authorities.
The Harsh Reality Of Being Black, Woman, and Abroad
“If it gets to be too much, or if you start feeling like you’re in danger, you call the university and tell them to bring you right back to Chicago.” I was on the phone with my mother discussing my upcoming study abroad trip to Europe. “I hope they like Black people there”, I joked […]