336 Search results for "white privilege"

It has been at least 2 years since I last posted a blog on the Black Youth Project’s website primarily because of school and life demands. However, after learning of how a group of black male pastors, who happen to pastor some of the largest black churches in the Nation, decided to host an agenda […]

A few weeks ago, students at the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor took to Twitter to spark dialogue about diversity, racial tolerance and discrimination on the campus. A dynamic conversation about what it means to be black at a predominantly white school emerged from the tweets, which included photos, experiences and sentiments from the university’s […]

So..I’ve been natural for about three years now and the journey has been filled with challenges. I can’t say that I will never go back to the creamy crack, but I don’t see it in my future. I’m quite satisfied with the way that I can style my hair in it’s natural state, and to […]

With the recent release and acclaim of Oscar-favorite 12 Years A Slave, I found myself mentally revisiting Django Unchained by Quentin Tarantino. Not because I think there are any worthwhile parallels to draw between the two films, but rather because the brilliance and scope of 12 Years actually exposed Django for what it truly was, […]

With its theatrical release set for next month, American Promise aims to shed some light into the life of a young black man in America. The documentary focuses on two middle class black families as they raise their sons. It’s goal is to empower boys, their parents and educators and help close the black male achievement gap.

few days ago, the media got word of Jaden Smith’s recent admonishing of schooling on his Twitter account, stating most notably that “schools are a tool to brainwash the youth,” and that “if people dropped out of school we would have a much more intelligent society.” Predictably, the backlash against Jaden’s musings was quick and decisive. Partly because youth’s opinions are seldom critically engaged and easily suppressed in the society, partly because Jaden is very privileged and so the value of school in his own nascent career is probably negligible, and lastly because I doubt many people think it’s a good idea to drop out of school (unless you’re a rich white male who goes on to start a supremely popular tech enterprise—then a debate about the value of education is seriously weighed, but a Black boy saying it—well…I digress)

Netflix’ latest hit series, Orange is the New Black has sparked a lot of conversation. Show creator, Jenji Kohan spoke to NPR about her use of privileged white women characters as a vehicle to bring diversity to the small screen:

There is a growing group of misinformed, conservative black public figures that are increasingly demonizing and blaming black youth for systemic issues facing the Black community. Invoking an empty “politics of personal responsibility” rhetoric, these black public figures essentially say: “ I made it, and so can you!” Most recently, CNN news anchor Don Lemon […]

  A lack of empathy perpetuates racial disparities…. At least, that is what Slate writer, Jason Silverstein, argues. Touching on a plethora of severe identity issues within our “post-racial” society (just kidding, that doesn’t exist), Silverstein demonstrates problematic assumptions on “what it means to be black.” Answers to this question are often infused with essentialist […]

A recent study asserts that people generally believe black people feel less pain than whites. Called the racial empathy gap, it helps to explain the persistence of racial disparities in our society; in everything from medical care, to social and economic policies, to the criminal justice system.

I am so sick of entitled white students from the suburbs that blame affirmative action for their lack of success in college admissions. College admission, especially for very selective schools, is the epitome of an arbitrary process. Either you stand out, or not. Quite simple. While race does play a role in the admission, it’s […]

  Injustice within public school walls is not a new phenomenon. Historically, segregated schools in the Jim Crow South remain the prevailing example of severe educational unfairness. This authorized discrimination left many black students in overcrowded and lackluster schools, with minimal resources. If you look around America today, however, similar educational injustices can be easily […]