By Denarii Grace Some days I wonder if the work that I do is worth it. On the surface, Black artists/cultural workers, healers, teachers and activists who live most on the margins have the least to gain in their lines of work. And in a society based on the allure of social and financial capital, […]
By Rachael Edwards I’m not a touchy-feely person. Like most humans, I appreciate having a say in whose fingers touch me, if I can help it. On New York City subways this seems almost impossible. But even when subways are crowded, it’s easy to notice people moving their bodies awkwardly to make sure they are […]
by Tonya McKenzie This essay contains discussions and descriptions of sexual violence, child abuse, and murder There are some things that you never forget, like the sound of a car screeching down the street and slamming into one of your neighbors or the bombastic sound of a gunshot and the sight of the damage that […]
Junot DĂaz, the award-winning author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, has been accused of sexual harassment and misogyny in the literary world by fellow woman authors Zinzi Clemmons, Monica Byrne, Carmen Maria Machado, and others.
Editor’s Note: This essay contains discussion of domestic violence, sexual assault, and mentions of r/pe Eldridge Cleaver was a predator—a night stalker. He practiced on “black girls in the ghetto” where he knew the crimes would not be investigated before he eventually ventured across the tracks to methodically rape white women. “Rape was an insurrectionary […]
By Cosette Hampton Last Tuesday night, an officer of the University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) shot 4th year student Charles Thomas, who was having a mental health crisis. For those familiar with the University’s conflicting statements on safe spaces, trigger warnings and free speech, it should come as no surprise that even students are […]
Healthcare equity is indivisible from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy. In fact, in a phone interview on the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination, critical race theorist Deleso Alford pointed to his quote, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.” In addition to being a time to […]
Cambridge Analytical, a data analysis firm with a conservative bent, has been suspended from Facebook after allegations that Facebook allowed the firm access to its users personal information for their own political aims. Cambridge Analytical is responsible for quite a few conservative upsets over the past few years, the feather in its cap being possibly its […]
It’s not everyday that mainstream publications constructively critique where they went wrong in the past, but recently two high-readership organizations shared their focus on more sensitive coverage moving forward. Both National Geographic and the New York Times admitted recently that their staffs produced coverage that often affirmed and celebrated the lived experiences of powerful white men at […]
by Da’Shaun Harrison Disclaimer: this piece was written with the intent to create a productive dialogue around intimacy and attraction. It is not to say that the connection between barber and client is inherently sexual, but rather that the erotic/intimacy/attraction operate on a spectrum.
Time Magazine recently named “The Silence Breakers” its Person of the Year, a nod to how sexual assault, rape or sexual harassment victims have taken back their power and their voices from a system and a society that shuns them when they come forward with their accounts of sexual violence. Included in this list is […]
People out to avoid the merits of certain claims often state some version of “only God can judge me.” The statement is expected to pause the progression of criticism and, with hope, allow certain allegations to fade. In the world of entertainment mogul and entrepreneur Russell Simmons, an analogous response about his generalized goodness was […]
