38 Search results for "validation"

Shedding the need for white validation and embracing the nuances of Black knowledge
by Inigo Laguda Living Black in the internet age comes with “tipping points” – times where we witness unforgettable instances of prejudicial violence or communal disrespect against those who look like us. For some of us, that tipping point was the murder of Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice and/or Korryn Gaines. Some of us won’t have […]
Losing Recipes: Love in the Age of Ghosting
by Naiquan. Last summer, a friend and I realized we hadn’t seen children playing in the fire hydrant. No elder on the block with a key to unlock the “Johnny Pump”. As a child of the Brooklyn Spike Lee portrayed in “Crooklyn,” I know first-hand the feelings of protection and support from my neighbor’s grandfather, […]
We are more than just good or bad: How the God of the Binary fails Black people
By Itoro Udofia I grew up under the tutelage of The God of the Binary. He was forever in opposition to a ubiquitous outside force. He was the Good opposed to Evil. The Strong opposed to Weak. Right opposed to Wrong. There I stood, an eager and inquisitive girl child, making mistakes and looking for […]
Black men need space to talk about their own sexual pleasure outside of domination
Editor’s Note: This Sexual Health and Awareness month, we will be exploring related issues at BYP, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics. What does sexual health look like outside of cishetero norms? Where does the #MeToo movement go from here? What can we do to better support survivors, including survivors […]
Loving trans and non-binary folks doesn’t make you a radical
This essay contains discussions of suicide, intimate partner abuse, and transmisogyny by Indigo Since last week, dozens of activists, journalists, influencers, and entertainers have come forward to tweet and post #RIPReese, a hashtag memorializing a man named Reese who recently died by suicide. Posts raising awareness of Reese’s death came after a video was shared […]
Nourishing Black children has nothing to do with their parents’ genders and everything to do with letting them be themselves
This essay contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse I’ve been thinking a lot about Black children, more so than usual. About how we can best love and support them as adults in their lives. I don’t know if it’s because of the media I’ve been consuming, the conversations I’ve been having, the news I’ve […]
How white narcissism affords only white people the right to fear
This essay briefly mentions sexual and reproductive violences. A group of Trump-worshipping, MAGA hat-wearing white boys from Covington Catholic High School surrounded and taunted an Indigenous elder with the racist, xenophobic, and nationalist chant, “Build the wall!” last week. But somehow the mainstream media has framed the boys as innocent victims, despite the fact that […]
8 ways to exist in white spaces when setting them on fire isn’t an option
by Briyana D. Clarel This summer, I attended a conference for community-minded artists in New York City. Despite the conference’s commitment to activism, days passed without any Black presenters and the few presenters of color spewed dangerous rhetoric like “We’re all immigrants” and “It’s about class, not race.” Of course, the Black contingent came through, […]
Black academics need to stop reproducing anti-Black notions of exceptionalism
By CJ I received my undergraduate degree at a public institution, and now I am at an Ivy League. This is my first dive into the world of elite academia, and soon I will leave this program with both my degree and my brokenness. Though I am proud to be receiving my Master’s degree from […]
Revisiting ‘Rated R’ and Rihanna’s narrative of a Black woman’s experience with trauma
by Ayika Tshimanga Before Robyn Rihanna Fenty released her commercially successful project that is popularly regarded as her best work to date, ANTI (2016), she produced an underrated gem that would lay the groundwork for ANTI to exist, Rated R. At the time of Rated R’s release, Rihanna was widely regarded–and arguably may still be […]
A Black woman transforms conditioned silence into language: How Audre Lorde induced my rebirth
Editor’s Note: April is Black Women’s History Month. Throughout this month, Black Youth Project is celebrating Black women. This month is also National Minority Health Month, Autism Awareness Month, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Child Abuse Prevention Month. We are interested in publishing works that address these topics and the things surrounding them. By Breeana Nykole […]
The stories of our struggles are not for white people to consume in an effort to ‘do better’
By Arielle Iniko Newton Last weekend, my six roommates and I were interviewing potential roommates to fill an unoccupied room in the social justice-oriented home we share. One of the prospects was a white, cisgender, heterosexual man. Upon interviewing him we quickly learned that he did not possess a commitment to dismantling whiteness that we […]