Opinion
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Kwanzaa Is Dame Dash to Jay-Z’s Christmas
There was a time back when Kwanzaa and Christmas were cruising on a yacht popping Cristal and truly Big Pimpin’. Then there was a feud, something about Christmas cozying up with Lyor Cohen or Kwanzaa promoting Cam’ron to the president of Holiday Records, and Christmas bounced, went on to marry Beyoncé and partnered with the NFL.…
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10 Worthwhile Hobbies For These Bored Billionaires Who So Obviously Need Them
1. Cross-country road trips, where they drive to different states just to hunt and eat other rich people. 2. Provide funding for a commercial airline where the people who stand when the plane first lands are immediately ejected from it, shot into the atmosphere, and melted by the sun. 3. Go to the moon, and…
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Southern Mayors: The South Has Something to Say About the 2020 Elections
Twenty-four years ago, a talented, young duo from Atlanta was booed as they received a Source Award for “Best New Rap Group.” A then-20-year-old André Benjamin overcame his emotions to make a bold declaration that forever changed hip-hop: “The South got something to say.” That talented group was Outkast. And they indeed said a lot…
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Anti-LGBTQ Discrimination Is a Civil Rights Issue: Why Black People Need to Get Behind Title VII
This month, the Supreme Court heard arguments around a case that could transform how businesses across the country handle anti-LGBTQ discrimination. Anyone who purports to care about the black community should be concerned about efforts to ensure equal protection under the law to black LGBTQ+ people, including efforts to question the application of Title VII…
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Juvenile Fines and Fees Undermine the Entire Notion of Family in Courts Across the U.S.
“His mother works at Giant Food Store and his stepfather works at USPS. He can pay the court costs.” Those were the words I heard a Maryland judge utter as she imposed juvenile court fines and fees on the young black man standing before her. There was no inquiry into his family’s expenses—rent, bills, or…
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If You Love Me, Do Not Call the Police
I do not want to die. Because I am far from infallible, I am willing to concede the slight possibility that there exists a scenario in which I may benefit from the presence of the police. Even though I’ve tried to imagine such a situation doesn’t exist, I admit that I may have overlooked some hypothetical…
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#AtatianaJefferson: A List of Questions That Need Answers From Fort Worth Police Chief Ed Kraus
The Fort Worth Police Department and its police chief, Ed Kraus, have a lot of explaining to do as it pertains to the senseless killing of 28-year-old Atatiana Jefferson in her mother’s home early Saturday morning. A neighbor, James Smith, said he called a police non-emergency number when he noticed that the front door was…
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A Black Trans Woman Interrupted CNN's Equality Town Hall But It Was Not a Protest
I do not want to die. I do not want my son to die. Or my daughter. Or my nieces or nephews. Or anyone. In fact, I’m going to go out on a limb and admit that I am staunchly anti-murder. If there were a serial killer hunting people like me, knowing that no one…
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Nobody Is Buying Dallas PD’s Bullshit Story About Joshua Brown’s Death
The Dallas Police Department just came up with a story so farfetched, I am going to stop roasting both Empire and Power for some of the ridiculous shit that happens on both of those soapy-ass shows that I cannot stop watching. Joshua Brown, 28, was shot and killed Friday night—a week after he served as…
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18-Year-Old Brandt Jean’s Hug of Amber Guyger Made Me Sick. But It Ain’t About Me, Though
The conversation about Brandt Jean’s hug of convicted murderer Amber Guyger has mostly cannibalized both the news of the (still surprising) conviction and the (not surprising at all) sentence. The image of the act is both explosive and saccharine; a molotov cocktail dipped in high fructose corn syrup. It’s impossible to see that and not…
