News
This NFL Player Has a Brilliant Response to Anyone Mad Over His "I Can't Breathe" Shirt
from Mic
"In a column for Sports Illustrated, Bademosi details his decision to wear an "I Can't Breathe" shirt before his game Sunday. He also addresses fans — of which there are plenty — who hate the protests and don't want to see him do anything other than play football."
Jay Z Is Finally Using His Incredible Influence To Take a Stand for Civil Rights
from Mic
"Even people who don't know much about hip-hop know the rough trajectory of Jay Z's story: Raised in the Marcy Projects in Brooklyn, New York, Jay Z has ridden a string of brilliant hits to become the king of hip-hop. Along the way, he's written songs featuring some of the genre's most pointed social critiques. But he hasn't always translated those words into actual social activism, with some even accusing him of turning his "back on social responsibility."
Shonda Rhimes Just Delivered a Truly Powerful Speech About Women of Color in Hollywood
from Mic
"Her shows Grey's Anatomy and Scandal, along with How to Get Away With Murder, of which she is the executive producer, feature multifaceted characters with careers, love lives and three-dimensional storylines. Most importantly, they're not all about straight white guys."
Police Face a Long and Complex Task to Mend Distrust Deepened by Killings
from New York Times
"During a recent demonstration here against a grand jury’s decision not to indict a white police officer in the killing of an unarmed black teenager, a 28-year-old black protester approached a white police sergeant in a line of heavily armed, mostly white officers. The protester did not taunt, and the sergeant did not issue orders. They simply talked past each other."
Stunning Report Reveals No One Knows How Many Police Killings There Are in U.S. Every Year
from Atlanta Blackstar
"The analysis by the Wall Street Journal found that more than 550 police killings were missing from the national tally, meaning the richest nation on earth seems unable to account for how often the police gun down Americans in the streets of the U.S."
Police Killings Reveal Chasms Between Races
from New York Times
"In the decade that Ashley Bernaugh, who is white, has been with her black husband, her family in Indiana has been so smitten with him that she teases them that they love him more than her. So Ms. Bernaugh was somewhat surprised by her family’s reaction after Darren Wilson, a white police officer here, killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager."
The Facts About Ferguson Matter, Dammit
from The Daily Beast
"In other words, we’re all entitled to believe things about events for which we weren’t present. But the fact is that the testimony of multiple grand jury witnesses supports Wilson’s version of events, as does the forensic evidence. Still, there are many millions who have reached the same conclusion as Michael Brown’s mother; they don’t believe a word of it"
Approach Fitness Like a Video Game and Start Leveling Up
from Lifehacker
"Gamers like me spend hours leveling up our characters so that they're stronger and faster and can defeat enemies more easily. Why not try that in real life? I realized that I could use this mindset with my health, and was surprised to find that gaming had prepared me to reach my fitness goals."
Charles Barkley Still Thinks Ferguson Protesters Are ‘Scumbags’
from Colorlines
"NBA Hall of Famer and current TV analyst Charles Barkley never misses an opportunity to beat the black community upside the head with his bootstrap logic. He recently called Ferguson protesters “scumbags,” and in a lengthy interview with CNN’s Brooke Baldwin on Tuesday he reiterated his point that he doesn’t believe white police officers shoot people because of racism. "
Single People Have a Scientifically Proven Advantage Over the Rest of Us
from Mic
"But it's not just the season that has single people feeling down. Dating apps and sites urge us to find partners, and the ever-present storylines in movies and TV continue to feed the narrative that our lives will ultimately be better if we're in a relationship. We're now spending more time on Tinder than we are on Facebook, and those who aren't finding anyone still face dated stigmas. "
6 Black Celebrities Who Are Upset That Black Fans Don’t Support Them
from Atlanta Blackstar
“No one can be harder on Black people than Black people. And I understand that, we like to claim what’s ours — we are a very loyal audience. We like to call people out when we feel they’re not being what we want them to be.”
'Star Wars' Actor John Boyega Has the Perfect Response to Black Stormtrooper Critics
from Mic
"While the trailer for the seventh installment of the epic fantasy all but broke the Internet over the weekend, some Star Wars fans can't seem to wrap their head around the appearance of the Attack the Block star as a black stormtrooper lost in the desert in a galaxy far, far away."
Actions of Ferguson Protesters Fit Squarely Into Long History of Political Protest in Black Community and Elsewhere in the World
from Atlanta Blackstar
"When Black people have struggled for freedom, citizenship, it has taken multiple forms: lobbying, political activity, exercising the vote, civil disobedience—and also open rebellion, which is what we’re seeing now. The idea that there’s only one form that Black politics and political action can take does not square with the history of struggle,"
Piers Morgan Pens Ignorant Column About the Word N****, Talib Kweli and John Legend Respond
from massappeal
"The British journalist and television host Piers Morgan recently penned an article for the UK newspaper Daily Mail‘s website titled “If black Americans want the N-word to die, they will have to kill it themselves.”"
The Ferguson Protesters Pictured Here Just Sent a Powerful Message to America
from Mic
"Braving the cold and the snow, more than a hundred people gathered on the streets of St. Louis Sunday, temporarily blocking a major intersection in the process. Reuters reported that dozens of people staged a "die-in" — which involved some protesters pretending to have been shot by others acting as police officers — as a way of honoring Brown's memory."
Science Shows Something Surprising About People Who Love Watching Sports
from Mic
"We feel dominant: "After watching your team win, levels of testosterone skyrocket, especially compared to experiencing a loss," according to ASAPScience. So if you're a tortured New York Mets fan or a Philadelphia 76ers fan, there aren't many surges in testosterone... because the team you root for is so constantly dreadful."
With The Best Restaurant in the Nation, Alexander Smalls Refuses to Be Confined to the ‘Soul Food’ Box
from Atlanta Blackstar
"Often times the world likes to simply say anytime a Black person steps into a kitchen that they’re making soul food. I have nothing against soul food. I just think young African-Americans should have the opportunity to find themselves without being under the umbrella of having their food called soul food because they are Black.”"
White People Think That Black People Have Superhuman Abilities
from Clutch
"As disturbingly comical as these findings are, it is not all together surprising when you consider the stereotypes that have plagued Black men in particular when it comes to their physical attributes."
Carrie Mae Weems in "Compassion"
from PBS
"Through a mixture of archival personal photos and the artist’s first major photo-documentary series, "Family Pictures and Stories," Weems takes the viewer on a personal journey through her childhood in the 1950s to a broader examination of “the history of black subjects in photography” in the series "From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried." "
Jacque Reid Proves Existing Stigma of Black Women and Interracial Dating
from Clutch
"The topic of interracial dating is a touchy one in the Black community, particularly because of the historical references and the stigma associated with the idea that you have to find love outside of your race because “your own kind” won’t suffice."