The labor that Black women contribute to the world and to movements for Black liberation is often condensed to supporting roles, or erased altogether. NPR just ran a story about GiveDirectly, an organization that has been based in Africa since 2008 and gives money directly to those in “extreme poverty.” Now, they are coming to...
Author: Sherronda J. Brown (Sherronda J. Brown)
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Jemele Hill vs. The World
Jemele Hill had every right to express her disdain for Trump. ESPN has apparently accepted Jemele Hill’s apology — an apology she was strong-armed into giving after tweeting her personal opinion on Donald Trump. Acknowledging the white supremacy in his rhetoric and practices, she referred to him as “bigot,” a “threat,” and “the most ignorant,...
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Our Ideas of Romance Are Abusive
We are not allowed to hold someone emotionally hostage until they give us what we want, forcing them to swallow their own feelings, desires, and needs in order to satisfy our own. That’s not romance. That’s abuse. This year, Vulture declared that the grand romantic gesture will never die. It’s become such a popular trope...
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Facebook Allows White Violence to Flourish On Its Platform
There is real damage being done to Black people on Facebook, and removing eight white supremacist groups while still allowing this racist abuse to go on is nothing more than performative allyship. Following the display of white terrorism in Charlottesville, Virginia last month, many sites began to drop known white supremacist hate groups from their...
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The Racist Roots of Gynecology & What Black Women Birthed
I think of trans-generational traumas, and how they shape us, and I wonder whether the pang that I sometimes feel in my gut connects me with the agony of my foremothers. Trigger Warning: This article contains discussions of racialized reproductive and sexual violences against Black women We have been rather preoccupied with our statues of late....
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All White People Are Socialized To Be Racist & Tina Fey Made That Clear
The white people who stay silent in the face of white terrorism consider themselves to be “non-racist.” They’re wrong. Last week, Tina Fey and Lady Gaga offended fans and onlookers with their comments in the midst of heated national discussions about race relations following the white supremacist rally that turned deadly in Charlottesville, Virginia. Tina...
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Why Fat Humanity Is Not Governed By Fuckability
Far too many people see fat bodies being desired as an impossibility, and see fat people as wholly unworthy of physical intimacy. At least two women and one man have brought a lawsuit against Usher for knowingly exposing them to herpes and failing to disclose his status prior to sexual encounters with them. Though, he...