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Reckoning with the anti-Black mathematics of mainstream awards shows
Year after year and award show after award show, Black folk stay shocked when their faves don’t win. I used to do the same thing. But after years of monitoring awards shows, I’ve cracked the simple...
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We are not Wakanda. We are Erik Killmonger.
When I was a kid, we always wore African print clothing during Black History Month at church. It was meant to be a bold expression of Blackness, of pride, of identity. And while I didn’t fully...
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Why the Grammys don’t matter anymore
They call it “music’s biggest night”, but the 2019 Grammy Awards proved the institution has become tone-deaf, and even worse, irrelevant. Every year, I look to the Grammy nominations as a gauge for...
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Why saying ‘the Oscars are about the white gaze’ misses the point
I have long been critical of national awards shows. I have also long been critical of the white gaze. I learned in my twenties that neither of them were for my benefit and that I had a stronger chance...
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The Paradox and Power of the Black Professional Ball Player
Professional athletics have long been riddled with controversy and scandal. But, there are some particularities facing Black professional athletes in the NFL and the NBA today that must be called out...
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Why we speak up when Hollywood whitewashes our favorite characters of color
Just like so many other longtime comic book fans, I was excited to hear about the upcoming Hellboy reboot. What I didn’t expect was for the movie to cause a major whitewashing controversy before it...
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On Nnedi Okorafor and when Hollywood values our work but erases our names
As announcements about a new HBO series based on Nigerian American fantasy and sci-fi writer Nnedi Okorafor’s novel Who Fears Death have come out, I’ve noticed that the main thing missing from the...
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It’s time to talk about the Black elitism and anti-Blackness portrayed on...
Photo courtesy: NBC I have written about NBC’s Emmy-winning hit show This is Us before. Once to critique the show for its (mis)handling of fatness and at another time to praise it for its depiction of...
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Understanding the importance of Black Superheroes
You’d think Black superheroes would seem out of place in a country (and by proxy a world) living under a Trump regime. But instead, Black superheroes are experiencing a renaissance of sorts. Three...
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Is asking for more from Black art asking for too much?
I watch less TV now than I ever have. Especially when it comes to network television. I’ve wrestled with this fact for a long time, wondering if entertainment just wasn’t my “thing” anymore, or if I...
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