under REconstruction
‘Preezy of the United Steezy’ Barack Obama Slow Jams the News with Jimmy Fallon & The Roots
[embedplusvideo height="275" width="440" standard="http://www.youtube.com/v/vAFQIciWsF4?fs=1" vars="ytid=vAFQIciWsF4&width=440&height=275&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=¬es=" id="ep6423" /] Whether or not you agree with his premise that college...
If You Noticed My Silence…
My last few months were spent being pounded by monster waves in this beautiful and at times ferocious sea of life. But I have, at last, found calmer waters, have surfaced for air, and am back at the keyboard. Thank you to all who sent healing prayers for my little one...
One on One with ‘Alpha’s’ Star, Malik Yoba
He’s an award-winning actor, a playwright and a published author. He composes and performs original music and is a gifted singer, lyricist and poet. He’s a sex symbol. A motivational speaker. He’s a philanthropist and a father. It is an impressive list of titles,...
Know Good White People: Wrestling the term ‘White Pride’ Out of the Hands of the Klan
Jean Rankin was a wife and mother of thirteen children living in a modest home overlooking the Ohio river in what was the "free state" of Ohio. Through her window she could see a clear and gorgeous view of Kentucky, where thousands of enslaved African Americans lived...
Where Do Broken Hearts Go?
“If I should die this very day, don’t cry, ’cause on Earth we wasn’t meant to stay…” -Whitney Houston (Your Love is My Love) Forgive me for being blunt, but my grandmother died exactly the same way Whitney Houston did, alone in a hotel bathtub. Only, Grandma left a...
Study Finds Kids with Low I.Q. More Likely to Become Racist, Politically Conservative Adults
Researchers at Brock University in Ontario, Canada, have published a study in Psychological Science that shows people who score low on I.Q. tests in childhood are more likely to develop prejudiced beliefs and conservative political views in adulthood. I.Q., or...
Tyler Perry to ‘Red Tails’ Producer George Lucas: ‘Thank You for Having the Courage’
Tyler Perry knows well the risks and rewards associated with making films that feature an all-black cast. Though Perry has made a successful career of producing all-black movies, he knows firsthand Hollywood's resistance when it comes to funding and distributing...
Update 1/17/12: Schooling Carmen E-Book (FREE for 48 hours)
Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls: Celebrating the 1st Graduating Class
From the moment Oprah Winfrey announced her intention to build a leadership academy for impoverished girls on the African continent, critics were vehement and vocal about why it was the wrong thing to do. When scandal rocked the school, not once, but repeatedly, the...
Joshua Bennett’s ’10 Things I Want to Say to a Black Woman’ — To Click or Not to Click?
Spoken word artist Joshua Bennett has ten things he wants to say to a black woman, and I'm not sure I want to hear it. I've happened upon Bennett's YouTube video and I see that hundreds of thousands of viewers have already clicked "play." I'm curious. And dubious....
Cross-Post from Bionic Beauty: I Am Beautiful…Because I Am by Kathleen Cross
I have been incredibly excited to share this week’s Powerful Beauty guest contributor. Kathleen Cross is the author of two Harper Collins novels, Skin Deep and Schooling Carmen. She has been a guest on numerous radio and television shows, including Oprah, Montel and...
5 Ways Families Can Honor Dr. King & The Dream « Growing Up Global
5 Ways Families Can Honor Dr. King & The Dream « Growing Up Global.
Gordon Hirabayashi, 1918-2012
If you don't know the name Gordon Hirabayashi, you should. He is an indisputable hero and icon of American history. Best known for being one of the few people to openly defy the government's unconstitutional internment of Japanese Americans during World War II,...
A Conversation with Common: ‘I Want to Become One of the Greats’
It has been nearly 20 years since the "conscious rapper" Common released his debut album, yet he continues to treat his fans to new and deeper insights into why he is, and will remain, a cultural icon. --And it just keeps getting better. This handsome and grounded...
Brown and Beautiful: 10 Children’s Books That Nurture Healthy Self-Esteem in Black Toddlers
More than 70 years have passed since Dr. Kenneth B Clark and his wife Mamie designed and conducted the "doll test" to study the psychological effects of racism on young children. They showed four dolls, identical except for color, to black children ages 3 to 7 and...
Inventor Develops Procedure to Permanently Turn Brown Eyes Blue
"It had occurred to Pecola some time ago that if her eyes, those eyes that held the pictures, and knew the sights — if those eyes of hers were different, that is to say, beautiful, she herself would be different." –Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye An inventor in...
Mexicans Recreate ‘Black Doll-White Doll’ Experiment to Measure Skin Color Preference South of the Border
In an attempt to measure the degree to which Mexican children are affected by the legacy of European colonialism and the present day images they are bombarded with via the media, researchers in Mexico conducted an experiment modeled after the famous 1940's Clark study...
Cee Lo Green Changes Two Words of John Lennon Song, Gets Slammed With ‘F— You’ Tweets
When Cee Lo Green performed at NBC's televised New Year's Eve party, he offered his own rendition of the classic John Lennon song, "Imagine." It would seem that the Lennon song would make a great choice for a diverse crowd celebrating together and looking forward to...
Barack Hussein Obama Named the Most Powerful Man in the World: Why Can’t He Address Needs of African Americans?
The year Barack Obama was born, an American of African descent could not board public transit without the permission of whites, or select the seat he or she preferred. In 1961, in some parts of this country, a black person could be hanged from a tree simply for...
Conservative Bloggers Call First Lady ‘Fat Cakes Michelle,’ Criticize Her Fashion Choices
Ever on the hunt for something disparaging to say about the first family, conservative bloggers have criticized President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for various aspects of their 17-day vacation in Hawaii--including the first lady's fashion choices....
Take This Job and Shove It? 5 Signs You May Have the Worst Boss in the World
If you are an employee who works in an environment where your higher-ups are supportive, creative, fair-minded and open to feedback, count yourself among the lucky ones. Unfortunately, not everyone is so blessed. Many employees are struggling to cope in a negative...
Happy Feet Two Delivers a Message Every Kid (Even the Grown Ones) Should Hear
"If you want it, you must will it. If you will it, it will be yours." Though I loved the overall message of Happy Feet Two, I found a couple of serious glitches in this energetic and well-meaning sequel to an Academy Award-winning predecessor. Let's just go ahead and...
Crips and Bloods Unite to Occupy Atlanta
Georgia Peace Education Program Director, Tim Franzen, shares the story of Shabaka Addae Guillory, a 20-year-old who joined the Crips at age 14, and Sherrod Britton, a 29-year-old Blood member. According to Franzen, the two became best friends during an impromptu...
Crystle ‘Clear’ Roberson: Independent Black Filmmaker on the Rise
If you've seen the music video for Idris Elba's sultry new single, "Private Garden," you have experienced a sample of the creative eye and spirit of filmmaker Crystle "Clear" Roberson, but if you haven't viewed any of her award-winning short films, you are in for a...
Desperate Ex-Skinhead Turns to Former Black Enemy to Escape Life of Hate
"I wasn't on any great mission for the white race. I was just a thug." -Bryon Widner Before he fell in love and married his wife, Julie, Bryon Widner had once devoted his life, his heart and his body to the cause of white supremacy. A pillar in the neo-Nazi movement,...
We’re a Culture Not a Costume (REPOST)
Fed up with the annual parade of white folks in blackface, "Indian squaws," and other culturally insensitive Halloween costumes on their campus, a group of students at Ohio University decided to do something about it. Members of the campus club STARS (Students...
First Lady Michelle Obama’s Bestseller, ‘American Grown’
I don't know if the first lady of the United States named her book "American Grown" with the intention of b***h slapping those who've accused her over the years of being unpatriotic (the same ones who accused her husband of being a non-American.) But, ahem, take...