Category: Opinion Articles
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The Colonisation of Black Beauty
Society has a love-hate relationship with Black beauty, our features are ridiculed and heavily disrespected, but they are loved and alluring on other races; just as long as that race is not ours. Since birth, we are told that our noses, our lips, our melanated skin and our hair texture is less than and that […]
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Abolishing the Model Minority Myth
The model minority myth is an idea that encourages racism and drives a wedge between minority groups, forcing them to focus on being against each other rather than against their oppressors. White supremacists have often used this idea to place minorities into two categories: “The obedient, token minority” and “The threatening disobedient minority.” Those who […]
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It Hasn’t Been 101 Years
In August 2021, the United States celebrated 101 years since the ratification of the 19th Amendment and how far American women had come since receiving voting rights. However, that centennial didn’t mark a century since every woman in America could vote, but every white woman. By 1920, women of every other ethnic groups, including indigenous, […]
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What It Means to Navigate Two Different Worlds as a First-Gen American
A people hold among them culture, tradition and a particular way of life. Different countries hold different national values. When your parents originated and discovered themselves in a world quite different from the one you are discovering yourself in, disagreements about how to navigate the world are bound to arise. I cannot retell a story […]
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The Crack Epidemic: How the US Government Failed Black Americans
Ricochet was born into an unstable home with a verbally abusive mother in 196`1. She quickly became involved with drugs, alcohol and both abusive and drug-addicted men. Ricochet eventually moved out of her childhood home, and into a low income Harlem housing project with her two children. She soon developed an addiction to crack, which […]
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The Push Against Anti-Racist Education
The Black Lives Matter Movement of this past summer forced several educational institutions to push for changes in both their curricula and culture that should have occurred long ago. Several primarily white institutions, or PWIS, have released statements committing to diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism. Among these institutions is Dalton, an elite New York City […]
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How Reality Court Shows Exploit Black Communities
As I got ready for school, dramatic TV-court shows like Paternity Court and Divorce Court, or “chat” shows like Maury served as background noise. Yet, these shows display and, quite frankly, exploit problems that are anything but in the background of Black communities. As I watch the shows for the dramatism that makes them entertaining, […]
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How Colorism Changed The Perception of Black Beauty
Growing up in a predominantly white school, I heard “yeah you’re pretty, pretty for a Black girl” quite often. As a Black woman, that phrase left a mark- one that took a long time to heal. To put it blatantly, it’s dehumanizing and exhausting to hear.. The statement “you’re pretty for a Black girl” is […]
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No, Black Women Are Not “Bitter” About Your Interracial Relationship
A Black boy on Tik Tok writes, “No hate but everytime I say I like white women, Black women always say to me ‘coon,’ ‘no taste,’ ‘go with those slave masters.’ But if I say I like Black women, white girls just say ‘oh ok.’” The problematic notion that Black women are bitterly defensive when […]
dear dark skinned girl 