The Girl Next Door is Black

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  • Category: "Culture + Society"
  • #AirbnbWhileBlack aka Racism Lurks Everywhere

    Wednesday, June 22, 2016 13 Culture + Society, Life #airbnbwhileback, Black people, discrimination, home-sharing, inclusion Permalink 9
    Unwelcome Mat

    You may be familiar with #AirbnbWhileBlack, the hashtag that quickly gained traction on Twitter, and attracted coverage from several media outlets. NPR even hosted a Twitter chat on the subject. Tweet after tweet, Airbinb users contributed personal accounts of rental requests being rejected due to discrimination by the host.

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  • I Could Have Used More Laughs and Fewer Tears, but 2015 Was Actually Pretty Okay

    Thursday, December 31, 2015 37 Blogging, Culture + Society, Life, Pop Culture, Travel 2015 retrospective, binge-watching, Black Lives Matter, books, depression Permalink 14
    2015, like every other year, had it's ups and downs. However, it's important not to let the year's lows overshadow the highs. | Read more from "2015 Year in Review: I Could Have Used More Laughs and Fewer Tears, but It Actually Wasn't That Terrible" on The Girl Next Door is Black

    Happy New Year!

    2015, like every other year, had it’s ups and downs. However, it’s important not to let the year’s lows overshadow the highs.

    When I considered writing an end of the year retrospective, my face scrunched up in disgust as I reflected on 2015. Not my favorite year by a longshot. So much of it felt like a continuous struggle – like I’m in the middle of a significant lesson which I’ve tired of learning.

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  • Stop Lecturing Black People on How to Behave

    Monday, November 30, 2015 4 Culture + Society Black Lives Matter, Black people, college, Concerned Student 1950, Mizzou Permalink 15
    Black people aren't children and we should not be lectured to as such, especially not by people who will never experience the lives we live. | Read more The Girl Next Door is Black from "Black People Need to Just..."

    In an LA Times op-ed Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor at NYU, and judging by his photos, decidedly not Black, deemed it necessary to take to a national newspaper to tell Black students how to behave and advise university faculty and administration on how to treat them. Not only did he step out of his lane to admonish America’s least favorite ethnic minority, he had the nerve to use the name and highly regarded words of black writer Ralph Ellison to do so.

    Here we go again.

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  • White Supremacy: I Don’t Know How Much More of It I Can Handle

    Monday, August 3, 2015 12 Culture + Society angry white men, Black Lives Matter, Black people, Chris Rock, Confederate Flag Permalink 0
    White supremacy not only gets people killed, it wreaks havoc on the emotional well-being of many black Americans, including me. Read more on The Girl Next Door is Black

    I told someone recently that fighting racism is like trying to kill roaches. You kill a few and then 50 million of their disgusting relatives appear. Let’s say I open one person’s eyes. I help them wake up to the reality of our country. Then what?

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  • Don’t Call Me “Girl”

    Tuesday, June 16, 2015 59 Culture + Society, Life Bloggy Boot Camp, conversations with strangers, disrespect, Don't Call me Girl, Girl vs Woman Permalink 0
    Grown women should not be referred to nor treated as a "girl". Read more on The Girl Next Door is Black

    “Girls! Girls!” a large, middle-aged man in a bright yellow safety vest hollered at me and my new friend from across the parking lot as we walked away from my rental car.

    I turned slowly around, cocked an eyebrow and didn’t begin moving in his direction until my companion did.

    “Yes?” I asked with a touch of attitude as we neared him. He’d yelled out to us like we’d done something wrong.

    “Where are you girls going?”

    So far I liked nothing about this encounter.

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  • Guest Post: My Blackness is Enough

    Wednesday, June 3, 2015 8 Culture + Society, Guest Posts African Canadians, African diaspora, black Americans, black in the usa, British Colonization Permalink 0
    My-Blackness-is-Enough explores the struggle of a Nigerian-born young woman growing up in the United States as she struggles to understand what it means to be black | Guest post by Very Merrily Mary on The Girl Next Door is Black

    Nearly 200 million people in the world identify as African or African-descended. Like Europeans, Asians and other “racial” groups, our culture, languages and experiences are extremely varied, despite the fact that, especially in the United States, we’re often seen as one large, indistinguishable group.

    For my first guest post, I’ve asked Mary from Verily Merrily Mary to share her experiences growing up as a Nigerian-born black woman in North America. I met Mary through a bloggers group and enjoy her thoughtful and absorbing writing. I hope you enjoy it too!

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  • Not Your Grandparent’s Brand of Racism

    Wednesday, May 13, 2015 12 Culture + Society Asian-Americans, Confederate, covert racism, Georgia, Latinos Permalink 0
    Colored White Mexicans Jim Crow Sign | The Girl Next Door is Black

    This isn’t the 1950s anymore. Today’s racism isn’t your grandparent’s brand of racism. Today’s racism is cloaked so well we can have a biracial black President, while unarmed black civilians are gunned down by law enforcement with seeming impunity.

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  • 5 Myths About Black Americans That Need to Disappear

    Thursday, April 30, 2015 31 Culture + Society black on black crime, Black people, mainstream media, media criticism, myths about black people Permalink 0
    A happy black family of two parents and three children, two boys one girl, sitting together outside.

    Despite significant and continued economic, educational and social progress among black Americans, inaccurate and offensive stereotypes persist. In part these myths are aided by the mainstream media (MSM). In reports about the state of “Black America” MSM tends to focus on reporting negative news or framing reports around the pessimistic view.

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  • When You Agree to Discuss Racism on the Radio with a Black Conservative

    Monday, April 6, 2015 19 Culture + Society, Life Black people, Black Republicans, conversations about race, family, Jesse Lee Peterson Permalink 0
    "That was around the time Jesse asked me, "What else can white people do for black people, so that black people will finally say: 'ok you're not racist, you love me, you've given us allllll that we've wanted, and we appreciate it, so now we're going to take control of our own lives'? Is there anything else that white people can do to satisfy black people?"" from "When You Agree to Discuss Racism on the Radio with a Black Conservative" on The Girl Next Door is Black

    That was around the time Jesse asked me, “What else can white people do for black people, so that black people will finally say: ‘ok you’re not racist, you love me, you’ve given us allllll that we’ve wanted, and we appreciate it, so now we’re going to take control of our own lives’? Is there anything else that white people can do to satisfy black people?”

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  • I Am Sick of Having Conversations About Race with Brick Walls

    Monday, March 23, 2015 30 Culture + Society Black people, conversations about race, effects of racism on health, frustration, online debates Permalink 0

    I was in a pissy mood on Friday afternoon.

    I’ve written before how I get sick of talking about racism. I just want to live my life. Wake up, do what I do and keep it moving like many other people have the privilege of doing each day. I do not have such privilege, however. Just going to the corner drugstore some days ends with me wondering when the day will come when I won’t have a clerk unsubtly follow me around the store as I shop.

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  • Don’t Be That Insensitive Jackhole

    Thursday, February 26, 2015 16 Culture + Society, Pop Culture 2015 Academy Awards, apologies, black Americans, black hair, black women Permalink 0
    Thinking Allowed Written on Brick Wall from Don't Be That Insensitive Jackhole

    On Sunday, after the Academy Awards, Giuliana Rancic, co-host of E!’s Fashion Police, made a contentious statement in reference to the locs worn at the ceremony by 18-year old actress Zendaya.

    In a previous post, I touched on the complicated relationship many black women have with their hair.

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  • The Incredible Story I Heard About My Ancestors

    Tuesday, February 10, 2015 10 Culture + Society, Life #JourneyofYou, african-americans, ancestry, black Americans, black history Permalink 0
    Photo cr: "A Guy Taking Pictures" flickr.com | Bright Orange Flower with Water Drops

    Lately, my dad is prone to falling into reflective reveries during which he shares stories from the past with a forthrightness that is surprising given how miserly he’s been with details previously. He’ll affect what my sisters and I call his “Professor [Our last name]” voice and begin his oration: “You know, Keisha, our family…”

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  • Seeing Broadway’s First Black Cinderella

    Monday, December 8, 2014 12 Celebrity Sightings, Culture + Society, Travel, US Travel African American, black american firsts, black Americans, black women, Broadway Permalink 0
    Cinderella Broadway Playbill Autographs | The Girl Next Door is Black

    When I heard of Keke Palmer’s casting as the first black Cinderella on Broadway, I didn’t imagine I’d end up seeing the show in person!

    It was a girls night out: sisters and groups of friends; an adorable Girl Scout troop of mostly pre-tween and tween black girls and quite a few mother/daughter pairings attended. One little girl dressed like a little lady wearing pearls and donning an updo, accompanied by her very chic and sophisticated mother who wore an enviable black cape, melted my heart. I attend a lot of plays and as I snarked to my sister, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many black people at a play in my life.” I’m so used to being one of few.

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  • What Happened to OFFline Dating?

    Thursday, October 23, 2014 29 Culture + Society, Life, Pop Culture acting, black women dating online, dating, longreads, Match.com Permalink 0
    What Happened to Offline Dating | The Girl Next Door is Black

    Does anyone meet anyone in real life these days? Offline? For dating purposes, that is. You know like:

    Guy sees cute girl at bus stop.

    Guy makes joke about the horrid stench wafting from a black trash bag near the bus shelter.

    “Ah, the sweet smell of street funk and human waste,” he cracks.

    Girl giggles. She relaxes her street defenses.

    They discover they share a preference for puffy Cheetos over crunchy. “This is awesome,” they both think.

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  • Is Everyone Saying “N***a” Now?

    Thursday, October 16, 2014 30 Culture + Society, Pop Culture Eminem, hip hop and violence, hip-hop, is it okay for white people to say nigga, Juicy J Permalink 0
    Lil Wayne Unplugged | Is Everyone Saying Nigga | The Girl Next Door is Black Rap Music Fans

    “If you having a good time, I want you to say, ‘Hell yeah, niggaaaaaaaaaa!”

    “Hell yeah, niggaaaaaaaaaa!” the crowd screamed back at Lil Wayne.

    I scanned the stadium of concert goers: a sea of young, white and light faces surrounded me, bopping their heads to the beat, hip-hop hands swaying in the air, phone cameras recording and repeating at Lil Wayne’s command,

    Helllllll yeah, niggaaaaaaaaa!!

    I looked over at my friend, who, like me, hadn’t joined the crowd.

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