Published inZORA·PinnedMember-onlyThe Black ‘Godmother of Grunge’ Who Inspired Your Fav BandsSeattle’s Tina Bell is forgotten no more — When you think of grunge, do you picture a bunch of long-haired White guys in plaid shirts, singing about teenage angst and self-loathing? Time to expand that viewpoint. Standing above them all should be Tina Bell, a tiny Black woman with an outsized stage presence, and her band, Bam Bam…Grunge8 min readGrunge8 min read
Published inMomentum·Oct 9, 2021Member-onlyHenrietta Lacks’ descendants sue for compensationA list of race and racism news you might have missed — “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” The above 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. quote is one of my mantras. It loops through my head whenever I feel especially pessimistic about the state of the world, and/or Black people’s place in it. And when…Race5 min readRace5 min read
Published inMomentum·Sep 24, 2021Member-only‘Missing White Woman Syndrome’ Strikes Again; U.S. Deports Thousands of Haitians from Mexican BorderThis week’s roundup of race and racism news — “Missing White Woman Syndrome”: It’s a term coined by the late journalist Gwen Ifill to describe the way the disappearances of young, attractive White women seem to dominate media coverage while missing people of color rarely command such attention. Seventeen years after Ifill named this phenomenon, it’s again being cited…Race4 min readRace4 min read
Published inMomentum·Sep 13, 2021Member-onlyAssaults On the Memory of Emmett Till; Black Students and ‘critical race theory’This week’s roundup of race and racism news — You may have noticed that last week, the Race/Racism column took a hiatus. …Race6 min readRace6 min read
Published inMomentum·Aug 27, 2021Member-onlyThe Limits of Corporate Altruism After George Floyd; The Money Behind Anti-Critical Race TheoryThe race and racism news you need to know. — Things are not as they appear in this week’s roundup of race and racism news. …Race5 min readRace5 min read
Published inMomentum·Aug 20, 2021Member-onlyBlack Homeowners’ Resilience Against Racism and the First Oral History of Black TwitterCatch up on the stories of Blackness you might have missed — There’s no overarching theme to this week’s collection of race and racism news. But like every week, it provides examples of Black people persisting and fighting against a world that’s trying to crush them — whether it’s a homeowner trying to preserve a piece of the American dream, Haitian groups…Racism5 min readRacism5 min read
Published inMomentum·Aug 13, 2021Member-onlyBlack Parents Drowned Out at School Boards; Twitter’s Photo Crops Reveal Bias Toward WhitenessCatch up on the latest race and racism news you might have missed. — The stories in this week’s collection of race and racism news have really got me thinking about perspectives — namely, which perspectives are highlighted, and which are shunted to the shadows. Our first item has Black parents struggling to make critical race theory critics see how racism continues to impact…Race5 min readRace5 min read
Published inMomentum·Aug 6, 2021Member-onlyOfficers Could Sue Protesters; The Black Woman Behind the Viral ‘WAP’ Sign LanguageCatch up on the latest race and racism news you may have missed. — Last week’s racial news roundup took a hiatus as I took some time to immerse myself in nature and visit faraway family. I hope it gave you readers a respite, too — we all need one, because you can’t stay woke if life’s worn you the hell out, right? This…Race6 min readRace6 min read
Published inMomentum·Jul 23, 2021Member-onlyRedlining Lives On in Black New York Neighborhoods and Why Black Women Struggle to Get Help for ADHDCatch up on the race and racism news you might have missed. — The stories highlighted in this week’s roundup of race-related news illustrate how much harder it can be for Black people to get what’s due to them, whether that’s a home loan, medical treatment, or flood prevention infrastructure. …Race4 min readRace4 min read
Published inMomentum·Jul 16, 2021Member-onlyThe Costs of Being Young, Gifted, and Black: When Being Exceptional Makes You a TargetThis week, English soccer’s best players face racist threats while Black female athletes’ mental health issues are met with little sympathy — Several of this week’s selections got me thinking about the price Black people are sometimes forced to pay when they excel. There are always folks who seek to minimize or explain away our successes and maximize our failures or missteps. Black players on England’s national soccer team are facing harassment…Race6 min readRace6 min read
