By Sabrina Shanghie What if I told you the trendy cornrow styles of 2019 once served as a gateway to freedom for enslaved African Americans hundreds of years ago? In the past decade, many cultures have embraced the beauty of cornrows, including some who don’t understand the deep history that the style holds. Braids may…
By T’Keyah Hayes Betty Boop is widely recognized as one of the most notable cartoon characters and one of the first cartoonized American sex symbols. Her vocal trademark, “Boop Oop A Doop,” and her contoured figure in a form-fitting dress traces back to a black woman by the name of Esther Jones. Esther “Baby Esther”…
By Sydney Stallworth You’ll be hard pressed to find anyone today who isn’t a fan of mega-star Beyonce. She is described as a musical genius, the best dancer in Hollywood, and the ultimate triple threat. But if you’re a fan of Queen Bey, you need to know the OG queen of performance. A woman who…
February commemorates the annual celebration of Black History Month, which highlights the important contributions by people of African descent. Each year, however, we discover that there are many more black individuals and groups that significantly contributed to today’s world, yet remain unacknowledged in today’s history lessons. Black people have made (and continue to make) considerable…
February commemorates the annual celebration of Black History Month, which highlights the important contributions by people of African descent. Each year, however, we discover that there are many more black individuals and groups that significantly contributed to today’s world, yet remain unacknowledged in today’s history lessons. Black people have made (and continue to make) considerable…
February commemorates the annual celebration of Black History Month, which highlights the important contributions by people of African descent. Each year, however, we discover that there are many more black individuals and groups that significantly contributed to today’s world, yet remain unacknowledged in today’s history lessons. Black people have made (and continue to make) considerable…
By Noni Marshall When the D.C. Council recently repealed a bill that aimed to end the so-called “tipped minimum wage,” it rejected a measure that 55 percent of Washington voters had approved only a few months earlier. However, the vote to kill Initiative 77 is being applauded by those most affected: servers and restaurant owners….
By Jessica O’Donnell WASHINGTON — As more states move to pass strict voter ID laws, cries of voter suppression have grown louder. But that’s not really new: Voter suppression in the U.S. is as old as the nation itself. From the beginning, white women and enslaved black people were barred from the polls. After the…
By Judayah Murray For many years, there has been a fierce debate over whether or not whipping a child for discipline should actually be considered child abuse. Many people spank their children as a way to teach them right from wrong. And they believe it works, too. Twenty-year-old Terrence Lanham admits that he was in…
By Alexa Imani Spencer Cathay Williams is history’s only known female Buffalo Soldier, according to the National Park Service. In 1866, she enlisted in the United States Army under the pseudonym “William Cathay,” becoming the first known black woman to enlist in the Army and the only documented African-American woman to serve as a soldier…