Cultural Worker Marie Medjine Antoine Plants Seeds of a Green Economy

Cultural worker Marie Medjine Antoine is an and intern for RISE St. James, a faith-based environmental justice organization in Louisiana. Antoine couples a degree in sociology and Black studies with her passion for the arts. They advocate for divestment from polluting industries and investment in community-centered initiatives. “There really does need to be a divestment in the sense that these industries are funding the schools, the local economy, our politicians,” Antoine says. “It’s creating

What Is Environmental Activism? Youth of Color Creating Justice

Yancey Sanes grew up in the Bronx, and he’s now teaching the borough’s history of environmental activism to GenZ students at the very school he attended, Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School. The school faces Sheridan Boulevard, a multi-lane highway. Sanes’ interdisciplinary, co-taught course on environmental racism covers some infuriating New York City history. In the middle of the 20th century, the Cross-Bronx Expressway was the first large highway built through a city in the United States. T

Jackson’s Maisie Brown Links Social and Environmental Justice

Since her early teens, Maisie Brown has been using her digital media savvy to fight for racial equity: from joining the campaign to remove a Confederate emblem from the Mississippi state flag to supporting voting rights. In 2020, she joined the ACLU of Mississippi as their advocacy coordinator. But last August, when heavy rainfall and Pearl River flooding damaged Jackson’s already-faulty main water plant, her attention began to turn to . Brown put her social media presence to work, telling res

27 Lighthearted First Date Questions to Break the Ice

After getting over the humps of brainstorming first date ideas and what to wear, keeping a lively conversation with someone new can be challenging. Choosing first date questions ahead of time can help you to relax into conversation easier and avoid those uncomfortable moments of awkwardly sipping your water and clearing your throat as you figure out what to say next. Of course, you don’t want to just fire off questions at them — instead you might consider having a couple questions or topics in m

Ron DeSantis Is Erasing Black History From Florida Schools

This February marks the first Black History Month in Florida since governor Ron DeSantis announced his proposal for the “Stop W.O.K.E” act. Much of that proposal ended up being adopted into a sweeping bill called the “Individual Freedom Act,” which DeSantis signed into law. Given the chilling effect this legislation has had on public education in the Sunshine State, there are real questions about just how celebratory this month will actually be for Black history in classrooms. After all, just as

Remembering Black Power Organizations Accurately Is an Act of Resistance

Over 35 years after the Philadelphia Police Department bombed the home of the Black liberation organization MOVE, many questions linger about how the victims’ remains were handled over the years and the ways Black power organizations are generally treated which undermine their legacies. A tragic day for the families and community of the six adults and five children killed has been relived as the alleged remains of 14-year-old Katricia Dotson and 12-year-old Zanetta Dotson were passed back and f

Her Mom Went To Prison When She Was 13. Here's How It Affected Her Ability To Trust Other Women.

Steen, now a 24-year-old living in Seattle, was primarily raised by her father and grandmother in Florida even before the arrest, in part because of her mother’s persisting mental health struggles. Despite the distance between the two, she describes her relationship with her mom prior to incarceration as sometimes distant but still beautiful. “We weren’t super close because she wasn’t really around too heavy. She was always kind of just doing her own thing,” Steen said. “But I remember one thing

Hair Relaxers Pose More Risks For Black Women, Who Still Face Curl Bias

The beauty salon experience was many young Black girls’ one free pass to be in grown folks' business as they listened in on the neighborhood gossip. Salons littered with Jet and Essence magazines and R&B music setting the mood just right was a rite of passage. The 90s saw a boom in Black women straightening their hair and chemical straighteners only recently lost their momentum in the 2010s as the natural hair movement came in with full force.

BIPOC Youth Are Gardening to Feed Their Communities

Lockdowns early in the pandemic were a popular time to pick up old hobbies and try new ones. Although 35- to 44-year-olds garden the most in the United States, a 2022 report shows a 44% surge in Gen Z participation. But for many, it’s more than a hobby: Agricultural work is a means of survival, as many depend on growing their own food to feed their family and communities. For others, they recognize their relationship with the environment is mutual, and their culture instills respect for the land

CRT bans turn public schools into antiblack Christian ones like mine

My path through a private Christian school in Florida offered me a front-row seat to the far-reaching power of white evangelicals over freedom of expression and facts. As critical race theory bans sweep the nation, I've been back in that familiar, uncomfortable place that marked my time at my alma mater—a sentiment that is likely to be the norm now as Florida and other states model public schools after whitewashed private ones like mine.

Microaggressions at Work Make Remote Work the Safer Choice for Black Parents

Although Ernest Provo has only been with his company for a year, he has already experienced racial microaggressions at work in his role as a tech developer for an automation company. Provo says that his company, which is headquartered in Europe, has made it abundantly clear that "if you do not fit the mold of what we consider to be our home office ethnic and cultural background, there are certain positions you just will never be truly evaluated for."

Yvette Nicole Brown on Season 2 of ‘Fairfax’ and the Importance of Black Characters

If you’re a Millennial or Gen Z’er you’ve likely grown up watching Yvette Nicole Brown on some of the funniest, knee-slapping sitcoms like Drake & Josh or Community, or even in the groundbreaking finale of the Avengers franchise: Endgame. But it’s also likely that you’ve been hearing your voice in some of your favorite animated hits and didn’t even realize it, such as Family Guy, Elena of Avalor, or DC Super Hero Girls. The veteran actress has now made her return in season 2 of the adult animate
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