“…Do the impossible, raise an African American girl who felt as fully entitled to own the world as much as any white man,” I recalled that line, uttered in a […]
Author: Oneka LaBennett
Oneka LaBennett is associate professor of Africana Studies at Cornell University. She’s the author of She’s Mad Real: Popular Culture and West Indian Girls in Brooklyn and editor of Racial Formation in the Twenty-First Century. Twitter: @OnekaLaBennett
At the Grammys, Domestic Violence is Cause Célèbre, But Black Women Rappers Are Uncelebrated
Leading up to last night’s Grammy Awards, controversy centered on what a victory for the white, Australia-born rapper Iggy Azalea would signify, as she would have been the first solo […]
Criticism of Sasha and Malia Obama Shows How America Views Black Youth
Yesterday, GOP staffer Elizabeth Lauten resigned amid a firestorm of criticism over her disparaging comments about Sasha and Malia Obama. Referring to the short skirts the First Daughters wore to […]
Danièle Watts, Slut-Shaming and Supporting the Black Female Victim/Offender
Recently reports surfaced that actress Danièle Watts, who appeared in the film Django Unchained, was detained by Los Angeles police responding to a complaint that a white man and Black […]
Gabby Douglas is Not Her Hair
“Are you kidding me? I just made history. And you’re focusing on my hair?” That was 16-year-old Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas, bravely echoing singer India.Arie’s anthem, “I Am Not […]
How Does Nicki Minaj Influence Black Girls?
Nicki Minaj is poised to make a splash with her sophomore album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, on April 3. After head-turning appearances at the Grammys and the NBA All-Star Game […]