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Black Girl You Are Beautiful!

On Saturday October 15, 2016, Siren Studios opened its doors for an event that was all #BlackGirlBeautiful. A refreshingly uplifting event in Hollywood that gathered the most beautiful (inside and out), talented, dynamic people in celebration of the Black Girl! Founder of BlackGirlBeautiful.com, Nikia Phoenix is a Los Angeles based model, writer, and dream-instigator. As soon as… Read more »

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Dark Boy Complex: It’s Time To Shift The Conversation

I hesitated to write this. I really did. I wrote about this topic a decade ago and it inspired me to create a short documentary (Colour Me Bad: Third Coast Hip Hop) for my senior thesis in college. At the time, I thought my passionate guerilla film had the power to really change the hip… Read more »

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Fuckbois: A gal’s best pet? Or greatest enemy ?

They’re here, probably broke, charming and they know it. According to user ‘thisplacesucksass’ on Urban Dictionary ‘fuckboi’ is another way to spell ‘fuckboy’ which derives from a term given to prison cell mates who is sexually subservient to another cell mate. However user ‘nbild’ is more acquainted with the general term we know of fuckboi… Read more »

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Head Wraps In The Park at Leimert Park LA

It was a tough week for black people. We mourned the murder of Terrence Crutcher.  One of the most recent black lives lost to police violence. And watched several other unlawful acts against black bodies circulate through our news feeds. The trauma caused by reliving these moments add to the generational pain black people suffer from… Read more »

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POST BREAKUP: Finding Self-Love

From Miss Strange: Here you are … again. Night after night, you lay with an emptiness and wake up to feel the void deepen. With a sigh you get up to start your day (and almost without a second thought you forego most body cleanliness. You go out and occupy your thoughts so they won’t… Read more »

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Say Dark Meat: The Wrong Way to Approach A Dark Skin Woman

This weekend a brother tried to holla at me by yelling out, “Say dark meat, come here!” I was high off the very black vibes at the Cali HBCU Reunion, bouncing in my #BlackGirlMagic as I strutted across the yard, and feeling myself in all my glory after a much needed day with black people…. Read more »

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You’re Pretty for A Black Girl

You’re pretty for a black girl. Well I’ve heard that before… Nothing new. The phrase that goes over your head as a girl and comes back to stab you in the gut later. But you’re so pretty for a black girl… there must be something else there. You could be white, native american, hawaiian or… Read more »

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Sex Ed: Beyond Birth Control

My friend and I were recently discussing the sweeping normalization of the infamous Plan B pill. For those who are unaware, it is a “morning after” pill, designed to alter a woman’s cycle to prevent pregnancy after “unprotected” sex and can be taken up to 72 hours after the act. In the past five years,… Read more »

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Beyoncé as Goddess Oshun

Originally posted on 1shadysun.com at shady sun, we believe that, whether they are conscious of it or not, the most enduringly successful pop cultural icons enrich their work with the symbolism of an acutely deliberate variety. drawing from the rich [and often intersecting] archetypes of astrology, numerology, mythology, tarot, etc, the themes and motifs of these “stars” seem… Read more »

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Dear Black Girl in Pursuit of Light

This is the final week in our series Dear Black Girl. In celebration of #BlackFutureMonth we chose to uplift each other with a series of letters to our younger selves. Sistahs honoring our herstory to light the way for our path.   We all know the stereotype of the Angry Black Woman; a hot head, ready to… Read more »

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One Day, My Kids Will Be Black

One Day, My Kids Will Be Black by Aleichia I’ve deeply considered having kids in a world where they will be black, where the color of their skin and the implications it asserts on their character will constantly be assumed as their reality. It’s not something I can control. I can’t decide to bore white… Read more »

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Ask Vann: Can you reverse heat damage?

Pursuit of Nappiness: Ask Vann Column Send your questions for Vann Cosmetics to answer by commenting below or email pursuitofnappingess@gmail.com subject ‘Ask Vann.’ You can even tweet us at @PursuitofNappi| @VannCosmetics #AskVann Can you reverse heat damage? @ShaniSEYso asked, “Sooo I want my curls back. The front is all straight. Can you reverse heat damage?”… Read more »

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Crystal Good on the Pursuit of Nappiness

Crystal Good is a writer poet. Quantum Christian. Tunk player. Libra charmer. Underdog cheerleader. She is also the first Social Media Senator for the Digital District for West Virginia. Meet Crystal Good on “I am on the Pursuit of Nappiness” A series featuring various artist and ambitious entrepreneurs who embody what it means to be… Read more »