This week, we were overwhelmed with cuteness by these pictures of John Boyega being force-choked by a mini-Vader, among other things.
Hillary Clinton was confronted by #blacklivesmatter activists and while she pointed to the need for definite policy changes, her response was defensive and distancing.
Bernie Sanders thought his apology to #blacklivesmatter activists was unnecessary.
Shaun King, a prominent #blacklivesmatter activist, had to defend himself against accusations from conservative news outlets that he was lying about being black. Many people pointed out the issues with why we’re so quick to believe white media.
19 Trans women, most of them black and Latina, have been killed in the past year.
Activists painted the NYC Stonewall statues brown to recognize the actual Stonewall activists of color.
College students in America have conflicting opinions on race, as the distinction between color-blindness and diversity gets confused and misunderstood by white students.
Medium took a look at race in America this week, from a quick history lesson of black people in the arts to the complications of being brown in the summer.
Medium’s Chaédria LaBouvier chronicles seeing police attack a disabled homeless black man in yet another example of state violence against disenfranchised people.
A decade after Hurricane Katrina, the New York Times looks at the charter school movement’s attempts to reform and improve schools with little actual success. This seems to go along with the racial gap in the perception of quality of life in New Orleans.
A new study indicates that education does not close the racial wealth gap, particularly among black and latino populations.
Congrats to Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, the first openly transgender White House official, who is also a Latina.
Chief Justice Sonia Sotomayor was in the Bronx for the unveiling of a mural in her honor by graffiti artists TATS-CRU
Last week, the 300 Men March walked from Baltimore to Washington, D.C. as part of an anti-violence rally.
Also in our nation’s capital, Janelle Monáe lead protests in D.C. prior to a free concert, in support of #blacklivesmatter.
Speaking of which, Stevie Wonder threw some surprise free concerts this past week, revisiting his Songs in the Key of Life.
Two more women have come forward in sexual assault accusations against Bill Cosby, bringing the total up to 50. Zoë Kravitz has commented on her mother’s silence, calling the accusations “disgusting.”
Straight Outta Compton is still in the news, whether it’s getting praise from other filmmakers, being called out for missing some details, or receiving criticism for glossing over some the misogyny and violent acts towards women. Dre recently apologized “to the women [he’s] hurt.” However, apologies aside, the movie is still getting a lot of flak for ignoring black women’s stories.
As summer is winding down, and music festivals are wrapping up, we had Kelis showing off her baby bump at Afropunk in Brooklyn, and Kanye bringing surprise guest Rihanna on stage at FYF Fest in Los Angeles.
Wiz Khalifa was violently arrested for riding a hovercraft at LAX this past week.
There was a bit of internet furor over a joke about R. Kelly and Blue Ivy on Hulu’s new series, Difficult People. While most of the (white) internet was quick to call the reaction overblown or just part of over-exaggerated internet culture, those responses are dismissive to the fact that often black children are usually the butt of these types of jokes, while noted white sexual abusers, like Woody Allen are given lifetime achievement awards.
A new promo for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah was released.
Diego Luna has started a new studio, Gloria, to promote Latin American culture in film.
Alfre Woodard is joining the cast of Marvel’s Luke Cage series.
Following the excitement of Hamilton, OhNoTheyDidnt has a list of 5 American musicals with black casts.
Sanam, new internet icon, has some feelings about cultural appropriation and we love her for it.
Have you seen the trailers for No Escape about a poor white family trying to get out of a war-torn unnamed Asian nation, because Asians are scary, am I right? Well, some of those scary Asians are taking steps against the film, and it will not be screened in Cambodia.
In the whole Harry Potter movie series, people of color speak for a grand total of 5 minutes and 40 seconds.
Besides getting force-choked, John Boyega appears in next month’s Vogue to promote Star Wars: The Force Awakens with costar Daisy Ridley and they are the cutest.
https://instagram.com/p/6gY4nFFE9J/
You can also catch them on the cover of Empire Magazine.
I sort of twisted my ankle this past week, and I could never pull something like David Oyelowo does, with his one-legged trick shot.
We end this week with this poem by Melissa Lozada Oliva on how white men have taken to critiquing how young women (predominantly of color) speak.
