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A Makeup Artist Posted A Blackface Makeup Look And Won’t Apologize

If you are exhausted by the never-ending coverage of President Donald Trump’s “covfefe” typo, then allow me to make you feel even more confused by the world: this week, a popular makeup artist left fans raging when he posted a before and after makeup look featuring a blackface “look.” His response? A non-apology that did little to make things better – in fact, it probably just made things worse. This is just another reminder that ignorance is still very real, especially when concerning race, no matter how *woke* the internet may seem to be.

17 Times Racist People On The Internet Got Owned

therapy, tbh.

15 Ways You’re Being Racist Without Knowing It

Don’t do it!

15 Of The Best Things Comedians Have Said About Racism That Will Change Everything

4 Reasons Why You Should Never Say “All Lives Matter”

7 Annoying Things You Need To Stop Saying About Police Brutality

13 POC Characters That Were Surprisingly Played By White Actors

Another day, another massive Twitter timeline of articles begrudging a beloved POC character (or real life person) being played by a white actor in the movie adaptation of their life/book/story. I wish this was infinitely less common instead of a typical Tuesday, but it’s become a pervasive, problematic, awful part of our culture that needs to be changed ASAP. The people that the story is about should get to be the people who tell the story, hands down, bar none, end of discussion. Unfortunately, the problem with the big movie studios and their prejudice against hiring these POC actors to play an appropriate role is systemwide and can’t easily be solved by them simply doing the right thing. gurl on instagram and pinterest

9 Words You Say All The Time You Never Knew Were Racist

The meanings of most words change over time, which is why there are so many words out there that were once acceptable and are now problematic. Example: there are lots of words you say all the time that you probably never realized are racist or have racist origins. Some of them seem so harmless, and you probably don’t intend for them to be an issue. You may not mean for them to reference an ethnic or religious group when you say them, because in your mind, the word’s new meaning is so far removed from it’s original intended use. It’s unfortunate that it’s so easy to adopt a racial slur as a regular, mostly positive adjective, but that’s why we write things like this – to keep you informed.

9 TV Shows That Tackled Race In Very Special Episodes

As somebody who watched way more TV than I should have growing up, I’ve seen a lot of “very special episodes” of sitcoms in my time. Most of them–especially from old shows from the ’80s and early ’90s–were super cheesy to the point of being cringe worthy. Sure, it was great that they took the time to coer drugs, child molesters, and AIDS with its audience, but at what cost if you can’t watch it without wincing at the heavy handed dialogue?

Admit It: You Only Like Big Lips When They’re Not On Black People

Black women are constantly stuck in a messy beauty paradox. We’re routinely considered less attractive than other races and everything from our braids to our do-rags are derided as ghetto and unbecoming. And yet, at the same time, our hairstyles are repeatedly appropriated on different bodies and considered cool or chic. Some of our most notable physical features–like our butts–are ridiculed or exotified…and then non-black people get butt implants or wear booty pops in an attempt to make their butts bigger. Basically, black features aren’t cool until they’re on non-black bodies…and then they’re okay.

If you think I’m overreacting or making any of this up, just take a look at the response to a recent post on MAC’s Instagram page. It features a black woman with full lips wearing a gorgeous dark purple lipstick...

12 Backhanded Compliments You Should Never Give A Black Girl

“Black people are so cool. I wish I were black.”: This is not a compliment. Whenever I hear this, I think: “No, you do not wish you were black. You’re only fetishizing black culture because it ‘looks really cool’, and you’re not even considering the oppressions that are tied to being a woman of color.”

Everything You Need To Know About White Privilege

I think it’s hard to be a girl or young woman who spends a fair amount of time on the internet without coming across the term “white privilege.” But while its popularity as a term has undoubtedly grown thanks to woke Tumblr posts and nuggets of wisdom from Amandla Stenberg and Rowan Blanchard Instagram posts, it’s a phrase that is becoming more mainstream. I mean, Macklemore just came out with a song literally called “White Privilege” not too long ago. And yet, there’s still a lot of confusion over what exactly white privilege means. Hell, I–a black chick–have gotten into debates about the phrase with white friends, black friends, and every kind of friend in-between.

art by sarah wintner

7 Questions You Should Never Ask During Black History Month

It’s Black History Month, which means that I’ll spend the next few weeks basking in black pride, learning new things about black figures of the past and present, and dealing with a whole lot of racists on the internet and in real life. Great! No, but really, it’s that last bit that can turn a month of celebration into a month of misery, especially as a black woman.

And before any of you read this and think that you’re not part of the problem, you just might be. Some of the most egregious examples of racism I’ve dealt with during Black History Month aren’t coming from people who are self-described racists who think the KKK was pretty cool. No, it comes from people who would never think they have a racist bone in their body, until they ask a racially insensitive question and get called out for it. Some of the most seemingly innocent questions can be laden in a lot of racist BS and a general lack of understanding about how the world works. Need some examples to help you get through the month without pissing anybody off? Check out these seven questions you should never ask during Black History Month. Instead, receive the answers you’re seeking without making an ass out of yourself. Good luck!

6 Body Parts You Won’t Believe People ACTUALLY Bleach

I know that a common girl power mantra these days is to support a girl doing whatever they want with their body as long as it gives them confidence. I get it, let girls wear as much or as little makeup as they want, if an overweight girl wants to show off her tummy and rock a crop top, she should be able to do that without controversy. Still, I’m weary about blind support for this line of thinking when it could potentially support things like bleaching. No, I’m not talking about hair bleaching, I’m talking about bleaching the body.

8 Badass Teens Who Changed The World In 2015

I think that most people erroneously associate teen years with apathy and ignorance. I mean, sure, being cynical AF and thinking you know more than you actually do is a pretty vital part of being a teenager, but I think it’s unfair to sell so many teens short with such static descriptors. Just from my observations, teenagers today are a lot more aware and, frankly, woke than I was as a teen not so long ago. The fact that even teen celebs like Rowan Blanchard are eloquently writing about feminism and intersectionality on social media makes the teen celebs I grew up with–like Lindsay Lohan–look pretty unimpressive in comparison.

14 Of The Most Racist Moments Of 2015

2015 was a great year to be racist af.

Seriously, racism always has been and might always be a problem, but this year seemed to really up the ante. Where to start? The Charleston shooting? Kylie Jenner getting praise for rocking cornrows? Or maybe the Islamophobia that increased tenfold this year? Anything that came out of Donald Trump’s mouth? Woof, so many things to choose from, I’m tellin’ you.

6 Easy Ways To Confront Your Racist Friend That Are Actually Effective

I recently dealt with one of the most blatantly racist IRL moments ever, and it was as upsetting and awkward as you can imagine. I had organized a get together and decided to invite someone I was friends with back in high school. Let’s call him Mark. To be frank, I regretted inviting him pretty quickly. His behavior was obnoxious enough–stealing food off of people’s plates, making sexist remarks–but then it happened. I was talking with a friend of mine who is black, just like me, about food, and chicken came up somehow. My friend said that she didn’t like chicken much, which led Mark to say, “Oh my God, you’re such a bad black person!”