Kwanzaa 101 for the Uninitiated, Self-Conscious, or Confused

Y’all, Kwanzaa is LIT. Seriously. What other uniquely African-American holiday invites you to spend seven days talking about the realest shit?

Read more...

from The Root https://ift.tt/2ZjA3zC

Lizzo responds to critic who claims she is popular because of ‘obesity epidemic’

Boyce Watkins, a social media and political pundit, set off a Twitterstorm Monday when he attacked Lizzo’s weight.

He complained that the recently named Time Magazine’s entertainer of the year is popular because her weight is reflective of the obesity epidemic in the U.S. He lamented that people classified as obese are dying from diabetes, adding an image of Lizzo alongside the commentary. Fans took to Twitter in no time to condemn the remarks. Lizzo also responded, asking why male artists like DJ Khaled were not subjected to the same scrutiny.

READ MORE: Lizzo named Time Magazine 2019 Entertainer of the Year

#Lizzo popular is because there is an obesity epidemic in America. Rather than encouraging people to do better, we are simply lying to them and telling them that they are just fine the way they are.

Unfortunately, Many of these people are dying from diabetes and heart disease pic.twitter.com/75TY8jJRIX

— Dr Boyce Watkins (@drboycewatkins1) December 20, 2019

Lizzo argued that she is popular because she writes songs that resonate with fans and that she’s a talented performer. She also noted that she’s doing fine and Watkins needs to check himself.

I’m popular because I write good songs and I’m talented and perform high energy hour and a half shows filled with love.

The only person who needs to do better is you.

Keep my name out ya mouth & look in the mirror before you come for me.

Here’s the attention you ordered 😏 https://t.co/zXnOv4f9Dr

— Feelin Good As Hell (@lizzo) December 23, 2019

More than 207,000 Twitter users liked Lizzo’s tweet, many of whom accused Watkins of fat-shaming and sexism, focusing on the singer, instead DJ Khaled, because she’s a confident Black woman at the top of her game.

Here are samples of fans rushing to her defense:

Lizzo is popular because she lets all women know they’re beautiful and fabulous exactly as they are and that we don’t need the validation of any man or anyone but ourselves. She reminds us we are enough. Don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya, sir.

— Music City Mel (@musiccitymel) December 24, 2019

Dr. Watkins out here addressing your fine-ness like he has an MD behind his name.

Sir, your PhD is in finance. @lizzo he just big mad that no amount of his work will reach the people you reach, through love.

Be well, beautiful. xx

— 🎁 Veronica is Present 🎁 (@LovesTheBern) December 23, 2019

Not one to be silenced, Watkins hit back:

Why #Lizzo is popular: We take toxic, deadly, dysfunction and make it cool. All of us are worthy of love, but we should not encourage our people to be unhealthy. https://t.co/XymmVpD7Jj pic.twitter.com/OqOs55kylt

— Dr Boyce Watkins (@drboycewatkins1) December 24, 2019

Let us know your thoughts about this debate in the comments section.

READ MORE: For the Big Black girls who are apathetic about Lizzo’s bare bottom

The post Lizzo responds to critic who claims she is popular because of ‘obesity epidemic’ appeared first on theGrio.

from theGrio https://ift.tt/2ZmMU40

A Treat for Fans, the Rihanna Book Proves Robyn Invented Photographs

First things first, I’m a card-carrying, financial member of Rihanna’s Navy. I admire Rihanna’s hustle and her commitment to petty by releasing an album of photos instead of an album filled with music. We asked for an album, but weren’t specific in our prayers and received a book filled with aesthetically pleasing…

Read more...

from The Root https://ift.tt/35VUhlB

Christmas Gift Ideas for the Washed Black Dads in Your Life

As a washed black dad myself, I’m well-versed in all things washed black dad. I wouldn’t quite call myself a maven just yet—you need approximately 12-15 years of washed black dadding to qualify—but I’m close, and I have the sleeping pattern and sensitive toothpaste to prove it.

Read more...

from The Root https://ift.tt/2ZqQx9h

Ben Carson on slavery reparations: ‘No one is ever going to be able to work that out’

Ben Carson, the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in a recent interview tried to dismantle long-standing arguments by advocates and scholars that the U.S. should pay reparations to descendants of slaves, claiming the racial makeup of Black Americans precludes officials from determining just how much to give relatives today.

READ MORE: HUD secretary Carson under fire for remarks about transgender community

“What I would say about reparations is, you know, show me a mechanism that works,” he told Jericka Duncan in an interview on CBS This Morning that aired Monday. “You know, I did my DNA analysis. OK. I’m 77 percent sub-Saharan African, 20 percent European, 3 percent Asian. So how do you proportion that out to everybody?”

In response to a question from Duncan, Carson, a Republican and fierce supporter of Donald Trump, questioned how the mechanics of such an undertaking would work, and even called it “unworkable.” He suggested the topic of reparations should shift from what is owed African-American descendants of slaves to creating “a better economic situation now.”

“If you can prove you’re a descendant of a slave, though, do you think it’s worth having a conversation?” Duncan asked, for which Carson replied: “Yeah, but what percentage of money do you get? What percentage of reparation? No one is ever going to be able to work that out.”

Duncan pushed back, saying: “But nobody considered what percentage of what black people looked like in the Civil Rights era. They didn’t say, ‘Well, we’re not going to discriminate against you because you might be partially this or partially that.'”

READ MORE: Ben Carson’s hires staffer who wrote he had no problem with whites using the N-word

The retired neurosurgeon wasn’t swayed. “Proportionately, you’re not going to be able to figure it out. And where do you stop it? It’s unworkable. I would much rather concentrate on how do we provide the opportunities for people to get into a better economic situation now,” Carson told CBS.

Almost immediately, Carson’s comments hit Twitter, where experts like Nikole Hannah-Jones, a reporter with The New York Times Magazine who covers race, weighed in on the issue.

Why is @CBSThisMorning interviewing Ben Carson on reparations?

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) December 23, 2019

His reasoning for opposing reparations is genetic tests show black people are mixed. White “blood” didn’t keep black people out of slavery, Ben. https://t.co/tP2rPxhFLo

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) December 23, 2019

The issue of reparations has received renewed interest this year with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) introducing a bill in the House that calls for the establishment of a commission to study the impact of slavery and the continued discrimination against Black people. before the commission makes recommendations on reparations. And Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), a 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful, introduced a similar measure in the Senate this spring.

Also recently, the Union for Reform Judaism, the largest Jewish denomination, backed a resolution that calls for the creation of a federal commission to look into ways to atone for slavery and systemic racism against Black people, according to Huffington Post.

 

The post Ben Carson on slavery reparations: ‘No one is ever going to be able to work that out’ appeared first on theGrio.

from theGrio https://ift.tt/2ELHoPf