Category: Uncategorized

“President Trump, we’re not going anywhere.” 

That’s the crux of the message that women who participated in “A Day Without A Woman” actions have for President Donald Trump. The Huffington Post went to a 4 p.m. rally in New York City on March 8 to ask women there what they wanted the president to know. 

Those who spoke to the camera touched on the lack of respect that the president seems to have for the very women he is now responsible for. 

“Women’s rights are human rights and the way that you talk about women and the way that you treat women is very disgusting,” said one woman.

Another woman asked POTUS to “believe in the future of women, and trust us.”

“Read some black feminist theory and realize that intersectionality is the way that all of your constituents live their lives every single day,” a third rally participant implored the president. “We struggle and we deserve respect and equality.”

Another day, another persistent group of women (and men). 

This Women’s History Month, remember that we have the power to make history every day. Follow along with HuffPost on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram in March using #WeMakeHerstory.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

While Dave Chappelle has a knack for being able to inject humor into discussions about race, there were no punchlines involved during his reflection on an incident of police violence in his hometown. 

In a video posted Monday, Chappelle is seen speaking at a City Council meeting in Yellow Springs, Ohio, about two black men being Tased by police during New Year’s Eve festivities.

Many residents in the predominately white village ― described by Flavor Wire as a “hippie town” ― were upset by the behavior of law enforcement officials that night. 

Chappelle began his two-minute statement by noting his personal interactions with the police in the town have been positive, and he even recalled having a level of familiarity with the officers in town while he was growing up ― a contrast, he said, with current community-police relations. 

“Now we’re being policed by what feels like an alien force,” Chappelle said. 

He pointed out that the town can use the opportunity of selecting a new police chief ― the last resigned shortly after the incident ― to become the standard in “progressive law enforcement.”

“I would beseech the council to look deeply and a little hard because this is a golden opportunity ― literally we could kill the game ― in this Trump era,” he continued. “This is an opportunity to show everybody that local politics reigns supreme. We can make our corner of the world outstanding.”

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) said he told President Donald Trump in a meeting on Wednesday that the way he’s described African-American communities is “insulting.”

During the presidential campaign, Trump frequently painted a grim and inaccurate picture of black communities, saying they were in “the worst shape they’ve ever been in before.”

“Look how much African-American communities are suffering under Democratic control. To those, I say the following: What do you have to lose by trying something new, like Trump?” Trump asked on the campaign trail in August. “You’re living in poverty. Your schools are no good. You have no jobs. Fifty-eight percent of your youth is unemployed. What the hell do you have to lose?”

Cummings, a vocal Trump critic, told the Baltimore Sun he’d reminded the president how damaging those comments were on Wednesday, saying, “I want you to realize that all African-American communities are not places of depression and where people are being harmed. When we hear those words about carnage and we are living in depressed situations, I told him it was very hurtful.”

In an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Cummings said Trump had replied that he would change the language he used to describe black communities.

“He shook his head and said, ‘You got a point there, you’re absolutely right, I’m gonna change that language.’”

Cummings also told CNN that he had confronted Trump over his promised investigation of voter fraud, telling him that such fraud is nonexistent and urging him to investigate voter suppression instead.

The White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment regarding Trump’s conversation with Cummings.

The Maryland congressman and Trump met to talk about lowering prescription drug prices. Previously, Trump said he’d called Cummings to set up a meeting on the topic after hearing him speak about it on television, and complained that the lawmaker was avoiding him.

“He wanted it, but we called, called, called, and I can’t make a meeting with him. Every day, I walk and say, ‘I would like to meet with him,’ because I do want to solve the problem,” Trump said at a news conference last month. “He probably was told by [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer ― or somebody like that, some other lightweight ― he was probably told, he was probably told, ‘Don’t meet with Trump. It’s bad politics.’”

Cummings denied he had canceled any prior meeting with Trump, and told the Baltimore Sun that Wednesday’s meeting was productive. When the paper asked whether his feelings about the president had changed, Cummings replied, “We’ll see what happens.”

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

NEW YORK ― Women across the country joined the “Day Without A Woman” on Wednesday, a global strike from paid and unpaid labor that took place in more than 50 countries around the world. In the United States, women came together during International Women’s Day from coast to coast to take part in rallies and protests of all sizes, pushing back against gender inequality in its many forms.

At a peaceful rally in New York City’s Washington Square Park late Wednesday afternoon, a crowd of hundreds ― many wearing red or the knit pussy hats that became a symbol of January’s Women’s March ― joined together to demonstrate their support for the strike. Some of the attendees had been striking all day, while others who could not take the day off work were able to join the rally after their work day ended.

Those gathered later marched down to Zuccotti Park, stopping along the way at places like the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory and the Stonewall Inn, which hold historical significance in the fight for social justice. The late afternoon rally followed a noon gathering in Central Park which ended with the arrest of 13 Women’s March organizers and supporters ― including the four Women’s March co-chairs. 

Below, 21 women share the powerful, personal reasons why they showed up in solidarity with their sisters in New York ― and around the world. 

Cynthia Sealy, 42

”I’m out here for all kinds of reasons. First of all, my mom passed and if it wasn’t for her, there’d be no me. So I’m representing her. And also I’m representing my wife. She does construction. And I’m representing myself, because I’m a cook. A lot of women, we cook for a living but we don’t get the amount of respect and props that we should deserve.”

Arielle Goldman, 28

“I’m actually not striking. I am working, because I’m taking care of this little one [my friend’s child]. But I’m wearing red in support of the strike and the protest and bringing this little girl to the rally because I think it’s important to all women of all ages to be empowered and to feel like they’re part of a movement.”

Desiree Perez, 67

“I just think it’s really, really important to come out and have strength in numbers, especially when you feel so powerless about everything else that’s happening politically. And I want to say, as a senior citizen, that this is my second round of this, because when I was in college and young, this is how we fought against the Vietnam war, how we supported the initial women’s rights movement, and civil rights. So it’s like the next round of it.”

Elizabeth Tomasetti, 38

“I was very excited that my son was born under Obama and very saddened that four years of his life are going to be under Trump. And I think it’s very important to demonstrate to the next generations coming up that the government is not a representation of this country in a majority.”

Grace Torres, 45, Kaya Torres, 6, Jazmin Torres, 17

”I need to teach them to stand up for themselves as well as our sisters. I think that with the new president, we are going to lose out on a lot of our rights. We already see how misogynistic he is. So I need to teach them that they need to keep fighting, not just for them but for everyone else.”

Jamia Wilson, 36

”I am here because women’s rights are human rights, and I believe that it’s really important for those of us who can to stand for gender justice, for economic justice as well as for racial justice. We are at a really critical point in our history where it’s really important for us to ensure that our values are being upheld.”

Janelle Pitts, 21

”I think with the new administration that’s just taken office, it’s very important to come out and show that we’re here, we’re loud and we have voices that will be heard.”

Jeannie Lee, 50

”I stayed home for 12 years as a mom to raise a special needs child … we diminish it, that role.”

Katherine Boyd, 34

”Reproductive rights are a huge issue for me. I just believe that stripping away Planned Parenthood is the biggest mistake you could possibly make.”

Lorena, 40

“Well, I’m standing here in solidarity not just with women, but with every oppressed group whose rights are being crushed and disrespected in many ways. And I think it’s highly important because we as women also represent, you know, the majority of the population in the world, and what we do, our work, our efforts, our contributions are never valued and cherished and compensated in the same way as men.”

Maddie, 18

”[I’m here] mostly for equality of the sexes, and then also for intersectionality within feminism.”

Mary Curren, 36

“[My daughter] is disabled. She was born with a hearing impairment, which we just found out about a few months ago,  and my stomach turned when I saw our current president mocking a disabled person. I’m out here for her. I’m out here for all women and all girls. The future is female, you know? And we have to keep fighting for our little ones.”

Morgan Evans, 32 (with her mother and dog, Sandwich)

“I’m striking today because I feel like in this day and age, going about your regular business as usual and going to work and not striking is also a political act.”

Naima Shea, 51

“I came to this country from a country where women are treated like a second class citizen. You can buy women, abuse women, do whatever you want and it’s OK. I escaped here and I found a fabulous country where I was welcomed, and there was prosperity, until this administration where I see they’ve taken us back 50 years or maybe more.”

Rie Ma, 29

”I’m a woman so everything that’s going on is affecting me directly. And there are many, many women who cannot be here, so I thought it was even more important that I be available and put my body out here.”

Tara Dalton, 21

“Women’s rights are under attack right now. And I also [came to the rally because] I conveniently have classes all around this square and was intrigued by the crowd, if I’m being honest.”

Toni Carter, 31, Taylor, 6

“At some point you have to stop and sit there and say, ‘This is wrong. You can’t do this to other people.’ And it’s just not right. This is supposed to be a land of opportunity, freedom and it’s just now, I feel like, we’re in jail now. We can have people come in. We have to watch what we say. You know, it’s ridiculous. I’m here for her. I’m here to say you’re not just going to take this lying down.”

Anke Gruendel, 34

“I work in academia. I’m a PhD student and I can see every day in my classes that men interact very very differently than women. Men have a different type of discourse and are much more present in classes and the class discourse. And while that’s OK, I think it’s also necessary to talk about this difference, and this distinction … I think it’s also important to talk about the ongoing gap in pay. Because we’re not getting paid equally, and we’re not being given the same chances.”

Annabel Sexton, 13

”This woman’s movement is really important to me as a young adult growing up in a world where I want women to be respected. And especially because I’m young I think I can do a lot, and I think it’s important for people my age especially to work towards this cause.”

Brette, 32

”I think that Washington was sort of the catalyst for an organized movement, and I think that this is one way to really build solidarity, and continue making and taking action.”

Agunda Okeyo, 34

“I guess the reason why I feel really excited about being here is that I do believe we need a much more intersectional, multi-racial kind of diverse approach to how we’re going to deal with the ongoing administration. So I always like to be in the company of people who I can connect with across cultures, and even across politics sometimes to try and create solutions.”

This Women’s History Month, remember that we have the power to make history every day. Follow along with HuffPost on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in March using #WeMakeHerstory.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Samuel L. Jackson hasn’t seen “Get Out,” the almost universally loved horror that tackles racism in America. But this week, he suggested it’s just another example of a worrisome trend: Hollywood’s apparent fondness for casting black British actors as Americans.

In the film, Daniel Kaluuya, a Brit, plays the American boyfriend of a white woman who takes him home to meet her family. To Jackson, that discrepancy is concerning. The “Kong: Skull Island” star brought up the broader trend of using Brits to tell poignant American stories in light of the popularity of “Get Out” during a radio interview.

“I tend to wonder, what would that movie had been with an American brother who really understands that, in a way,” Jackson said about the themes of the film, penned by “Key & Peele” alum Jordan Peele. “Daniel [Kaluuya] grew up in a country where, you know, they’ve been interracially dating for a hundred years … So what would a brother from America have made of that role?”

“You know, some things are universal, but everything ain’t,” he added. Afterward, the actor clarified his comments with Sky News, stating that he didn’t intend to “slam” black British actors.

“It was just a comment about how Hollywood works in an interesting sort of way sometimes,” he said.

In the radio interview, Jackson expressed his surprise over the realization that Idris Elba, who portrayed Stringer Bell on HBO’s Baltimore crime drama “The Wire,” was a British actor. He also brought up “Selma” actor David Oyelowo, another Brit, who was cast as Martin Luther King Jr.

“You had some brothers from America who could’ve been in that movie,” Jackson said, who “would have had a different idea about how that works, of how King thinks, how King felt.” 

The trend may not have been so visible in the 2017 Oscar race, where the American Mahershala Ali was honored for his performance in “Moonlight,” Viola Davis for “Fences,” and a collection of performances by other black Americans were up for consideration.

But it certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed. Three years ago, a Huffington Post article celebrated Britain’s “coveted pool” of black acting talent. British “12 Years a Slave” star Chiwetel Ejiofor was asked about his nationality during a 2013 interview with IndieWire about the American slave drama. A 2012 piece in The Guardian noted black British actors’ migration overseas, citing a lack of opportunity for black actors in the UK. A piece in BuzzFeed, published around the time “Selma” was up for awards, said the same. 

Asked why he thought Hollywood seems to prefer Brits, Jackson replied with a laugh, “They’re cheaper than us, for one thing. And they think they’re better trained, for some reason, than we are.”

“Everybody needs to work, but there’s a lot of brothers that need to work, too,” he concluded.

To at least one black British actor, John Boyega of “Star Wars” fame, Jackson’s critique didn’t sit right.

The actor tweeted his take on Hollywood casting choices Wednesday, dismissing the debate as “a stupid ass conflict we don’t have time for.”

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Thursday marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Christopher Wallace, aka The Notorious B.I.G.

From his lyrical genius to his vibrant Coogi sweaters, Biggie Smalls was a standout MC and a true icon. It’s not hard to see why so many creatives honor the late legend with their art.

We’ve rounded up 20 drawings, painting, graphics and murals that celebrate one of the greatest rappers to ever live. Marvel at them below.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

Samuel L. Jackson has acted in a lot of great films, and elevated some not-so-great ones.

The movie star recreated many of his most well-known scenes on Wednesday, with assistance from “Late Late Show” host James Corden. From “Pulp Fiction” and “Jackie Brown” to “Star Wars” and “Snakes On A Plane,” Corden effortlessly slid into the co-star role each and every time, but it was Jackson who truly shined.

Check out the full segment above.

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— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

NEW YORK ― Leaders of the “Day Without A Woman” strike arrested outside Trump International Hotel on Wednesday were released by police, one by one, later in the evening.

Organizers Tamika Mallory, Carmen Perez and Linda Sarsour, co-chairs of January’s Women’s March on Washington, emerged from a police precinct exhausted but optimistic, greeted by a couple dozen activists who had waited to give them food and support. Police said 13 people were arrested.

Sarsour, the last of the three leaders to be freed, said the mood inside the jail cell was “empowering” and “inspiring.” Mallory, who was released about an hour earlier, said a dozen or so women were singing freedom songs to pass the time.

Sarsour was upset that authorities were still holding fellow Women’s March co-chair Bob Bland, who gave birth just a few months ago and needed to nurse her baby. 

“She’s expressing her milk in the sink, but they won’t let her out,” Sarsour said.

Mallory, Perez and Sarsour said they would wait outside of the precinct until the last woman is released. Members of the group tweeted earlier that they were arrested after blocking traffic.

“I got arrested with some of the strongest women that represent the best that New York City has to offer,” Sarsour said. “I feel empowered, I feel proud of what I did today and I’ve done this many times before. … I hope it sends a message to people that you’ve got to risk it, you’ve got to be bold in this moment.” 

Mallory said that she hopes Wednesday’s strike shows people that President Donald Trump and his administration are “not normal.”

“We will consistently resist and ensure that this entire country is aware that if women are not happy no one will be happy,” Mallory said. 

“The resistance,” she said earlier, “is alive and well,” 

Oh, yes it is. 

Watch the full Facebook live stream with Mallory below. To watch the full Facebook live stream with Sarsour head here. 

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— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

It’s normal to feel a little wobbly and unsure of yourself after a heartbreak.

That’s the takeaway from graphic designer Melody Hansen’s Instagram account, which features gorgeous, illustrated quote cards that touch on all the emotions you feel when a relationship (or would-be relationship) comes to an end.

The illustrations are inspired by Hansen’s personal experiences and observations.

“They’re personal realizations that have allowed me to grow and heal and if they can bring light to someone else, I share them,” the 26-year-old Toronto-based artist said. “Sometimes the truth hurts, but sharing the pain with someone who can relate makes the pain a little less scary to feel.”

Scroll down to see some of Hansen’s work and be sure to head to her Instagram for more.

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— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices

For Gabourey Sidibe, weight-loss surgery wasn’t about taking the easy way out.

The “Empire” star writes about dealing with depression, anxiety and bulimia before she underwent laproscopic bariatric surgery in May 2016 in her new memoir, This Is Just My Face: Try Not to Stare. 

The actress struggled with her weight for more than a decade before she decided to go under the knife and writes she knew the surgery would mean making real changes to her life. 

“My surgeon said they’d cut my stomach in half. This would limit my hunger and capacity to eat. My brain chemistry would change and I’d want to eat healthier. I’ll take it! My lifelong relationship with food had to change,” she writes in her memoir, due out May 1. 

In an interview with People, the 33-year-old further opened up about her decision to undergo surgery, which she said was tied to the fact that she was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

“I just didn’t want to worry. I truly didn’t want to worry about all the effects that go along with diabetes. I genuinely [would] worry all the time about losing my toes,” she told the magazine. 

While the surgery was motivated by health concerns, Sidibe is no stranger to body-image issues. She told People she’s learned to embrace her body, no matter what size she may be.

“There’s nothing ugly about me. Anyone trying to convince me that I am — and it’s usually me — is wasting her time,” she told People. “I was in a war with my body for a long time. If I’d started treating it better sooner, I wouldn’t have spent so many years hating myself. But I love my body now.”

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Source: HuffPost Black Voices