Why I Dropped Everything And Started Teaching Kendrick Lamar’s New Album

Brian Mooney

When Kendrick Lamar released his sophomore album, To Pimp A Butterfly (2015), I was in the middle of teaching a unit on Toni Morrison’s novel, The Bluest Eye (1970). My freshmen students were grappling with some big ideas and some really complex language. Framing the unit as an “Anti-Oppression” study, we took special efforts to define and explore the kinds of institutional and internalized racism that manifest in the lives of Morrison’s African-American characters, particularly the 11-year-old Pecola Breedlove and her mother, Pauline. We posed questions about oppression and the media – and after looking at the Dick & Jane primers that serve as precursors to each chapter, considered the influence of a “master narrative” that always privileges whiteness.

Set in the 1940s, the Breedlove family lives in poverty. Their only escape is the silver screen, a place where they idolize the glamorous stars of the film industry. Given the historical context…

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#LoveSerenaHateRacism A Discourse On Western Attitudes Towards Serena Williams

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It was a tough crowd out there … the story of my life. ~ Serena Williams

I once said that I am the most underestimated Grand Slam winner. Every article says “she overpowered her opponent.” It is a lot more than I never get credit for mental and it is kind of frustrating. ~ Serena Williams

When people like me, they tell me it is in spite of my color. When they dislike me, they point out that it is not because of my color. Either way, I am locked into the infernal circle. ~ Frantz Fanon

She is Frank Bruno with lipstick. Bigger arms than Frank too. ~ Online comment

by Ahmed Olayinka Sule 

“I could not believe what came out of his mouth…he said some awful things… and as an African American I’m not going to stand for it” she said as she approached the umpire pointing…

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Small foreign-owned retailers in South Africa are more competitive than local rivals

Taylor Swift has successfully shamed Apple Music into paying artists all the time

“You can’t do that! Stories have to be about White people”

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Young Writers of Colour

byDarren Chetty

I’ve spent almost two decades teaching in English primary schools, which serve multiracial, multicultural, multifaith communities. I want to explore two things I have noticed.

1)    Almost without exception, whenever children are asked to write a story in school, children of colour will write a story featuring white characters with ‘traditional’ English names who speak English as a first language.

2)    Teachers do not discuss this phenomenon.

Furthermore, simply pointing these two things out can lead to some angry responses in my experience.

Why are you making an issue of race when children are colourblind?”

is an example of the sort of question that sometimes gets asked.

Well let’s look at that. If children were writing stories where the race of characters was varied and random, there might be some merit in claiming that children are colourblind. However, even proponents of racial colourblindness…

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For the next generation, sweatpants will be what jeans were to us

There’s still plenty of money in dumb phones

Women business leaders are knocking on the doors of Africa’s boardrooms

#Ethiopia – Moody’s issues report, B1 (stable) rating supported by growth, prudent fiscus. Weak institutions remain constraint.

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By Rafiq Raji, Ph.D.

Moody’s sees the Ethiopian economy growing by 10% on average over the next 2 years. Strong growth expectations are largely on the back of continued public investments. The second Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP II) due in June should provide insights on authorities’ plans. On the fiscal side, Moody’s notes the authorities’ prudence; with debt still mostly concessionary. State-owned enterprises’ (SOEs) debt burden – mostly commercial – colour this assessment to the downside, however. A significant portion of Ethiopia’s budget remains donor-funded. There are no significant risks in this regard. Moody’s notes as much. Institutional weaknesses remain constraining, however. Others are its still relatively small economy and low per capita income. Long-running FX shortages also weigh on the country’s momentum. Still, Ethiopia’s capacity to fulfill its debt obligations remain strong.

See link to press release by Moody’s https://m.moodys.com/mt/www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-Ethiopias-favourable-growth-prospects-and-low-debt-burden-support–PR_326617?un_jtt_redirect=un_jtt_iosV

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The scientist who designed the fake interfaces in “Minority Report” and “Iron Man” is now building real ones