https://thenerdsofcolor.org/2019/10/22/the-ix-best-moments-from-the-final-rise-of-skywalker-trailer/

Finally, after weeks of anticipation — and one half of terrible football (unless you were a New England Patriots fan) — the world finally got to see the final trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and ultimately, the final trailer of the Skywalker Saga. And it did not disappoint! Here are nine (or […]

https://www.essence.com/news/princeton-theological-seminary-28m-scholarship-reparations/

Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey will set aside $28 million in scholarships and doctoral fellowships for the descendants of chattel slavery and “underrepresented” groups, as a means of providing reparations for the institution’s role in profiting on the backs, labor, and pain of enslaved people, according to the Associated Press.

In addition to designating five doctoral fellowships for descendants of enslaved Africans, the payments will include 30 scholarships, valued at the cost of tuition plus $15,000, NJ.com reports. The seminary will also hire a full-time director for the Center for Black Church Studies.

Princeton Theological Seminary profited from the slavery economy by investing in Southern banks and had donors who benefited from slavery. Founding teachers and leaders exploited the labor of enslaved people and some advocated to send free Black men and women to Liberia.

In a statement Friday, President M. Craig Barnes called the payments an “act of repentance.”

“The Seminary’s ties to slavery are a part of our story,” Barnes said. “It is important to acknowledge that our founders were entangled with slavery and could not envision a fully integrated society… We did not want to shy away from the uncomfortable part of our history and the difficult conversations that revealing the truth would produce.”

This is not the first “reparations” package from an institution of higher learning.

As ESSENCE previously reported in April, students at Georgetown University overwhelmingly voted in favor of setting up a fund that would go to the descendants of the 272 enslaved Africans that were sold to pay off Georgetown Jesuits’ debts. 

The post Princeton Theological Seminary Approves $28M Scholarship Fund As Reparations For Slavery appeared first on Essence.

https://blackgirlnerds.com/focusing-on-the-issues-and-not-just-voting-will-advance-the-black-vote-in-2020/

It’s true that if Black voters come out in record numbers we can change our entire legislature and finally have representation that works for us.

According to an NBC report written by Janell Ross:

Longtime political organizer, LaTosha Brown of Black Voters Matter, was in Flint to mobilize Black voters — one stop on an 11-state tour. Brown and her organization, the Black Voters Matter Fund, which she co-founded with political strategist Cliff Albright in November 2016, are doing this work in an unusual way. In the first 20 minutes or so in Flint, before a group of about 20 people, the words “vote,” “voting” and “election” never left Brown’s mouth. Not once.

Democrats should no longer be the antithesis to the Republican party or the lesser of two evils. In 2016, many Black voters and people of color decided to sit the general election out because they felt Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, did not speak to issues that impact them. Clinton made the mistake of being the anti-Trump candidate and that simply if you don’t vote for her, you could do a lot worse.

Unfortunately, this isn’t going to help Black Americans with student loan debt, criminal justice reform or decreasing the rising costs of their healthcare.

The strategy should be more than just Black voters to come out to vote. Who wants to vote for a candidate who shares little to no concern about your community? It’s time candidates speak directly to issues that adversely impact the lives of Black voters and if a candidate is not doing that, then they’re not going to get that vote.

According to the NBC report about Black Voters Matter’s theory:

Those who gain meaningful influence in their own communities develop a faith in democracy itself. They can become enthusiastic, or at least frequent, participants at every level and create social pressure for others to do the same. It’s an approach that banks on the fact that black citizens’ concerns are often ignored, treated like the fallout of character flaws rather than policy failures.

For more read the full story on NBCNews.com

The post Focusing on the Issues and Not Just Voting Will Advance the Black Vote in 2020 appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

https://blackgirlnerds.com/should-we-say-goodbye-to-the-term-women-of-color/

From Sorella Magazine

The term women of color is universally accepted to describe non-white women, however, there are critics that believe we should get rid of the phrase.

Listen, I understand why people like to use the term people of color. It replaces the archaic ways of referring to Black people (ex. “colored people”) with something that feels more sensitive and agreeable.

On the surface, it seems to create camaraderie between all non-white people. You may be the only Black woman in a room, but if there’s someone else who shares a non-white background it can feel a little less lonely.

However, despite the illusion of camaraderie that often appears between non-white peoples, the term people of color does no favors for Black people.

Why?

NOT ALL PEOPLE OF COLOR ARE AFFECTED PROPORTIONATELY BY WHITE SUPREMACY

People of color is a blanket statement that attempts to tame Blackness; to water it down and lump it in with everyone and everything who isn’t white.

Not only does it accomplish the unnecessary task of making our Black identity more palatable to white society, but it also forgets to address the very important truth—all non-whites are not the same. In fact, we’re not even similar.

The only thing that unifies us is the fact that we are not white. Still, Black people’s struggles with representation, institutionalized anti-Blackness, colorism, police brutality and more are specific issues that affect the Black community in a unique way. And addressing these topics half-heartedly doesn’t help them.

While Black people may not be the only community affected by high incarceration rates or police brutality, we are the only group that faces these issues to such a high degree. We are the only group whose downfall was specifically designed by the system (ie. White supremacy). And while other groups may face lower income rates and higher unemployment rates than whites, it only does a disserve to Blacks and other groups to pretend as though all these issues share the same level of severity.

THIS IS NOT A GAME OF THE OPPRESSION OLYMPICS…IT IS A FACT: EVERYTHING THAT AFRICAN AMERICANS STRUGGLE WITH TODAY IS SOMETHING THAT WAS INTENDED AND DESIGNED.

Ahmed Olayinka Sule wrote an article titled “racism harms Black people most. It’s time to recognize ‘anti-Blackness’, in which he correctly stated, “A one-size-fits-all approach to discrimination fails to grasp its impact on different minorities. Anti-Black racism should be classified separately.”

Tolani Shoneye summed it up perfectly in her article on Independent: “Yes, all ethnic groups face discrimination and have to deal with racial stereotypes, but it is not the same as being Black, or a Black woman. My struggles are not theirs and nor are my achievements. We have different battles.”

Joshua Adam wrote on Medium and identified the heart of the issue which is that when people speak about issues that affect so-called people of color, they usually mean to say: “this issue affects Black people most directly and disproportionately, but other non-white people are affected too, so we need to include them for people to listen.”

Adam reveals that saying person of color when meaning “Black people” is something that is done because people don’t care enough about issues that simply pertain to Black people. We have to create a metaphorical marginalized group that is “less Black” so that more people start to care and have empathy for the issues at hand.

THERE IS NO TRUE ALLYSHIP AMONG PERSONS OF COLOR

It’s not a generalization to say that Black people care more about non-Black issues than we care about issues that directly affect us. We feel an almost delusional kinship to non-Black people of color even when they’ve made it clear that they hold no allegiance to us and will undermine and occupy our spaces when it benefits them (we’re looking at you Bruno Mars!). Blackness is the antithesis of whiteness, so trust that in a white supremacist world like ours, anti-Blackness is rampant and thriving even within spheres of non-Black people of color. It is to the point where we cannot align ourselves comfortably with all people of color without acknowledging this fact first.

Keep Reading for more…

The post Should We Say Goodbye to the Term “Women of Color”? appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.