random black excellence

Fun fact: Madam Zeroni, Yzma, and the signer of the song “Santa Baby” are the same person!

Eartha Kitt (1927-2008) was born in cotton fields in South Carolina as the result of a rape by a white plantation owner. Given away by her mother she moved to New York, dropped out of high school, and was homeless until she was discovered for her singing and performed touring Europe.

This is a great article and radio piece. Zambia launched a test anti-poverty program where they gave cash without strings attached to the elderly, disabled, and other populations in need- including young mothers. The program was wildly successful, with many poor Zambians entrepreneurially investing their money into ways for them to earn their own income stream. Despite it’s enormous success, the government is only expanding the part of the program going to those unable to work, purely because stereotypes of welfare recipients left the idea of giving it to others politically unpopular. A poor nation has discovered an incredibly effective anti-poverty measure and is having to partially abandon it entirely because of dead-brained anti-welfare sentiments.

Don’t worry Bro , Black Tumblr got you and your Sister.✊🏿

WHAT. THE. ACTUAL. FUCK.

When Draco ‘never-shuts-up’ Malfoy falls speechless

Anyway, she follows it up with, “My husband and I just recently won our custody battle with our foster daughter and she means the world to us. She’s a beautiful African American girl and her hair looks a lot like yours. But I’m afraid because I don’t know what to do with her hair. It’s a lot different from mines and our other children and we are at a total loss. I’ve tried looking up the YouTube videos and my husband went to the braiding shops so they can teach him how to properly braid her hair, but he’s still pretty new and it will be a while before he gets used to it. Do you have any tips you can give me? If you don’t have the time, it’s okay, really! I just needed a little advice because I want her to look beautiful.”

Y’all. swear I almost started crying on aisle 6. So for the last 30 minutes, I spent my time talking to her and what products to use and how to properly detangle and comb her hair with the proper tools and what not to do with natural hair. And I showed her a bunch of easier to follow natural hair tutorials on YouTube and saved them for her. (I also had to create a YouTube account for her so she could save it for later.) but omfg, she was so sweet, and I could tell that she listened to every single thing I had to say and she took little notes on her little notepad.

And what really filled my heart was the fact that her husband actually taking classes from African braiding shops. And she showed me a picture of him wearing a little sweater vest and loafers in a little shop surrounded by beautiful black women showing him how to braid black hair and even the lady he’s braiding on is guiding his hands. And omfg. Bless these old white people and their black daughter who I know have new loving parents because they are willing to step out of their comfort zone just to make her feel and look beautiful.

The True Trayvon Martin

He didn’t eat pork bc his father didn’t. Once his uncle fixed pork chops; they smelled so good,he called them “beef chops” & ate 1. #Trayvon

He was passionate about aviation. #Trayvon

When he volunteered at a soup kitchen for. The first time, he was astounded by the US hunger crisis. #Trayvon

He loved his little cousins birthday parties. Even as a teen, he wasn’t too cool for Chuck E. Cheese. #Trayvon

He was modest about saving his father from dying in a house fire. His father called him his best friend bc of it. #Trayvon

Hoodies made *him* feel safe. Like so many teens (and adults), he wore them as a protective shell, a security garment. #Trayvon

He called his dad, “My ol’ boy.” Lord, how he loved his dad. #Trayvon

When folks wanted to tease him, they said, “Boy, you too skinny to take a breath.” And he’d just smile. #Trayvon

If he wanted to hang out with his cousins and they had chores, he helped so they could finish faster. #Trayvon

His uncle said they never had to ask him to do something twice. #Trayvon

At 17, he was still into BMX bikes. He could cat-walk wheelie. #Trayvon

The tattoo on his wrist read, “Sybrina.” #Trayvon

The tattoo on his chest read, “Cora” — his grandmother’s name. #Trayvon

I’m going to stop here. But just claim one of these memories I tweeted. Carry part of this boy with you, write him on your heart. #Trayvon

Write the beautiful details of all the black children you meet on your heart. That’s where they’ll be safest. #Trayvon

I feel like this stuff is important. #Trayvon

Why is this not FLOODING my feed?!

Don Cheadle rocking this shirt while hosting SNL is EVERYTHING.

Happy birthday, Danai Gurira! ❤️ (February 14, 1978)