If your hair’s nappy, white people ain’t happy; if your hair’s straight, everything’s great; and if you want a promotion, you better use some hair lotion. Get that kitchen ready, because we’re closing out our first season by dissecting Black hair. We get to the root of why Black people are protective of our hairstyles as part of our culture, and and the difference between appropriation and appreciation (Kim Kardashian, we’re lookin’ at you). Then we talk to the creators of the award-winning doc “Black Girl Church” to comb through the complex relationship between Black women’s hair, Eurocentric beauty standards, and beauty supply stores.

Notes:

The Reason Non-Black People Should Not Wear Black Hairstyles Is Actually Very Simple
https://www.popsugar.com/beauty/history-black-hairstyles-cultural-appropriation-47659501

A Black job applicant is suing over hair discrimination, but the company says it was a misunderstanding
https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/04/us/black-job-applicant-hair-discrimination-lawsuit/index.html

Everything You Need to Know About The Crown Act
https://www.byrdie.com/the-crown-act-guide-5111864

Marc Jacobs Finally Responds To The Dreadlocks Controversy From Spring '17
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2016/09/123351/marc-jacobs-white-models-dreadlocks-nyfw-ss17-photos

Why I Don’t Refer to My Hair as ‘Dreadlocks’
https://www.vogue.com/article/locs-history-hair-discrimination

Cornrows and Cultural Appropriation: The Truth About Racial Identity Theft
https://time.com/4011171/cornrows-and-cultural-appropriation-the-truth-about-racial-identity-theft/

We Asked White People With Dreadlocks 'Why'
https://www.vice.com/en/article/evbjz7/we-asked-white-people-with-dreadlocks-why

Kim Kardashian West Responds to the Backlash Over Her Braids
https://www.glamour.com/story/kim-kardashian-braids-explanation

Black Girl Church
https://www.blackgirlchurch.com/

It’s Gen Z trying to claim Black terminology as internet slang for me. This month, we discuss AAVE, better known as ebonics, and we trace back the roots of why Black Americans have a certain way of communicating with each other that has evolved over time. And when non-Black folks, from Kombucha Girl to Awkafina, continuously try it by attempting to co-opt our culture and language, we offer them a gift to help them understand the error of their ways: these hands. Then we wrap by discussing discuss our reactions to the “Gen Z Hospital” skit on SNL that had us wondering, “TF is this?” and in what way is it being interpreted? It’s definitely an episode you won’t want to miss. Point. Blank. Period.

Notes:

‘Black English’: How AAVE Developed From Slave Resistance & African Dialects | The Breakdown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7FIky7wplI

An influencer got backlash for claiming Black slang terms belonged to internet culture. It highlights a common problem online.
https://www.insider.com/brittany-broksi-tiktok-aave-internet-culture-slang-appropriation-chile-2020

So Much Modern Slang Is AAVE. Here’s How Language Appropriation Erases The Influence Of Black Culture.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/sydneethompson/aave-language-appropriation

How “on fleek” went from a 16-year-old’s Vine to the Denny’s Twitter account
https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/3/28/14777408/on-fleek-kayla-lewis-ihop-dennys-vine-twitter-cultural-appropriation

Michael Che Responds To Criticism Over ‘SNL’ Gen Z Hospital Sketch
https://deadline.com/2021/05/michael-che-responds-to-criticisms-gen-z-hospital-snl-sketch-1234753569/

'Saturday Night Live' faces mounting criticism for 'appropriation' of Black vernacular in 'Gen Z Hospital' sketch
https://www.insider.com/gen-z-hospital-snl-skit-elon-musk-aave-backlash-2021-5

If you wanna be somebody, if you wanna go somewhere... you better wake up and pay attention! In this month’s episode, we’re breaking down Black education—from a teacher and student perspective. First, we discuss our experiences as Black students and how we were taught Black history (if we were taught it at all). Later, we speak with academic scholar Laz Letcher on the intersectional challenges of teaching curriculum that doesn’t center whiteness or heteronormativity. Then we wrap things up by dissecting The Chair, to see how a Black professor worthy of tenure was portrayed in the Netflix series.

Notes:

To Get To College, It Helps Black Students To Have A Black Teacher Early On
https://www.npr.org/2019/01/11/682194015/-black-teachers-helps-black-students-get-to-college

College faculty have become more racially and ethnically diverse, but remain far less so than students
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/07/31/us-college-faculty-student-diversity/

School Suspension Data Shows Glaring Disparities in Discipline by Race
https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2020-10-13/school-suspension-data-shows-glaring-disparities-in-discipline-by-race

The Chair Is Netflix’s Best Drama in Years - The Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/08/the-chair-netflix-review/619855/

The Chair Is a Pretty Accurate Portrayal of What It's Like to Be a Woman Professor of Color. That's Why It Can Be Painful to Watch
https://time.com/6092072/the-chair-netflix-academia/

Where to find Laz Letcher:
https://www.lazarusletcher.com
https://www.instagram.com/l.nuzzles/

Laz Letcher's Recommendations:

Black Shoals by Tiffany Lethabo
https://www.dukeupress.edu/the-black-shoals

Ezili's Mirrors: Imagining Black Queer Genders by Omise'eke Natasha Tinsley
https://muse.jhu.edu/book/70042

One-Dimensional Queer by Roderick A. Ferguson
https://www.wiley.com/en-us/One+Dimensional+Queer-p-9781509523566

If you’ve ever heard the phrase “Pretty for a dark-skinned girl,” before, then you know this is our colorism episode. We start off by getting into when we first learned about colorism and how it has consistently shown up in media—*ahem* In the Lights Heights. Then, we wrap up by discussing the music video for "Brown Skin Girl" by Beyoncé, Wizkid, SAINt JHN and Blue Ivy Carter, and ask who that song and video was truly meant to represent.

Notes:

Why black people discriminate among ourselves: the toxic legacy of colorism
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/apr/09/colorism-racism-why-black-people-discriminate-among-ourselves

The Difference Between Racism and Colorism
https://time.com/4512430/colorism-in-america/

The Limitations Of ‘Latinidad’: How Colorism Haunts ‘In The Heights’
https://www.npr.org/2021/06/15/1006728781/in-the-heights-latinidad-colorism-casting-lin-manuel-miranda

'Brown Skin Girl' Director Jenn Nkiru Talks Creating An Unapologetic Video Celebrating Blackness
https://www.essence.com/entertainment/only-essence/brown-skin-girl-jenn-nkiru/

‘Black Is King’ Director Jenn Nkiru On The Symbolism Of The “Brown Skin Girl” Video
https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/jenn-nkiru-black-is-king

Beyoncé’s “Brown Skin Girl” Is Not for Every Brown-Skinned Girl
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/beyonce-brown-skin-girl

Mental health in the Black community has become less taboo than ever before, but we still have a long way to go. In this month’s episode, we discuss the personal—our individual experiences with therapy and mental health—along with the public—the visibility of mental health struggles in public figures like Simone Biles. Later, mental health therapist Dr. Lawrence Jackson joins us to discuss the wide range of topics and emotions that show up in therapy for Black people. Finally, we wrap things up by comparing the depictions of therapy sessions in TV shows Girlfriends and Insecure to see if mental health depictions shifted generationally or stayed the same.

Notes:

Black And African American Communities And Mental Health
https://www.mhanational.org/issues/black-and-african-american-communities-and-mental-health

How diverse is the psychology workforce?
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2018/02/datapoint

National Alliance on Mental Illness - Black/African American
https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Identity-and-Cultural-Dimensions/Black-African-American

The Extra Stigma of Mental Illness for African-Americans
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/25/well/mind/black-mental-health.html

Young Black athletes are launching a mental health revolution
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/young-black-athletes-are-launching-mental-health-revolution-rcna1490

Exclusive poll: Americans care about Olympians' mental health
https://www.axios.com/olympics-mental-health-simone-biles-axios-momentive-poll-748bc171-e342-4dd0-a192-e568e6893f19.html

An Appreciation of Molly’s Therapist’s Office on Insecure
https://www.vulture.com/2017/09/insecure-molly-therapist-office.html

Where to find Dr. Lawrence Jackson (The Black Male Therapist)
https://theblackmaletherapist.com/
https://www.instagram.com/theblackmaletherapist/
https://twitter.com/blacktherapyfri

Girlfriends Episodes (Available on Netflix)
Season 2, Episode 1: "The Fallout"
Season 2, Episode 2: "Just Say No"
Season 4, Episode 14: "Leggo My Ego"
Season 4, Episode 16: "On The Couch"
Season 4, Episode 21: "Just the Three of Us"

Insecure Episodes (Available on HBO)
Season 1, Episode 7: "Real as Fuck"
Season 2, Episode 1: "Hella Great"
Season 2, Episode 2: "Hella Questions"
Season 4, Episode 9: "Lowkey Trying"

With the way that Black people are treated at work, it's no wonder Tommy never had a job. In this month's episode, we discuss the challenges that come along with being Black in the workplace. From questioning how our haircuts and speech patterns are perceived while interviewing, to being one of a few or the only Black person in a predominantly white working environment, there's a lot to unpack. Later, we watch Boots Riley's 2018 movie "Sorry to Bother You," and examine the concept of code switching at work, and what it takes to find success in a capitalist market that wasn't built for Black people.

Review: ‘Sorry to Bother You,’ but Can I Interest You in a Wild Dystopian Satire?
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/02/movies/sorry-to-bother-you-review-lakeith-stanfield.html

Sorry to Bother You gets everything right about the horrors of viral fame
https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/24/17604940/sorry-to-bother-you-capitalism-viral-fame-analysis-lakeith-stanfield-tessa-thompson

In this month's episode, we discuss the challenges of traveling throughout the country as Black people, then we bring in multi-hyphenate creative Chris Green for his perspective on international travel. Black people don't have the luxury to just think about the fun and excitement of new adventures, we also have to consider how our Blackness will be perceived, treated and accepted wherever we go. Will there be harassment? Is someone going to say something ignorant? Will a situation get out of hand? Later in the episode, we dive into the Emmy-nominated virtual reality doc, "Traveling While Black" to get a firsthand look at what it means to navigate the world as a Black person.

Traveling while black comes with a different set of rules
https://www.travelweekly.com/Articles/Traveling-while-black-comes-with-a-different-set-of-rules

For Black Women, Travel Means Overcoming Invisible Obstacles
https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/what-its-like-to-travel-the-world-as-a-black-woman

Traveling While Black
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/05/travel/traveling-while-black.html

African American Travel Represents $63 Billion Opportunity
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/12/20/1670310/0/en/African-American-Travel-Represents-63-Billion-Opportunity.html

Diversity & Inclusion Climate
https://www.diversityabroad.com/articles/travel-guide/japan

Opinion | Traveling While Black
https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000006276181/traveling-black-us-greenbook.html

Traveling While Black: behind the eye-opening VR documentary on racism in America
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/sep/02/traveling-while-black-behind-the-eye-opening-vr-documentary-on-racism-in-america

Director Roger Ross Williams On Emmy-Nominated VR Film ‘Traveling While Black’: “It’s A Big Moment”
https://deadline.com/2019/08/traveling-while-black-director-roger-ross-williams-emmys-vr-interview-1202704524/

In this month’s episode, we’re looking at how companies FINALLY addressed racist imagery in their products following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. We look at brands like Uncle Ben’s, Land-O-Lakes, and the infamous Washington Redskins to discuss why this pervasive imagery could be more harmful than you think. Later, we break down dozens of Aunt Jemima commercials throughout the decades in order to turn the brand’s unsavory slogan, “What took you so long?” into a personal challenge. Why the hell did it take decades before the scarf-wearing Mammy figure and her racist origins were addressed? How did they try to rebrand Aunt Jemima over time without actually addressing the issue? And was their eventual rebranding enough?

15 racist brands, mascots, and logos that were considered just another part of American life
https://www.businessinsider.com/15-racist-brand-mascots-and-logos-2014-6#uncle-ben-1946-present-2

Cream of Wheat to Drop Black Chef From Packaging, Company Says
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/27/business/cream-of-wheat-man.html

Opinion | My Native American father drew the Land O’Lakes maiden. She was never a stereotype.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/29/my-ojibwe-father-drew-land-olakes-maiden-she-was-never-stereotype/

R. T. Davis Exhibit — chicagology
https://chicagology.com/columbiaexpo/fair038/

Aunt Jemima Will Change Name, Image As Brands Confront Racial Stereotypes
https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/06/17/879104818/acknowledging-racial-stereotype-aunt-jemima-will-change-brand-name-and-image

Food Brands Are Finally Changing Their Racist Mascots—But Is It Enough?
https://www.delish.com/food/a33313212/food-brands-racist-mascots-logos/

Revisiting Aunt Jemima: 'Slave in a Box'
https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6709995

Every Aunt Jemima's TV Commercials
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLPdkW5EcRc