All posts by Aph Ko
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Black on Black Crime: The “Fatherless Men” Trope
In a recent interview on CNN, radio and television personality Larry Elder was debating Marc Lamont Hill ...
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Michael Brown: The Militarization of White Supremacy
At this point, I’m certain that you’ve already heard about the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri because of the police shooting of unarmed black teen Michael...
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Latoya’s Journey
Hello everyone I’ve been natural for nine months now and i love it. It wasn’t my intention to go natural but when i got diagnosed with alopecia,...
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The Baartman Effect: Nicki Minaj, Gail Dines, and Chuck Creekmur
[The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the overall politics of Natural Hair Mag, or the views of the other writers. This...
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Kiara’s Journey
I’ve been on my natural hair journey going on three years. It will officially be three years in October of this year. My partner and...
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Which Racist Grade of Pretty Are You?: The “Straight Outta Compton” Casting Call
Thanks to the Straight Outta Compton Casting Call, I now know which racist grade of “pretty” I am. If you haven’t heard, there’s been a...
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Brittany’s Journey
My natural hair care journey started when I was in high school. I decided when I graduated I would join the army… Once I realized...
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Black Men and White Female Rappers: Collusion With The Racist, Sexist Mainstream
Dr.Brittney Cooper from Crunk Feminist Collective and Salon wrote a sharp critique centering on Iggy Azalea’s cultural appropriation of blackness, as well as T.I.’s [and other...
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A Black Woman Satirically Creates A “GoFundMe” To Get White Privilege
In really, really odd internet news, I’m sure many of you have heard about a white man named Zack Brown who created a kickstarter to...
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Can White Women Be A Part of the Natural Hair Space?
There’s been a storm brewing over at Curly Nikki, a site dedicated to showcasing black women with their natural hair. Under the “about me” section,...
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The West’s Obsession With “Saving” Africa
Growing up watching western television, I was forced to have a particular relationship with Africa. According to TV, Africa was one giant place where black...
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Black Female Professor Facing Felony Charges After Attacked By Police
An Arizona State University Professor is currently facing felony charges after authorities allege that she attacked a police officer during arrest. Dr. Ersula Ore was...
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Zendaya Coleman: How Black Is “Black Enough”?
17 year old Zendaya Coleman, famous from Disney’s “Shake It Up” and ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars”, was recently cast as Aaliyah in the upcoming...
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Robin Thicke: Romance As Manipulation
Cue the whole: “I’m so sorry I hurt you. I love you. I want you back” card that men usually play when they screw up...
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Racist Things I’ve Heard In Graduate School
For those of you who don’t know, educational degrees usually work in this progression although there are slight variations: (1) high school diploma, (2) Associates...
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Anti-Homeless Spikes Spark Outrage
The homeless in London were recently targets of a vicious anti-homeless campaign where metal spikes were installed in spaces where the homeless were known to...
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Why the Blue Ivy Situation Isn’t *Just* About Hair
I’ve already written a post about the petition to get Beyonce to comb Blue Ivy’s hair. However, it...
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“Dress For Success” and Other Problematic Ideas About Professionalism
How many times have you heard the phrase, “dress professionally”? In our culture, we have preconceived ideas about what it means to look “nice.” We...
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There’s A Petition To Get Beyoncé To Comb Blue Ivy’s Natural Hair
In more bizarre racist news, the popular site change.org, which allows regular citizens to launch large-scale petitions, was used by a woman to start a...
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Black And Breastfeeding: A Cultural Panic
Karlesha Thurman, a 25 year old mother and recent graduate of California State University Long Beach, enraged the public after she posted a picture of...
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So, A Black Man Dates A White Woman…
Recently on Gawker, Ernest Baker wrote a rather lengthy essay called, “The Realty of Dating White Women When You’re Black.” Within the essay, Baker discusses...
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Las Vegas Shooters Start White Supremacist “Revolution”
On Sunday, two police officers and one civilian were gunned down in Las Vegas by a couple of shooters who police now believe may be...
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The Flo-Complex: White Women As Manic Pixie Props For Ads
If you have had a television for the past decade…and you actually watch it…you probably know who Flo is. Yes, the hyper-energetic, retro-looking white woman...
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Reflections Unheard: Black Women in Civil Rights
Malcolm X. Martin Luther King Jr. Bobby Seale. Huey Newton. These are just a few names that regularly come to mind when we think of...
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Beyoncé Parodies: Cultural Panic Over Black Female Power
I’m writing this post in response to a few Beyoncé parodies that I’ve seen on YouTube. Essentially these parodies make fun of Beyoncé’s growing influence...
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RIP Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou passed away at the age of 86. She is a renowned poet, actress, singer, and dancer. In 2011 she was awarded the...
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Elliot Rodger and The Angry Racist White Man Complex
I’ve been hesitating on writing a post about Elliot Rodger, the young man who shot and killed multiple people at the UC Santa Barbara campus,...
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Michael Jackson’s Hologram: Posthumous Exploitation?
Everyone has been talking about the 2014 Billboard Music Awards. Because I don’t regularly watch music video award shows anymore, I missed the initial buzz...
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Time for Reparations?
“Two hundred fifty years of slavery. Ninety years of Jim Crow. Sixty years of separate but equal. Thirty-five years of racist housing policy. Until we...
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SNL, Leslie Jones, and the Slavery Joke
So, have you heard about all of the backlash towards Saturday Night Live and the Leslie Jones slavery skit? According to Arit Jones of the Wire:...
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Should We “Ban Bossy” For Women?
In March 2014, Sheryl Sandberg—the chief operating officer of Facebook and author of “Lean In”—a best selling book which centers on encouraging women to pursue...
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Store Apologizes for 12 Years a Slave Mannequin
Social media circles have been buzzing about a supermarket chain in London (Sainsbury’s) that attempted to promote the release of the film “12 Years a Slave” on dvd. Metro states:...
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Women’s Prison Anthology to Raise Funds for Marissa Alexander
I have previously written a post about black women and girls whose stories have largely been erased out of the mainstream media circuit where stories...
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bell hooks Calls Beyonce ‘Anti-Feminist’ and ‘Terrorist’
For those of you who don’t know, bell hooks is an extremely popular black feminist theorist and intellectual. She has published over 30 books and...
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Cultural Icon: Janet Mock
I decided that each week I will spotlight one person in mainstream culture who embodies all of the characteristics of an icon: someone whose visibility...
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Queen Latifah will play Bessie Smith in HBO Biopic
I am excited to announce that Queen Latifah will be playing Bessie Smith in a new HBO biopic. According to Hollywood Reporter: The telepic...
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What About Our Black Women and Girls?
Clutch Magazine’s Britni Danielle released a powerful article the other day called, “Where’s the Collective Outrage on Behalf of Black women?” In the essay she...
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This is a Cultural Problem. Not a Don Sterling One.
I have previously written a post detailing the events that have now led up to Donald Sterling’s lifetime ban from the NBA. In all actuality,...
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Avril Lavigne: White Women and Racialized Sexism
I really don’t want to have to write this post because I am seriously tired of writing about white women being racist, but alas, it’s...
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Rape Culture as a Public Health Issue
*Trigger Warning: This post contains imagery and words that could be offensive to some audiences. * All too often, rape is seen only as...
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Cultural Icon: Angela Yvonne Davis
I decided that each week I will spotlight one person in mainstream culture who embodies all of the characteristics of an icon: someone whose visibility...
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Wendy Williams Calls Out Racism on DWTS
A few weeks ago I was watching the Wendy Williams show , and she stated something that really shocked me. On a...
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NBA Investigating Clippers Owner for Racist Remarks
There’s a story circulating widely in mainstream media outlets about Clippers owner Donald Sterling allegedly making racist statements to...
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DreamWorks FIRST Black Woman in 3D
Policymic states: “Brace yourself, America. DreamWorks Animation Studios has announced the addition of a black female heroine (gasp!) to its repertoire of white dogs, green ogres,...
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Have you heard of Valerie June?
A few months ago, my fiancé and I decided to go to a Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings concert in St. Petersburg, FL. Jones’ music...
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The Dark Side of Breast Cancer
According to womenshealth.gov: African-American women are more likely than all other women to die from breast cancer. Their tumors often are found at a later,...
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Neil DeGrasse Tyson: Racism and Sexism in Science
Neil DeGrasse Tyson is a super famous astrophysicist who is Black. His increasing visibility in mainstream media culture is due to his charismatic personality and his...
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Dr. Breeze Harper and The Sistah Vegan Project
Photo of Dr. Breeze Harper. CC BY Every black woman I know should pick up the book, Sistah Vegan: Food, Identity, Health and Society: Black Female...
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Keke Palmer Will Host New Show on BET
According to Entertainment Weekly: The Akeelah and the Bee star will host her own daily talk show this summer on BET tentatively titled The...
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Steve Harvey and Benevolent Sexism
Yes, I will admit it. I pretty much listen to the Steve Harvey morning show in my car almost every morning when I drive to...
