Columnist
BlackCommentator.com Guest Commentator, Jasmyne A. Cannik, Social Critic and Political Commentator, is a native of Los Angeles and writes about the intersection of race, pop culture, class, and politics. She was chosen as one of Essence Magazine’s 25 Women Shaping the World and One of the Most Influential African-Americans in Los Angeles Under 40. She can be found online at jasmyneonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jasmyne and on Facebook at facebook.com/jasmynecannick. Contact Ms. Cannick. David A. Love, JD Managing Editor: Nancy Littlefield, MBA Publisher: Peter Gamble
30 pieces
Guest Commentary
Columnist
If it’s truly time to focus on the systems that allow sexual violence to flourish then we have to be willing to talk about all of it and that includes our continued support and glorification of rape culture and sexual violence in rap music.
While it’s no secret that the film industry has an undeniable problem with complicity when it comes to the sexual harassment and abuse of women–less talked…
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Commentary
Columnist
Apparently, it seems that in order to get the FBI involved in a missing person’s case you need to be the following: white, female, and from a privileged background. Something that 24-year-old Mitrice Richardson isn’t. When 17-year-old Chelsea King went missing in Poway, California, after she went for a run after school on Thursday and…
Apparently, it seems that in order to get the FBI involved in a missing person’s case you need to be the following: white, female, and from…
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Commentary
Columnist
Who’s pulling the strings? Fact. On any given day I can open up any one of most read daily newspapers and never once read anything about a Black civil rights group, that is, until one of those groups does something perceived as anti-gay and then its front page news. As is the case with the…
Who’s pulling the strings? Fact. On any given day I can open up any one of most read daily newspapers and never once read anything about…
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Commentary
Columnist
Imagine that you’ve just completed getting your teenage African-American son through four of the most important years of his life, grades 9 through 12 in a public inner-city high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, and you’re still not a grandparent and your son didn’t join a gang. But not only did you…
Imagine that you’ve just completed getting your teenage African-American son through four of the most important years of his life, grades 9 through 12 in a…
Continue reading 4 min
Commentary
Columnist
In 1995, Oakland, California, a young man helping a fellow church friend found himself the father of a 4 month old. This happened when the mother, who at the time had three small children, simply couldn’t afford to take care of them all. What started out as helping her on the weekends with the kids,…
In 1995, Oakland, California, a young man helping a fellow church friend found himself the father of a 4 month old. This happened when the mother,…
Continue reading 5 min
Commentary
Columnist
Before you open that bottle of champagne, can of beer, or bottle of Hennessy in celebration of last week’s decision by the California Supreme Court upholding Proposition 8 and the ban on gay marriage, did you ever stop to think maybe the jokes on us? I mean think about it. Last November, Blacks voted overwhelmingly…
Before you open that bottle of champagne, can of beer, or bottle of Hennessy in celebration of last week’s decision by the California Supreme Court upholding…
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Cover Story
Columnist
A couple of week’s ago, I was honored to received the 2009 PLUS Award from Forgiving for Living, Inc. The organization focuses on resolving issues of hate, anger, bitterness and the inability to forgive and honorees were selected for their work in promoting and restoring mental wellness and self-esteem by providing mentorship and resources to…
A couple of week’s ago, I was honored to received the 2009 PLUS Award from Forgiving for Living, Inc. The organization focuses on resolving issues of…
Continue reading 5 min
Commentary
Columnist
So I went to the scene of the crime yesterday afternoon that left a teenage girl dead and a 30-year-old paraplegic arrested for murder. If I’d driven by too fast, I’d have missed the small makeshift memorial of candles and teddy bears that marked the spot where another Black person lost their life to senseless…
So I went to the scene of the crime yesterday afternoon that left a teenage girl dead and a 30-year-old paraplegic arrested for murder. If I’d…
Continue reading 7 min
Commentary
Columnist
Long before I saw her walking her dog that morning or the guy who was jogging, or that couple move in down the street, I concluded that one way or another, my neighborhood was going to change. I just wasn’t expecting it so soon or for Black people to play such an active roll in…
Long before I saw her walking her dog that morning or the guy who was jogging, or that couple move in down the street, I concluded…
Continue reading 6 min