Black Ink Magazine | 2022 Black History Month

2022 Black History Month Issue

BlackInk Staff give advice for Black students at UNC

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Great recipes we discovered during the pandemic

A look at the future of HBCU sports

Exploring criticism of Durag & Bonnet Day

Tracing Back Personal Roots to Slavery on UNC’s Campus Student finds connections between great-great-greatgrandmother and McIver Hall.

Respectability politics or valid concerns?

Does Black Love Still Exist?

Understanding modern day intersections of race and romance.

Black Masculinity and HBO’s Insecure

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Cover Image courtesy of Unsplash.com

What Issa Rae got right about Black Manhood.

est. 1969

dedicated to revoluationary media.

Letter from the Editors page 1 Meet The Staff page 2 Black Love Is More Than Just a Trendy Term page 3 My Brick Once Stolen: How My Own Ancestry Leads Back to UNC page 5 Black History as American History page 7

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Table of Contents

Insecure: Going Beyond Stereotypes page 8 HBCU Sports to the Masses: A Vision page 9 Why I am Learning to Become an Abolitionist page 11 BlackInk Recipe Corner page 13 Ask BlackInk page 15 Durag & Bonnet Day page 17 BET On Us: The Evolution of Black TV page 19 Blackfishing: World’s Fakest Catch page 20 The Original Fashionistas page 21 Sources and Citations page 23

Letter from the Editors Stay in touch with us on Twitter and Instagram at @uncblackink

Visit our website for more frequent posts at https://uncblackink.wordpress.com

Dear Reader, Happy Black History Month! It’s been a long time coming - in a couple different ways.

This February marks the 46th annual Black History Month, a yearly tribute to Blackness that has been commonplace for many of our lives.

Today, we tend to limit the month to Black trivia and media, but its significance as a celebration extends beyond these facets. Though it has only existed for a fraction of the 400 years since Trans-Atlantic slavery in the Americas and the ever continuing oppression of Black peoples around the world, Black History Month is a shining light to those of the African diaspora. It is a homage to how far we’ve come and a glimpse of the progress on our horizons.

This issue has been a long time coming for us as a publication, too.

This is Black Ink Magazine’s first print issue since 2019, and it is great to be back. We are beyond thankful for our incredible team which includes writers, photographers, and graphic designers. It’s our pleasure and distinct honor to curate this issue with them and with our campus’ very own Black Student Movement. Everyone has worked incredibly hard, and we appreciate everyone involved. Having the opportunity to impact this publication is a hallmark of our own Carolina experiences.

A Word from UNC’s Black Student Movement Black Student Movement and Black Ink are inextricably linked in the history of Black culture and voice at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Black Ink’s mission remains, “If Blackness can be transformed into pictures and words, we intend to do so, by any means necessary.” Since its first publication in 1969, Black Ink has never strayed from its mission and remains grounded by our community.

It has continued to be a publication made by and for Black people, creating a space for our community on a campus that attempts to silence us. The 54th Black Student Movement executive team is proud to stand with and support our premiere publication in all endeavors and is excited to see what the future brings for Black Ink magazine. The printing of this issue serves as a commitment by Black Student Movement to continue the tradition of print news from Black Ink to document our incredible history.

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As you flip through these pages, we implore you to consider the Black legacy, its continuance, and its perseverance. Many of this issue’s elements - whether they are the staff writers’ phenomenal pieces, our tasty recipes, or vibrant photos on UNC’s campus reflect a layer of Blackness that doesn’t begin or end with us. Since 1969, Black Ink Magazine has been dedicated to revolutionary media, and we believe that this Black History Month issue is a testament to that mission. We invite you to take in our truths while keeping in mind that Blackness flows in every direction, and as long as there are Black stories to spotlight, we’ll be there - pens in hand. We hope you enjoy!

In Power,

Salena Braye-Bulls and Maxwell Morant Special thanks to the BSM Executiive Team: Teddy Vann, President Julia Clark, Vice President Jorren Biggs, Treasurer Mya Parks, Secretary Jayna Ellis, Communications Co-Coordinator La-Ontra Bacon, Communications Co-Coordinator Taylin Cain, Outreach Co-Coordinator Jaylen Harrell, Outreach Co-Coordinator Morgan Hyman, Executive Assistant

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Meet the Staff at

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Managing Editor

Editor-in-Chief

Max Morant

Salena Braye-Bulls

Junior

Junior

Staff Writer

Marsalis Anderson Sophomore

Lwazi Bululu Sophomore

Outreach Coordinator & Staff Writer

Photographer

Staff Writer

Sophomore

Nina Scott Sophomore

Staff Writer

Staff Writer

Sophomore

Karizma Greene

Jeremiah Holloway

Staff Writer

Staff Writer

Staff Writer

Staff Writer

Sophomore

Junior

Jay’la Evans Chantel Gillus

Steph Pierson Asheebo Rojas

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Web, Print & Graphic Designer

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Freshman

Denise Kyeremeh Junior

Senior

Chris Williams Freshman

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Black Love Is More Than Just a Trendy Term

By Denise Kyeremeh

I must admit that when I heard that there was an annual national Black Love Day on February 13, I chuckled. I tend to think of ‘Black love’ as a corny phrase that people use when they see a cute Black couple.

The most accurate dictionary on the internet, Urban Dictionary, describes Black love as, “a spiritual journey that only people who are rich in melanin can experience.”

Although it has always naturally existed as a phenomenon, the phrase ‘Black love’ has never seemed more popular.

The increased popularity of the term ‘Black love’ emphasizes the impact of interracial love on Black culture. Compared to other racial groups, the percent of Black people with spouses of a different race grew the most between 1980 and 2015. According to the Pew Research Center, around 5% of Black people had spouses of different races in 1980, and in 2015 it had risen to 18%.

The significance of these relationships extends beyond survey results. Interracial relationships can be a divisive topic in the Black community. According to sociologist Rachel Sullivan, opposition to interracial relationships has ties to the Black Power movement when these relationships were seen as “not helpful to the struggle.”

Different elements to this opposition include the historical danger of interracial relationships, the idea that people in those relationships pursue them out of self-degradation and self-centeredness, and the belief that interracial relationships uplift and give back to the Black community (Sullivan, 2005, as cited in Romano, 2003).

These sentiments that are rooted in history

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still have implications on the Black community including the topic of loyalty.Some people may hesitate to enter an interracial relationship for fear of being viewed as being disloyal to their community. If a person chooses to be in an interracial relationship, it may be viewed as their removal from the community (Chito Childs, 2005).

This may signal that the person is not invested in building up the Black community or concerning themselves with issues relating to the Black community. While this is not true of everyone who enters an interracial relationship,this notion is perpetrated by members of the community who reject the Black community.

Background photo courtesy of Unsplash.com

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“a spiritual journey that only people who are rich in melanin can experience.”

There are people who reject the Black community by diminishing the beauty that exists within it. This is not an issue caused by interracial relationships, but it is a highly gendered matter that causes hostility between Black men and Black women. According to the Pew Research Center, Black men are twice as likely to marry a person of a different race than Black women. Black Twitter alone is littered with ignorant tweets that disparage Black women and replies that call out self-hate. Black women already have to live in a society that denies their femininity and beauty. It may feel like Black men should be the demographic who should love, accept, affirm them but when Black men choose to only date outside of their race or perpetuate harmful stereotypes about Black women, it creates discord in the community.

“Black women already have to live in a society that denies their femininity and beauty.”

Many Black people care deeply about Black love because they are products of centuries of it, and they have a desire to continue the tradition in their own families. Others feel safe when their partner can sympathize with the social and cultural implications of their own racial identities. One thing that has always made the Black community strong is the ability to lean on one another for support in the face of oppression and hardship.

Black love has always been a symbol of defiance. Even when enslaved people could not legally marry, they celebrated love and created families. We still see this as Black love challenges stereotypes of abandonment

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and dysfunction that are associated with ‘Black families. Black love shows that the stories of abandonment and dysfunction within Black families are not representative of the entire community by highlighting the different ways that Black people live and love each other.

Representations of Black love are essential because they display the joy, positivity, and normalcy that exist in Black families and relationships.

Whether centering Black fathers’ love for their daughters or the love in Black friendships, portrayals of Black love are an assertion of Black humanity. These are especially important in a world that constantly tries to take that away from Black people. There is far too much imagery of Black people as societal dangers or as people who struggle to love others. Although Black love does exist in the struggle of enduring pain and fighting for joy, it is only as a response to the trauma that Black people experience regularly. Black love is as much in the eyes of mothers who seek justice for their sons who were killed too young as it is in the eyes of fathers who kiss their children on their foreheads for the first time.

Black love rests in Black people supporting one another in friendships, workplaces, and familial relationships.

It transcends gender, nationality, & social class, striving for the success &

happiness of Black people around the world.

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My Brick Once Stolen: How My Own Ancestry Leads Back to UNC

By Chris Williams

Not because it’s on the opposite side of campus from where the majority of Carolina’s Black students have always lived.

Not because of its unique architecture from almost every other dorm on campus.

Unless you live there, you may rarely think about McIver hall. But I think about it every day.

Photos of Williams outside of the UNC McIver dorm

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Photos of the McIver Family

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I reflect on the significance of McIver every day because it is one of the most obvious historical signs that I am thriving in a space I was never meant to occupy.

I remember feeling slightly curious when I found out one of my friends, another Black man at UNC, was living in McIver during my first semester here.

Naturally, I had to go diving into the same (free) type of genealogy research Ancestry’s 3 million Lorem ipsum paying customers have already undertaken.

My maternal grandmother’s maiden name was Helena Gibson McIver. She was born 70 years before me, and her great-grandmother was Rosa McIver. Rosa was enslaved on Evander McIver’s plantation in Sanford, N.C. in the mid-1800s.

Unfortunately, McIver Hall isn’t named after my great-great-great-grandmother, a Black woman enslaved almost 200 years ago. Instead, McIver Residence Hall takes its name from Charles Duncan McIver. He is the man who founded and served as the first president of the University of

North Carolina at Greensboro. This McIver even happened to be a notable Tar Heel, hence the building name honoring his legacy on Chapel Hill’s campus.

What people often fail to consider is that, even if it were customary for the time, McIver would never have had he opportunities he had without the wealth his grandfather, Evander, was able to accumulate as the owner of that very plantation in Sanford where my great-great-greatgrandmother lived.

Centuries later, North Carolina is dotted with symbols paying homage to these famous white men. Sanford, where many of my cousins still live on former plantation land, has a McIver Street. The town in Lee County, North Carolina even had a McIver depot where the Western Railroad - which reached all the way to Fayetteville - was Sanford’s first train line.

A statue of the educational pioneer stands within walking distance of the State Capitol in Downtown Raleigh. UNCG still has a McIver Street, parking deck, building, and designated location noting where the McIver house once stood. I mean, these things are only reasonable.

McIver’s persistence led to what was then the State Normal and Industrial School, now known as UNCG. It was the first institution of higher learning for white women in the state. Similarly, McIver was the first to set up a vocational class at a non-state-funded school when he worked at what was then called Peace Institute. You may now know this school as William Peace University in Raleigh, also a few blocks from the State Capitol, today.

of these institutions. It’s deeper than that - without the work of my ancestors, UNCG in paricular would never have been an idea tangibly realized.

My family and I are lucky to even have traceable history reaching so far back.

I haven’t been able to find the same depth of information for any of my other three grandparents’ lineages.

But because of its rarity, this one connection is more meaningful to me than many people will ever know.

Many Black Americans simply can’t find records beyond a certain point.

Our ancestors were treated as property or fractions of people for centuries. This allowed families to be ripped apart at the will of white owners, and virtually ensured we were never represented in official documents like the census. Even after emancipation, systemic oppression prevented proper documentation of America’s Black populations, and lingering effects are even seen in the census today.

Still, what I find even more interesting than McIver’s achievements are my personal connections to them. My mother always reminded me that our family had some relation to the founding

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Photo of Williams outside of the UNC McIver dorm

My mother and I have both had the privilege of attending Carolina.

Knowing that I am on a campus with buildings named after a man whose family profited from the exploitation of my own, I feel like I’ve truly come full circle. I have shown defiance in the face of a system that would do anything to prevent my success and prosperity.

Yes, I have faced racism and even xenophobia from those who look just like me on this campus. Regardless, I am a Black man taking advantage of all the resources provided to me.

This Black History Month, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I can proudly say I know my roots.

Now, it should be your turn. Will you look to see how far back you can go with your own?

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Black History as American History

By: Stephanie Pierson

With February among us now, we’ve all heard odes to and seen social media posts about Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Rosa Parks, or Martin Luther King, Jr., or we’ve heard about famous Black inventors. While these are great topics to learn about, solely focusing on teaching Black History through the elementary approach of the “history of great (wo)men” lens, we miss out on teaching Black History to its fullest extent.

We should be teaching Black History as United States History, and here’s why.

To start, Black people’s presence on the continent of North America precedes the establishment of the United States, with enslaved people from Africa arriving to the colony of Virginia in 1619, over a century before the founding of the United States of America. Black people are physically and metaphorically the backbone of the United States, as many enslaved African Americans’ labor maintained the pulse of the Southern economy and built many of our cities and even universities like UNC.

“Black people are physically and metaphorically the backbone of the United States”

A lot of the Black History curriculum taught in schools revolves around slavery and then skips to the Civil Rights Movement, two instances of state-sanctioned oppression that ended with said government finally acknowledging that people of all races deserve certain rights. With this approach, students do not learn why a movement with the magnitude of the Civil Rights Movement is even necessary. Neglecting the role that the U.S.

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government plays in the systemic oppression of Black people encourages the blaming of Black people for problems and struggles that they face, like lower COVID vaccination rates and higher rates of poverty. Additionally, Black History should not be limited to stories of Black suffering and oppression.

Our current Black History curriculum in schools misses the opportunity to paint a portrait of a vibrant culture. We’re missing out on reading about the surge in Black representation in Southern politics during Reconstruction.

We’re missing out on learning about thriving Black-owned businesses and communities like Black Wall Street in the early 20th century, despite the limited economic opportunity for African Americans. We’re missing out on teaching about Black religious expression and its transformation throughout the centuries.

We’re missing out on exploring the Black artistic expression that flourished during the Harlem Renaissance.

With the teaching of critical race theory in schools being debated more frequently, despite the theory’s origins tracing back to the 1970s, we continuously see efforts to whitewash and sanitize American history. We are seeing people who want to talk about America’s triumphs without talking about its painful history with slavery and imperialism and its legacy of oppression. These critics argue that teaching about Black History is divisive, but in actuality, Black History is integral to fully understanding United States History, the history of triumphs and trials.

The United States has tried to separate Black people and other marginalized groups of people by relegating them to second-class status for so long, and in doing-so, we have normalized and perpetuated the narrative that histories of marginalized peoples are not stories worth telling or listening to and that these stories are not parts of American History.

While it’s obvious that Black History cannot be crammed into 28 days, we cannot limit it to a subset or footnote of United States History because Black History is inextricably woven into the fabric of United States History.

Insecure: Going Beyond Stereotypes By: Marsalis Anderson

Issa Rae is a genius. Her YouTube series named “Awkward Black Girl” spawned into an everyday black woman’s life over the course of 5 seasons. Insecure is a barrierbreaking and paradigm-shifting look into how Black people are portrayed in the media and in television. This series represented many aspects of the Black community, and many related to it.

Through the show’s characters, the Insecure writers make a great collective effort to show the world a highly misrepresented part of the Black community in pop culture they capture the lives of everyday Black people. Insecure accommodates the needs of the Black person struggling to be seen or who feels unable to be recognized in a world ull of people who may seem better than them. This show reminds Black people that it is okay to struggle, it is okay to rest, and it is okay to do what makes you happy.

We do not have to be superstars to succeed in this world.

Specifically, Issa’s character represents people who look like her and who are misrepresented.

She goes through experiences that are not often told in the media. A dark-skinned Black woman being spotlighted is a breath of fresh air in a sea of depictions of lighterskinned women in popular media.

Insecure’s focus on Issa as the main character has implications

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for mainstream media overall.

When people talk about Insecure, it allows them to speak highly on a darker-skinned woman as the main character of a very successful show – something that is rare in history.

Issa Rae created a platform through Insecure that allowed Black women to be themselves and find power in doing so.

Despite Issa saying Insecure is “not for dudes” in a 2017 Rolling Stone interview, the show has a versatileway of communicating real issues that Black men face in society. Black men are typically seen as aggressive and overly simplistic in the media, but Issa writes the men so that they have more emotional depth to them.

The male characters express their masculinity in very different ways, and some are even on a journey to discover themselves. Lawrence constantly finds himself in rapidly changing communities and he grows as a person to reflect his experiences.

There are moments where he is insecure about his relationships and is unsure ofwhat he should

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do with his life. He, along with characters like Daniel and Nathan, all build on their masculinity in similar ways.

At different points, they all hold themselves accountable for their actions, pursue professional and personal goals they have, and provide for the people they care about the most. There are small details throughout that exemplify their authenticity, such as Nathan being vulnerable about his mental health or Lawrence’s desire for having a high-profile tech job.

Through the writing of these men, Insecure pushed the envelope of male characters’ expressions of their masculinity.

Insecure is a shift away from Black megastars and Black trauma; it depicts Black people in a way that is rarely seen in the media – an everyday Black person. We are not all celebrities, and Insecure affirms that we don’t have to be stars to tell our stories. It prioritizes the realism of everyday Black life and emphasizes the power of individual identity.

Background photo courtesy of Unsplash.com

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HBCU HBCU Sports Sports to to the the Masses: Masses: A A Vision Vision By: Asheebo Rojas It's 9 a.m. on an autumn Saturday, and you — a black college football fan — turn to a sports channel to watch the weekly show, Saturday on the Yard.

This Saturday, the show is in Jackson, Mississippi, for the match-up between Deion Sanders' Jackson State Tigers and the Alcorn State Braves.

Sounds crazy, doesn't it? Maybe for now, at least.

Recently, recruiting in collegiate sports has seen multiple cultural shifts, including the rampant use of the transfer portal, NILs, and notably the consideration of HBCUs by the nation's top athletes.

Rewind to 2020 when Howard landed five-star recruit Makur Maker. Maker, the cousin of former Milwaukee Bucks forward Thon Maker, was the highestranked basketball recruit to attend an HBCU. Then there's Mikey Williams, the 16th ranked player in the 2023 ESPN 60 who had Alabama State, Hampton, North Carolina Central, Tennessee State, and Texas Southern in his top 10 in 2021. And it wasn't just for show — Williams is projected to land at NCCU after his senior year.

Yet, the most impactful push in this HBCU movement was the announcement of Deion Sanders as the head football coach at Jackson State. The Hall of Famer's impact has

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been undeniable, bringing national attention to HBCU football and landing the no. 2 football recruit Travis Hunter.

So how does this help HBCU sports reach the national stage?

People like to watch the best, and they will watch them wherever they go. (For example, people watched Lebron James play in Cleveland twice, a city known for not winning anything.) Thus, it's no surprise that stations primarily air PWIs because those have been the programs where the best recruits played for decades.

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It's all a loop, as the best players bring more fans who spend more money for better facilities, better staff, and more player benefits — which brings more of the best players.

The crucial difference between HBCU and PWI programs is the money. Black college programs are at a financial disadvantage with significantly less T.V. time, smaller fanbases, and less support from donors.

Of course, these disparities are partly a result of racial discrimination by state legislatures that handed out unequal funding and support between their Black

“Black college programs are at a financial disadvantage” and white institutions. There has also been a history of financial mismanagement in some HBCU administrations.

However, there is an opportunity for Black talent to develop HBCU athletic programs. It would be perfect for these institutions if the nation's top recruits keep the movement going and eventually allow Black programs to regularly compete with and surpass PWI programs.

But are players and staff enough to get Black colleges on national television on a regular basis?

Definitely not.

There's still a need for universities and alumni to step in and invest in these programs. College sports is a business, and the money it generates can benefit the players and the economic power and marketability of HBCUs in the long run.

Allocating more funds and donations to Black college sports can provide the resources needed to build household programs.

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The T.V. networks themselves must make HBCU sports more accessible to the public. Outside of classics and championship games on ESPN, Black colleges compete on channels requiring extra subscriptions or only receive national attention when playing against prominent PWI programs.

Top recruits want to be on television. They want to be seen — not pushed to the backburner of sports broadcasting.

Take it back to the dream of watching the imaginary show Saturday on the Yard. It's not ESPN airing it. Certainly not B.E.T. Instead, it's a network owned by us, employed by us, and made for us, making Black college sports big and for our enjoyment.

Yet, for now, it's only a dream.

But the rise of HBCU sports is real.

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Why I am Learning to Become an Abolitionist By: Lwazi Bululu

Violence always returns.

Although I did not know it then, my embrace of abolition was inspired by the revolutionary student protests in universities across South Africa from 2015 to 2016. The protests began at the University of Cape Town, where students dissented against a statue of Cecil John Rhodes, a known colonizer. Soon, this movement quickly transformed into nationwide demonstrations denouncing hyperinflated tuition and antiblack pedagogy. The fact was, even in post-Apartheid South Africa, prevalent systems constrained Black students in their pursuit of well-being and education.

Then came the incredibly harsh response. Universities dispatched campus security forces and called riot police; they exercised brutal force, tear-gassing peaceful crowds and shooting rubber bullets without orders. Judging from this reaction, you would think these students were insurrectionists, and this was a scene from 1976 Soweto; the only difference in the response between then and now was that the people who called the police were Black.

The Black university administrators, who once struggled to end Apartheid, had assimilated into institutions built for the colonial project and swore to protect and preserve those very institutions. In

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this instance, they mobilized the great weapon of oppression: securitization. Securitization is not only the instinct to call the police at any feeling of discomfort-- and the use of extraordinary force in ordinary situations by police -- but also the obsession to prevent all institutions from change.

To me, abolition is the opposite of securitization. Abolition is a critique of the violence both produced by securitization and perpetuated by the uninterrupted functioning of modern systems. It is an attitude that asserts the same institutions cannot remedy the violence they perpetuate. It is not about reforming this world but creating new worlds that allow multiple ways of being.

The consequence of untransformed institutions is disproportionate harm to Black and Brown bodies. These same institutions recirculate the violence of colonialism, slavery, and segregation, like a system of veins and arteries in our body, politics that circulate blood. The institutions of today, which are inherited and not made by us, operate by forcibly displacing people who the system has failed.

Prison is inhumane. Healthcare systems allow Black and Brown folk to die. School pipelines Black folk to prison.

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I've outlined the grand sweep of the harm and dispossession of People of Color. Show me a Person of Color suffering, and I will show you how a "race-neutral" system or policy causes that harm. Combating this requires applying abolitionist thinking to all contexts. This thought process brings me back to the university protests in South Africa. Today I recognize that the students were advocating for a type of abolition: abolition pedagogy. Abolition pedagogy is "a refusal of the long-standing relationship between education and violence, and a creative experiment in critical processes of antiviolence." This intimate relationship between education and violence surrounds us as UNC students. Every day, we study, rest, eat, and socialize in and among spaces where salve labor built the foundation—our libraries contain written records of that injustice. We are inundated with the narrative that we need to work and grind because it is the only way; if you struggle, you feel there is no support, and you are left asking what is wrong with you. How many of us feel free in the classroom or at school?

I conceived this essay as a way to reckon with my desire to tear it all down. In a month where we observe the beauty and boldness, struggles and achievements, of the Black Nation in the US -- borderless, tribeless, and infinitely whole -- I wanted to write about something that could give me hope that there was a way out of the cycle of deprivation I witness. Because, in reality, it is far too easy to become numb to the pain. Acknowledging the pain is terrifying. And equally fearsome is believing in the process of abolition.

It is frightening because it lets all the suppressed tension rise to the surface.

It is also fearsome because we ask great questions, and the truth is that we can only provide tentative answers. What is the solution to the harm our campus perpetuates? There are things I do not know. But that is ok. Because the mistakes and the uncertainty are the soil from which better critiques and better solutions can emerge. Let us define and refine our idea of a better future together. Let us practice forgiveness. Better we stumble to a place where all life is precious than we remain, because of ambivalence, in a place where some lives are disregarded.

Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com

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Baked Ziti Baked Ziti

RECIPE CORNER

By: Denise Kyeremeh

This is a recipe my mom refined and shared with me.

It is a very simple and flexible recipe that still tastes good even if you do not use all the ingredients or make substitutes. It’s a great way to dress up some pasta!

Ingredients: 1 lb ziti pasta 1/2 lb ground beef can be substituted for chicken, sausage, ground turkey, or left meatless 25 oz Marina sauce 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese 1 cup Mozzarella cheese 4 slices Provolone cheese 1/4 cup Sour cream 1/4 cup of chopped onion 2 chopped cloves of garlic Salt Pepper Rosemary Thyme Instructions for Ground Beef: In a skillet on high to medium heat brown onion and garlic.

Add ground beef evenly around the pan. Season with rosemary, thyme, black pepper, and salt to taste. Cook until beef is dark brown. Once meat is cooked add it to sauce.

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Instructions for Pasta: Bring large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to instructions on package.

Don’t forget to salt your water before adding the pasta!

Once pasta is soft, drain and set aside.

Place ziti in a bowl and stir in sour cream until evenly coated.

Feel free to add more sour cream depending on your preference.

Lightly grease a 9x13 pan. Pour enough ziti in pan to cover the bottom. Cover the layer of ziti with marinara sauce. Layer marinara with slices of provolone cheese and mozzarella. Continue layering in that order until all the ziti is in the pan. On the top layer cover with marinara sauce, mozzarella, parmesan cheese, and breadcrumbs.

Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is melted to your liking!

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Heavy Cream Pound Cake By: Salena Braye-Bulls

This has been my mom's go-to dessert recipe for years, and it always reminds me of home. It's really simple and straightforward, but still makes me feel like an accomplished baker.

Ingredients: 3 sticks salted butter (softened) 3 cups white granulated sugar 6 large eggs 3 cups cake flour 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½ pint heavy whipping cream Instructions: 1) Preheat oven to 425ºF. 2) Use butter wrapper to grease the inside of your bundt cake pan.

3) Cream butter in a large bowl, then sugar.

4) Add eggs one at a time and blend the mixture after each egg addition.

5) After all eggs are incorporated, add cake flour and whipping cream.

6) Once the batter is smooth, add vanilla.

7) Pour batter into cake pan and bake for an hour and 30 minutes.

8) Let cool for an hour, then remove cake from pan.

Background photo courtesy of Unsplash.com

Sweet Chili Beef & Green Bean Bowl By: Max Morant

I found this recipe when I was learning how to cook early in the pandemic. The sweet chili Thai beef bowl quickly became my favorite meal! Also, shoutout to HelloFresh for putting me on (I used their recipe instructions).

Ingredients: Ground beef Rice Green Beans Green onion Garlic Chili Garlic Sauce Sweet Chili Sauce Hoisin Sauce Soy Sauce 1. Cook rice in a small pot. Keep covered off heat until ready to serve.

2. Wash and dry produce. Trim green beans if necessary; cut crosswise into 2-inch-long pieces. Quarter lime. Pick cilantro leaves from stems; roughly chop leaves.

3. Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add beef; season with salt and pepper.

Break up meat into pieces and continue cooking until beef is cooked through. (If there’s excess grease in your pan, carefully pour it out)

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4. While beef cooks, in a medium microwave-safe bowl, add green beans and a splash of water; cover with plastic wrap. Microwave until tender. You can also steam beans in a small pot with a splash of water until just tender.

5. To pan with beef, stir in cooked green beans, chili sauce, 2½ TBSP sweet soy glaze (be sure to measure), ½ tsp sugar, and 1 TBSP butter. (For 4 servings, use 5 TBSP sweet soy glaze, 1 tsp sugar, and 2 TBSP butter.) Cook, stirring, until beef mixture is thoroughly coated, 1-2 minutes. • Remove from heat and stir in a squeeze of lime juice to taste.

6. Fluff rice with a fork; stir in 1 TBSP butter. Season with salt and pepper. Divide rice between bowls and top with beef mixture.

Sprinkle with crispy fried onions and chopped cilantro. Serve with any remaining lime wedges on the side.

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What’s one thing Q: that’s changed about Carolina you all wish would come back

What are some Q: words of wisdom that you have for first-year Black students at Carolina

A:

Chantel Gillus says...

To the first-year Black students here at UNC, I would advise to explore the Black clubs and organizations on campus because this is a way to be connected to the Black community. I feel as if it is essential to maintain that bond with your Black peers, especially being on a PWI campus where we are the minority.

However, don’t feel pressured to join every club or organization, especially if it doesn’t interest you. I think some students have this idea that when you come to college you have to have a million extra-curriculums to be the perfect college student and have an ideal resume, but there is no such thing as a perfect college student. Join the amount of clubs you think you can manage, whether that’s five or just one. We are all here to learn more about ourselves and discover what we like and dislike. Find what makes you happy because your college experience is in your hands and you are the one that gets to navigate your journey. Take your time and be kind to yourself as you wander through this new phase of your life.

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A:

Salena Braye-Bulls says...

Honestly, I miss the late night dinner service at Chase more than anything else. During my first year, they had pizza, salad, and breakfast every night. I looked forward to it when I stayed up late completing homework - or being unproductive and it always came in clutch. In addition to mourning the loss of the consistently available breadstick and hashbrown combo, I wish I could experience that atmosphere again, too. It was an after-hours environment to catch up with friends, make new ones, and have study snacks other than microwave popcorn. What a time to be a Tarheel!

A:

Denise Kyeremeh says...

My advice for first-year Black students at UNC would be to stay open-minded! College is a time that you are supposed to explore and dream so don’t be too concerned with sticking to the path you thought you would follow. Be willing to find new passions, learn more about yourself, and step out of your comfort zone. Take advantage of as many opportunities as possible! It’s also important to avoid comparing yourself to others. It’s very easy to feel inadequate when comparing your journey to that of others but know that yours is just as special no matter how elaborate it is. Allow the accomplishments of others to inspire you rather than discourage you. Learn from the people around you and engage with other Carolina students because college goes by very fast!

Q: A:

How do you navigate changing friend dynamics throughout college?

-Sophie Cho, Class of ‘23 Whether the change is for better or for worse, I try to take that time to reflect and grow introspectively. I had to remind myself a couple times that it's perfectly fine to be alone sometimes but that I also deserve rewarding friendships. Conversations with yourself are important!

-Karizma Greene

Q:

What’s your “why UNC”

Q: A:

?

A:

Steph Pierson, says...

I’ve been able to explore and grow so much at UNC, from classes to clubs to new experiences, and I feel like whatever I want to do here, I have the opportunity to do. While it was difficult during the pandemic to find my place/make friends, there are so many amazing people here who are interested in just about anything, you just have to put yourself out there and find them.

What makes you proud to be Black at UNC? The Fridays where a lot of us are gathered by the pit listening to music! Actually getting to see and experience the community we’ve built is really heartwarming. Also, the inside jokes we share keep me sane.

-Karizma Greene

Send us more questions on Instagram @uncblackink to get featured in our next issue!

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A previous year’s celebration of Durag & Bonet Day at UNC Chapel Hill

Durag & Bonnet Day By: Max Morant Every February, the Black Student Movement hosts a month-long series of events celebrating Black History Month.

Durag & Bonnet Day has traditionally been the final event of the series, in which students wear their favorite durags and bonnets to the pit to enjoy fellowship and vibes. Similar events at NC A&T State University and Morehouse College inspired the event where Blackness and solidarity are displayed. Since it began, the event’s intentions and impact have proven controversial within UNC’s Black community. As with any topic, all Black perspectives must be heard concerning the well-being and uplift of our community.

In this article, I aim to outline the most common stances on the celebration and hopefully drive the conversation in a positive direction.

Sentiments surrounding the event lie on a spectrum. On one end, people celebrate the occasion to its fullest, and on the other end, critics argue that the day centers the wrong part of Black culture. Speaking to Black

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alumni from the late 90s and early 2000s, they’ve expressed concern that wearing unprofessional attire may affect our potential careers. One alumnus stated, “every interaction you have is an interview.”

They argue that we could be robbing ourselves of opportunities without even knowing. This stance is common, but I argue that any opportunity lost due to simply wearing a durag on campus is probably an opportunity we didn’t need.

Older generations also recall that their parents faced significantly more risk than us in predominately white spaces and want us to consider their perspectives as we shift our own narratives. It isn’t easy to imagine what the Black Carolina student experience may have been like decades ago and how different older folks’ lived experiences are.

Still, understanding this generational disconnect makes it easier for us to empathize and find the lesson in their statements.

To me, Durag & Bonnet Day is an unapologetic celebration that gives us the space to be comfortable despite the white gaze. As with most students of color at a PWI, our perspective is minimized and disregarded constantly. The white experience’s pervasiveness will mute Black culture and lifestyle if we allow it.

This silencing manifests itself in making our cultural practices and standards secondary. To many, durags and bonnets may be unprofessional, disrespectful, or lazy because we aren’t presenting the “best version” of ourselves – the same sentiment shared among some Black alumni. From my perspective, Durag & Bonnet Day emphasizes the level of comfort we should feel on a day-to-day basis. I treasure the day because an entire community steps outside of harmful “norms” and into a culture of acceptance on our terms.

Current students I’ve spoken to have expressed support for the day, recognizing that older generations reached maturity in a different era, so their lived experiences create other convictions. One student argued that wearing a durag or a bonnet does not impact their character and that issues with protective cloth stem from malice and hate. Another student expressed gratitude for older generations, recognizing that we wouldn’t have the space to wear durags and bonnets on our terms without our predecessors’ unspeakable sacrifices.

Our goal is never to discredit these predecessors’ contributions, but we also have to turn our sights toward the future.

Because positive Black expression has been taboo for so long, students understand that celebrations like Durag & Bonnet Day naturally create concern about how it affects our prospects. However, progress requires courage, and we are dedicated to playing our role.

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BET On Us: The Evolution of Black TV By: Karizma Greene

As a child, I was very impressionable. My brother used to pick me up, swing me around, and call me “SuperBaby” and I ran with that name. Anything felt possible as SuperBaby, so when That’s So Raven came on every morning, I tried to strengthen my psychic vision. I imagined I was a spy like K.C. Undercover or a math whiz like T.J Henderson from Smart Guy— the list goes on. Black television helped shape me, however, the influence goes far beyond Disney channel on Saturday mornings. I am still Superbaby.

“You May Be Wondering How I Got Here…”

Black. Entertainment.

Television.

One of my favorite books is Bad Feminist by Roxanne Gay and in her first chapter she critisizes this idea of seeing people who “look like you”. There is much to be said about this starting with where it all began. This part of Black history dates back to the 1920s-40s when the on-screen portrayal of Black people shifted from blackface to actual black faces. In other words, the radio show “Sam n Henry,” hosted by two white men suited in blackface, was succeeded by the TV show “Andy n Amos,” starring two black men on the come up in America. Needless to say, the show possessed some inherent schemes of racism and the generalizations were simply unfunny but this should not take away from how revolutionary the show was. My grandmother and her generation were finally able to watch people who looked familiar.

“The problem is that I see people on BET who look like me, but that’s where the similarities end.” (Gay, 5).

I fell in love with this book and, in turn, Gay as an author because they both demand more, never settling. But are you really a good reader if you don’t have some type of rebuttal?

Photo courtesy of Unsplash.com

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Gay centers this portion of her chapter around BET which is home to so many Black shows we know and love. Good Times, Martin, Fresh Prince, Family, Matters, My Wife & Kids, I’m sure you can keep it going.

Watching these shows with family, you could find them saying something along the lines of “don’t that look like ____” (insert name of family member). Whether it was a joke or not we saw each other in these characters. It wasn’t solely about what meets the eye, but rather what those TV families reflected in ours.

Everybody Hates Chris gave me a sense of normalcy because it showed that I wasn’t the only one getting yelled at for not realizing how high bills were at the age of 10. We all argued like they did and we all loved like they did. That’s more than one similarity.

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Netflix and Hulu “I wish BET did more to represent the full spectrum of black experiences in a balanced manner” (Gay, 6).

Me too. There’s a lot of representation but it’s embedded in some of the same stories usually about turmoil and hurt. When I think outside of this box the show Blackish comes to mind. In the show, Rainbow (Tracee Elis Ross) is an anesthesiologist and Dre (Anthony Anderson) works at a large advertising firm. It wasn’t until I got to college that I realized how fun and important advertising was.

These two navigate a modern world where I would assume parenting has gotten a bit harder. In one episode, they had to navigate the discussion of colorism and in another, the n-word within music, specifically Kanye’s Gold Digger. I still find myself censoring the word sometimes and I couldn’t tell you why.

Nonetheless, this show, among many of today, does the work of its predecessors in inspiring and relating to the current generations. Shows like Harlem, Insecure, Grown-ish, and Abbott Elementary do an exceptional job with reminding me that I have options for my future.

I am still SuperBaby.

Blackfishing: World’s Fakest Catch By: Salena Braye-Bulls

In 2022, there are certain things you can always expect to see on social media.

Meal kit services, LED lights, and trendy dances to the latest Billboard hits come to mind, but I also think of ‘blackfishing’.

Blackfishing is a portmanteau of ‘black’ and ‘catfishing’, the latter of which is slang for someone posing online as someone that they’re not. As a term, ‘blackfishing’ was created by Toronto writer Wanna Thompson to describe the phenomena as non-Black people purposefully adopting certain traits historically linked to Blackness to appear Black or at least racially ambiguous. Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea, and the entire KardashianJenner clan are known to ‘blackfish’ to such intense degrees that their brands are synonymous with the phenomenon. Its reach isn’t limited to multi-millionaires; I’ve seen people that I know do their fair share of blackfishing on their platforms, and simply scrolling past their content doesn’t reflect the depth of the issue. As a trend, blackfishing is aggravating and unsettling–it encourages non-Black people to conveniently emulate features and aesthetics that Black people have been historically marked, categorized, and subjugated by. They want the ‘Black’ look without the labor, life experiences, and trials that come with Blackness.

While there is not a specific or explicit way that any member of the African Diaspora must look, race–as a construct–is distilled into certain physical features and heritages. Blackfishing harps on society’s emphasis of these features. As explained by Wanna Thompson herself, “with extensive lip fillers, dark tans, and attempts to manipulate their hair texture, white

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women wear Black women’s features like a costume.” On one hand, I’m desensitized to seeing a white woman wearing box braids and deep foundation because the phenomenon is so prevalent.

On the other hand, it’s deeply painful to see women of other races placed on a pedestal for their “style.” At the same time, cosmetic companies still fail to provide options for darker-skinned women, and young Black girls face disciplinary actions for simply wearing protective hairstyles to school.

Blackfishing deniers often argue that the practice is not a problem at all. They argue that Black women are insecure in their identities and other races can enjoy clothing, makeup, and hair trends. As a young Black woman and critical social media consumer, I am personally secure in my identity. Still, I take issue with non-Black folks commodifying aspects of Black existence at their convenience.

Raven Smith of Vogue speaks to a similar idea. She details how blackfishing leads people to reduce Blackness into a single visual essence – often rooted in stereotypes – that perpetuates “esteemed minstrelsy” without any accountability for perpetrators.

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Ultimately, Blackfishing sets a dangerous precedent. As it continues and becomes more accepted, we become more desensitized to it. Recently, Nora Lum also known as Awkwafina, an Asian-American comedian and actress was publicly spotlighted because of her use of African American Vernacular English (AAVE). In her work, Lum has often used AAVE and a ‘blaccent,’ an accent or voice used by non-Black people to imitate Black Americans. In Lum’s case, her mimicry of Blackness is so deeply ingrained into her public persona that her mainstream success is directly tied to her anti-Black behavior. On a societal level, we need to have conversations about appropriation, awareness, and our actions’ impacts on communities at large. On a personal level, I want people to realize that Blackness isn’t a free trial. It isn’t a costume for me, my family, and my community. When I come home, my skin complexion, nose, and lips stay on, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

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The Original Fashionistas By: Chantel Gillus

Black women are the standard.

We are trendsetters, innovators, and reinventors. Black women have continuously pushed the barriers of fashion and exemplified immense creativity in a society where their contributions are often overlooked and discredited. Fashion trends like hoop earrings, colored hair, braids, long and intricate acrylic nails; styles called ghetto and unprofessional when Black women wear them but labeled as edgy and trendy on white and non-Black women. The fashion world should celebrate Black women's impact and persistence in challenging fashion norms today.

Black women have made both societal and political statements through their fashion sense. They continue to fight for justice and equality in style. Enter singer and dancer Josephine Baker, who was also a Civil Rights activist and part of the French Resistance. She was popular for her shimmering dresses, marabou feathers, and flashiness and glam from Harlem to Paris (Silver).

Nina Simone wore jaw-dropping evening gowns and striking prints that she played up with vivid sunglasses and turbans (Silver). By the late 60s, when she utilized her public stance and music to become a trailblazer in the Civil Rights movement, she dressed the part by wearing more serious maxi dresses while accessorizing with poise (Silver).

Transitioning into the 1970s, we have Diana Ross, who embodied 70s glamor. With the assistance of the acclaimed costume designer, Bob Mackie, Ross made marabou feathers, sequins, eye-catching jumpsuits, striking colors, tall bouffants, and teased-out afros

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her staple looks (Silver). Cicely Tyson, a model turned movie star, was another celebrity who was unafraid to flaunt her natural beauty by sporting cornrows or an afro (Silver). She proved that Black women could be graceful by flexing her natural beauty while wearing sophisticated dresses and outfits.

Beverly Johnson, the first Black model to appear on the covers of American Vogue and French Elle, set the bar for future models with her chic looks and business endeavors.

She's appeared in films, wrote books, ventured into entrepreneurship, and advocated for inclusivity in the fashion industry (Silver). The following line of Black female supermodels in the 70s, 80s, and 90s were risk-taking Iman, boundary-pushing Grace Jones, fashion muse Naomi Campbell, and cool-girl Tyra Banks. They became more than just models because people became immersed in their lavish lifestyle and their dazzling, jet-setting dress sense. Like Beverly, they went beyond the cover of magazines and runways, appearing on television

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shows, movies, and even becoming singers; they were now pop icons.

Pop star Janet Jackson constantly looked sleek and sultry with her power suits, bralettes, satin trousers, chunky belts, crop tops, high-waisted denim, and combat boots. In the late 80s and early 90s, she often accompanied her outfits with a beret or micro-shades.

She had a grungy style which was a breath of fresh air in the pop music scene. Also, in the late 80s and early 90s, hip-hop trio Salt-N-Pepa and DJ Spinderella opened the door for the "borrowed from the boys" look, wearing oversized, graphic leather jackets as seen in their "Push-It" (1987) music video. They were known for stepping out in knee pads, kente hats, and distressed clothing.

Back in the olden times, clothing became distressed due to high use, and they were an exhibition of poverty.

Although like Black women usually do, Salt-N-Pepa switched the game up and turned a negative into a fashionable positive. Other stars in the 90s like TLC and Aaliyah also contributed to the tomboyish and edgy look.

TLC (Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes, and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas) were known for their tomboy wardrobe, bold use of color, and daring fashion choices. They made political statements through their music and clothing, like expressing their sexuality and promoting safe sex by attaching condoms to their clothing; Lisa covered her left eye with a condom, which eventually became her signature look. Aaliyah followed suit by finding the balance between having a tomboyish charm and sex appeal. In the 90s, her staple looks included men's boxers under her baggy jeans and pairing them with a baby tee, oversized tracksuits, and lustrous motocross outfits. Aaliyah's style was chill, sexy, yet classy like her songs. On the other hand, Lil' Kim bravely sported raunchy clothing and colorful wigs throughout the mid-late 90s to early 2000s to flaunt her sexuality as a

Black woman. Her provocativeness was displayed in her lyrics and her fashion sense as well. Some of Kim's most iconic outfits include the lavender, one-breasted mermaid bodysuit and the multiple monochromatic looks in the 1997 "Crush on You" music video. She influenced women to be themselves and embrace their sexuality unapologetically. Erykah Badu also stood out amongst her peers as the girl with the boho style in the R&B/Hip-hop scene. Badu was one of the Black women who paved the way for the quirky, indie Black girl style with her admiration for towering hats, piles of jewelry, voluptuous hair, and Rastafarian colors with matching head wraps (Silver). This group of pop culture icons continued innovating the fashion world throughout the late 90s and into the early 2000s by adding a futuristic flair to their styles.

Y2K is a stylistic trend covering the late 1990s and early-to-mid 2000s styles. Y2K fashion has a singular style stemming from mixing the millennium's pop culture with the most recent technological developments of that era, adding an ultramodern feel to the style. When people reference Y2K fashion, they usually credit white celebrities like Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Gwen Stefani. The erasure of Black people is a classic case of cultural appropriation. Society continuously erases Black women when it comes to creating pop cultural trends. Simply put — Y2K fashion is rooted in Black culture.

The trendsetters of Y2K include Missy Elliot, TLC, Aaliyah, Lil' Kim, Blaque, Destiny's Child, Beyoncé (as a solo artist), Kelis, Raven-Symoné, Kimora Lee Simmons (the founder of Baby Phat), and many more. Black female celebrities were now wearing thick and shiny materials, metallic garments, techy accessories, chunky sneakers and heels, velour tracksuits, colorful

sunglasses, low rise jeans, bedazzled clothing, baguette bags, and other trends associated with Y2K. Y2K was an era of afro-futurism, inspired by former Black trends and an avant-garde touch.

Some examples of the Y2K aesthetic are found in music videos like Missy Elliot's "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" (1997), TLC's "No Scrubs" (1999), Blaque's "Bring It All to Me ft. *NSYNC" (1999), and Aaliyah's "More Than A Woman" (2001).

Former First Lady Michelle Obama, also known as the First Lady of Fashion, has graced our screens with her style and elegance. When you think of the First Lady, you don't usually think of them as fashion icons. However, Michelle Obama changed the fashion game for future first ladies and the fashion industry in general. What made Michelle Obama stand out were her strong colors and cuts, along with her lovely dresses and stylish suits (Silver). Michelle Obama made an impactful role like being the First Lady look cool.

The coolest amongst the cool is Rihanna.

When you think of one of the most notable fashion icons of the last decade and today, Rihanna is definitely on that list. Rihanna can become any aesthetic; edgy, tomboyish, girly, glamorous, or provocative. She stands out because she is always ahead of the curve and envisioning new ways to set the latest trend while flaunting her wild creativity and taking risks. Artists like Janelle Monáe and Nicki Minaj have taken chances by embellishing in eccentric, "campy”, and over-the-top ensembles. They are both known for their quirky, weird, and outlandish style, especially Nicki Minaj in the early 2010s. Nicki was famous for her unique and unconventional wigs and style during that specific period. She was criticized for her peculiar fashion sense, but today, people are giving Nicki her props because she was different and ahead of her time.

any look and isn't afraid to step out of her comfort zone to make a statement.

Whether it's twinning with Michael B. Jordan and wearing the same men's suit or wearing an elegant gown, her ensembles are experimental, but she dazzles the red carpet and makes it look effortless each time. Beyoncé still effortlessly represents sophistication in her extravagant clothing. She has been in the fashion game for almost three decades now, going back to the 90s.

She has a way of keeping up with current fashion trends but still makes it uniquely her own. Other Black female celebrities making noise in the fashion industry are Lupita Nyong'o, FKA Twigs, Yara Shahidi, Tracee Ellis Ross, Zoë Kravitz, and many more.

Black women are a staple when it comes to the history of fashion.

Our fashion trends will stand the test of time as new trends form. We are the creators and originators, and it is time we are recognized as the primary source of inspiration in fashion.

Our inventiveness is unmatched.

The names mentioned above are just a few of the Black women who have helped cultivate the world of fashion. Numerous Black women have contributed their talents, just like many young Black girls today who are out there expressing themselves through their clothes.

Today's Black girls will be the future of fashion, and they will inspire those that will come Zendaya is one of the fresh faces of after them, just as fashion, and she was recently named the 2021 Fashion Icon by the Council their predecessors of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).

Like Rihanna, Zendaya is versatile in fashion; inspired them. she can pull off Background photo courtesy of Unsplash.com

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Sources and Citations Article: Blackfishing: World’s Fakest Catch Sources Used: https://www.papermag.com/white-women-blackfishi ng-instagram-2619714094.html?rebelltitem=11#reb elltitem11 https://www.vogue.com/article/the-problem-with-bla ckfishing-jesy-nelson Article: My Brick Once Stolen: How My Own Ancestry Leads Back to UNC Sources Used: https://museum.unc.edu/exhibits/show/names/mciv er-residence-hall http://uncghistory.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-educa tion-of-charles-duncan-mciver.html https://www.carolana.com/NC/Towns/Sanford_NC. html https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/mciver-charlesduncan Article: Black History as American History Sources Used: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/08/ 18/why-we-should-remember/ https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/treasures_of_con gress/Images/page_13/47a.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/05/24/u s/tulsa-race-massacre.html https://www.edweek.org/leadership/what-is-critical-r ace-theory-and-why-is-it-under-attack/2021/05 Article: The Original Fashionistas Source Used: https://www.purewow.com/fashion/black-fashion-ic ons.

Article: Insecure (Going Beyond Stereotypes) Source Used: https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-features/issa-rae -why-insecure-is-not-made-for-dudes-or-white-peopl e-196932/

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Article: Black Love Sources Used: https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2017/0 5/18/1-trends-and-patterns-in-intermarriage/ https://www.essence.com/love/we-asked-10-couples -what-black-love-means-to-them-and-their-answerswill-move-you/#398120 Sullivan, Rachel E. Contemporary Racism and Family Approval of Black/White Interracial Relationships, University of Connecticut, Ann Arbor, 2005. ProQuest, http://libproxy.lib.unc.edu/login?url=https://www.p roquest.com/dissertations-theses/contemporary-raci sm-family-approval-black-white/docview/30501282 1/se-2?accountid=14244.

Childs, Erica Chito. “Looking Behind the Stereotypes of the ‘Angry Black Woman’: An Exploration of Black Women’s Responses to Interracial Relationships.” Gender & Society, vol. 19, no. 4, Aug. 2005, pp. 544–561, doi:10.1177/0891243205276755.

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