Bringing Back ’90s Nick
A social media campaign brings back four favorite TV shows. BY: BRIANA BARNER It’d be hard to find anyone born in the ‘90s who doesn’t recognize these famous lines: “Who loves orange soda? Kel loves orange soda! I do, I do, I do-oo!” Of course I’m referring to Kel from All That and Kenan and [...]
Diversity Begins With You
BY: JULIANNE MALVEAUX, Ph.D. Bennett College cares about diversity because we recognize the diversity in our community. Among our students, faculty and staff, there are men and women of many races and religions. Even those of us who are of African descent have different countries of origin. We are stronger as a community when we [...]
A Visible Invisibility
BY: JULIANNE MALVEAUX, Ph.D. Twenty-five years ago, Dr. Margaret Simms and I convened a conference on the status of Black women and compiled a volume of research papers that emerged from the conference. We were concerned that economic data too often focused on differences between African-American men and White women, with African-American women’s progress placed [...]
No Room For Big Girls
Will Hollywood open its doors to more diverse roles for plus-sized actresses? BY: EVETTE DIONNE If you are Vivica A. Fox, Gabrielle Union or Halle Berry you can play serious roles or sexy ones. But this option doesn’t exist for most plus-sized Black actresses. In 2009, plus-sized African-American actress Gabourey Sidibe exploded into the entertainment [...]
The Diary of a Brokedown College Student
When you start to question why you’re in college, hard life lessons can provide the answer. By: RATASHA SMITH When we were little, we were always in a rush to grow up. Trying on your mother’s size nine high heels thaswallowed your tiny feet; playing in her make-up, putting on enough blush that your cheeks [...]
I’m FAT! So?
A plus-sized sister doesn’t mind the f-word By: EVETTE DIONNE Being fat in America is difficult. I’m a confident woman, but when I’m out there is always the question of whether people are staring out of admiration (my personal favorite), curiosity (still a favorite of mine), or pure disgust because I don’t suit the American [...]
Dig Deeper to Get More
By: REV. NATALIE MCLEAN, PH.D. “We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power might be of God and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). While conversing with my brother Vic, he shared a touching experience. On his way to a meeting, he witnessed a man walking down the street talking [...]
Standing Still
Go beyond the surface By: JULIANNE MALVEAUX, Ph.D I approached this writing assignment as I do each one, putting the due date on my tickler, and scheduling a bit of time to reflect, to pull quotes or data, and to ponder. Something about the assignment made me uncomfortable, though, and I found myself procrastinating. To [...]
Is It Cool To Be Big Booty Judy?
Author Jhanay Davis discusses her issues with having a large backside. By: JHANAY DAVIS “Oh my God Becky, look at her butt. It is so big…” We can all repeat this line together. Everyone has seen someone and applied this infamous line from Sir Mix-a-Lot’s 1990s hit which went against the celebratory nature of the [...]
Embracing the Curves: A Fatshionista’s Journey
Being fat has its challenges. Evette Dionne chronicles her journey to embracing fat. Author: EVETTE DIONNE From the age of nine, I’ve been on the curvaceous side, so I can clearly recall the first time someone taunted me by calling me fat. I was in the sixth grade and a girl was angry with me [...]