

Entertainment
Something Doesn’t Sound White: The NMAAHC Hip Hop Curator Isn’t Black?!

Published
5 years agoon
There was a conversation on Twitter over whether Timothy Anne Burnside, who is an exhibit curator at the NMAAHC in the Hip Hop Section, should be allowed to work there to begin with. It’s no secret when it comes to certain white individuals who have infiltrated or stolen African American musical styles and have used them to make a profit.
From Elvis to Macklemore plenty of whites have appropriated our styles and record labels have controlled the narrative to make them more palatable than Black artist who are doing the exact same type of art.
Black Twitter was torn between this topic because Timothy seems to be a Black ally who supports the cause and is knowledgeable in the art which is the reason why she obtained the job.
However, the conversation becomes divided when it comes to people saying she should be allowed to be a curator because she’s a fly vs. a Black or Latinx person who’s knowledgeable in the subject matter should be the curator since that’s where the culture originated from.
Below are some tweets from the hellfire of this conversation.
THERE IS A WHITE WOMAN CURATING THE HIP HOP PART OF THE NMAAHC SMITHSONIAN?!?!?!?!?!?!? WHO LET THIS SHIT HAPPEN!?!?!
— Dj Possibly The Plug (@DjChubbESwagg) September 20, 2018
Whew chile, THE SUNKEN PLACE ? pic.twitter.com/4u0p0pZ96a
— Clarkisha Kent: Bisexual Woman of Diversity (@IWriteAllDay_) September 22, 2018
.@timothyanne Burnside HAS put maximum effort and time into preserving Black culture in the NMAAHC. Her work has been diligent AND with class and necessary resPEct. Support your local library it’ll make you understand the meaning of a true learning museum in this 21st Century
— Chuck D (@MrChuckD) April 11, 2018
The Hip Hop curator/specialist of @NMAAHC should be Black. Even the whole idea that a non-Black person can be qualified to speak on hip hop when the history is rooted in Black culture is laughable and disappointing. Alas, we don’t care that white people are always granted access.
— PrestonMitchum (@PrestonMitchum) September 22, 2018
The NMAAHC hip hop curator conversation reminds me that multiculturalism is a weird project. I think it’s important to note which groups are expected to be diverse and which groups aren’t.
— Janan (@jananamirah) September 21, 2018
A white ally shouldn’t be curating Black culture, especially when they can only reap benefits and none of the demonization we face from living in it.
I didn’t like it when the Brooklyn Museum hired a white curator for their Black exhibit. I don’t like it when the NMAAHC does it
— George M Johnson (@IamGMJohnson) September 21, 2018
The bigger issue with this is that many people are wondering was Timothy the best-qualified candidate for this position? Although she does have the “credentials” what makes her more qualified than a Black person with the same amount of knowledge?
Also, It’s funny how we’re able to find excuses to give to make it more “credible” for a white person to hold a position that should be held by a group of people who have been marginalized by their actions. This type of thinking is dangerous due to the fact that it gives white people access to spaces and positions that should be held by Black people or other person’s of color in their respective fields.
I’m not sure of everything Timothy does in her position but as an alleged ally to Black folks, I hope she uses her privilege to at least hire someone who’s background isn’t as privileged as hers to come in and have a chance at becoming a curator. Use your privilege to uplift the community instead of taking up space and holding it back.
This tweet by Twitter user FredTJoseph perfectly sums up what should be done for all the people who think about taking positions which should be held by the people who created the culture itself.
I don’t know the white woman curating the hip hop section in the NMAAHC, but I hear she is knowledgeable, respected, and an ally.
But question is, wouldn’t a true ally feel it’s not their place to take a role such as that?
As a straight male, I wouldn’t curate an LGBTQ exhibit.
— Frederick Joseph (@FredTJoseph) September 21, 2018
Let’s continue the conversation in the comments. Do you think people who are qualified should take positions away from those who are involved in the culture or do you think people within the culture should be the only ones allowed to maintain such positions of influence?
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Entertainment
Rolling Ray Undergoes Surgery After Wig Catches On Fire
Published
2 years agoon
January 19, 2021
Social media star Rolling Ray underwent surgery Tuesday morning to treat serious burns on his body after his terrible wig accident last week.
In a series of IG stories, he let his audience follow along as he prepped for surgery.
Last week Rolling Ray announced he was hospitalized after his wig caught on fire! During a January 13 Instagram Live session hosted straight from his hospital bedside, he showed his severely burnt and damaged face telling viewers his “whole skin, legs, arms, feet, and everything” were burned.
Prayers for Rolling Ray 🙏🏿 pic.twitter.com/d6PwlLbrlI
— TheShadeRoom (@TheShadeRoom) January 14, 2021
In a more recent Live, Ray explained the incident that led to his whole wig catching on fire: an unfortunate smoking accident. “It just, like, lit on fire when I tried to light the cigarette,” he recounted. “So I get to trying to snatch the wig off. B***h, the fire goes to my f*****g shirt, to my feet, to my legs, to my back. It’s a fire everywhere, it’s a fire in the whole room.”
#RollingRay made headlines last week after it was revealed that he accidentally let himself on #fire. Now he says that the incident occurred while he was trying to light a #cigarette. pic.twitter.com/AlkoI8IjGy
— talksandthought (@Talksandthought) January 19, 2021
Of course the internet trolled him in a disgusting display of ableism and heartlessness. Comments like “Rolling Ray should have stopped, dropped, and rolled” and “karma’s a b***h” had social media conflicted in its feelings about his accident. His sensation comes from his harsh and, often, below-the-belt reads (just last month he told Yung Miami to “dig (sic) up” her dead baby father. However, the criticism didn’t stop him from responding on Twitter.
I miss y’all 🥺! See y’all soon, if this what Karma feels like she should’ve came harder because I’m alive while others still dead. God loves me 😍! Imma bounce back
— RollingRay!!! (@DMVMOSTFAMOUS) January 17, 2021
Rolling Ray might be problematic as all get-out, but we do not tolerate ableism here. We wish him well as he heals.
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On Tuesday singer-songwriter and “American Idol” winner Fantasia Barrino took to social media to reveal that she is having a baby girl, her first child with husband Kendall Taylor.
In a series of Instagram stories, Fantasia showed pink fireworks being shot off during a gender reveal party, to her and her hubby’s excitement! She continued by sharing what her daughter-to-be’s name will be: Keziah London Taylor.
BIG announcement 💜🎉 pic.twitter.com/z8zJAZNZUU
— Fantasia Taylor (@TasiasWord) November 25, 2020
The news comes after the couple revealed they had struggled to conceive since their 2015 marriage. During a November episode of her IG Live show “Taylor Talks,” she described continuously praying for a child with her husband. Fantasia, a deeply devout Christian, was obviously elated when she shared the news.
“God I Want To Thank You!” she said in an Instagram caption. “You Gave Us A Seed even when the Doctor said that one of my Tubes [was] Closed you said Different. @salute1st I Love You King and I can’t wait to see who He or She acts Like.”
We can see Fantasia and family are all super excited to be welcoming a baby girl into their lives. All congratulations to her.
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Entertainment
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West Are Getting Divorced, Report Says
Published
2 years agoon
January 6, 2021
In a story published Tuesday evening, Page Six is reporting that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are getting divorced, with the two already in settlement talks. The news comes after the couple spent the holiday season separately – Kanye at his ranch outside Cody, Wyoming, Kim and the kids with her famous family in southern California.
A source close to Kardashian was quoted saying, “Kim got Kanye to go up there so they could live separate lives and quietly get things sorted out to separate and divorce. She’s done.” Kardashian, 40, and West, 43, are said to be splitting because of marital problems directly related to Kanye’s very public mental health struggles.

For several years the rapper’s various antics have caused fans to worry. After coming out as a Trump supporter, West then announced his own 2020 presidential bid under a new political party: the Birthday Party. At a campaign rally in South Carolina, he was seen rambling, debating individual audience members, and at times, crying. In various interviews, he has rambled on almost incoherently, and his tweetstorms are now infamous.
For her part, Kim has always supported her husband and has openly discussed the difficulties of their marriage. Back in June, she shared on social media, “Anyone who has [bipolar disorder] or has a loved one in their life who does, knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand… People who are unaware or far removed from this experience can be judgmental and not understand that the individual (has) to engage in the process of getting help no matter how hard family and friends try.”

It appears she has finally reached her limit in the union with the unnamed source saying, “She is serious about taking the bar exam and becoming a lawyer, she is serious about her prison reform campaign. Meanwhile Kanye is talking about running for president and saying other crazy s**t, and she’s just had enough of it.”
Separately, a source close to Kanye alleges the rapper is sick of his wife and her family, which might have some truth to it since he has tweeted some pretty nasty things about them in the past. “I been trying to get divorced since Kim met with Meek at the Warldolf [sic] for ‘prison reform,’” he said in a now-deleted July tweet. Recently, he hasn’t been featured on his wife’s Instagram and has largely remained out of the public eye.

With the news yet to be confirmed, the “divorce is imminent” reports are just rumors for now. We’ll be following the news as more information comes out.
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