Connect with us

Entertainment

Why We Should All Watch the Winter Olympics 2018

mm

Published

on

Today, the opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics was held in South Korea. The opening ceremony is the commencement of a week-long event that is the most watched sporting event across the globe. Even though I am not a sports fanatic, I think it’s important that we tune in. This year there are several firsts for persons of color in the United States and in other countries. Geographically, darker skinned persons are closer to the equator, which means most of us live in areas of warmth.  The farther you go from the equator, the less black/brown people you see which is probably why it is uncommon to see persons of color competing in winter/snow/ice sports. A few years ago, a friend of mine asked me if I was interested in going on a ski trip and this was my reaction:

Personally, I have an aversion to cold weather and snow, so I was not interested! There’s this notion that all black people must feel this way and of course, that’s not true. But once it hits around 60 degrees in the deep south where I’m from, we pull out our faux fur snow boots from Shoe Carnival, bubble jackets from Wish.com, and thermal shirts from Old Navy just to take out the trash. 

Anyway, I said all that to say that despite the stereotype, black people are still showing up and out at the 2018 Winter Olympics. As a kid, I remember being awe watching the figure skaters twirl in their beautiful outfits with such grace, I never thought I could be one since, at that time, none of them looked like me. According to Buzzfeed, “Of the 2,952 athletes competing at this year’s Winter Olympics, only 41 (1.39-percent) of those athletes are black”. Isn’t that something?

This year Maame Biney, the first African-American speed skater to qualify for Team USA will be in the competition. Also, the first Nigerian bobsled team which consists of Seun Adigun, Akuoma Omeoga, and Ngozi Onwumere will be in the running for the gold. Next, Elana Meyers Taylor will return for the third time to represent the U.S. in bobsledding, the most ever for a woman of color. Shani Davis is also a returning medalist who will be competing in the speed skating competition, representing the U.S. Akwasi Frimpong is another highly anticipated first-time Olympian who is representing Ghana in the sport called Skeleton. This is only a brief list, but needless to say, black people across the globe are showing out per usual and I’m excited to see it.

The Olympics are being broadcast on NBC and it’s available to stream online 24/7. You can watch from your laptop, phone or any internet enabled device. Check it out by clicking HERE.

Comments

comments

Advertisement
Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Entertainment

Rolling Ray Undergoes Surgery After Wig Catches On Fire

Published

on

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.

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.” 

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. 

Rolling Ray might be problematic as all get-out, but we do not tolerate ableism here. We wish him well as he heals.

Comments

comments

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Fantasia Reveals Gender of Baby On the Way!

Published

on

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.

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.

Comments

comments

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West Are Getting Divorced, Report Says

Published

on

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.

Comments

comments

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending