Plaid Ponderings: Thoughts of a Lezz

shortformblog:

RIP Don Cornelius: The man who brought the soul 

An icon of ’70s television: Don Cornelius, who conceived and hosted the long-running Soul Train, died in Los Angeles early Wednesday morning of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 75. Cornelius’ groundbreaking program, which first aired in the Chicago area and later nationally, was one of the first TV programs that showcased blacks front-and-center, though Cornelius was careful to note that the show emphasized racial diversity. The music show, which focused heavily on dancing in a pre-MTV era, gave such stars as Marvin Gaye and Barry White TV audiences, and later played an important role in building the popularity of hip-hop. His later life was troubled, however: In 2009, he received three years of probation in a spousal abuse case, and reportedly suffered from health problems. His earlier legacy lives on, however: ”I figured as long as the music stayed hot and important and good, that there would always be a reason for ‘Soul Train,’” he said in an interview. Though the show is off the air after a 35-year national run, the empire still exists.

(via shortformblog)

ducksinthehat:

kurenai24:

ducksinthehat:

kyssthis16:

Dear Glee Fandom, 

Do you see this man? His name is Wentworth Miller. He also happens to be Black. SURPRISE, MOTHAFUCKAS!!!!!! Yes, I know the blue-ish eyes are throwing you off. The light skin? Yeah, understandable. But please note, Black people range in skintone more than you will ever know. Oh, Naya Rivera? Also Black! AHAHAHHAHAHA 

A little… bit of a stretch here? Excuse me if I am being an ignorant fuckass here, but I don’t think having a parent who is one quarter African-American like Miller makes you black. Naya is half Puerto Rican, quarter African and quarter German. Does the quarter German means I can tell she is Caucasian? Because I wouldn’t say that.

Like I said, maybe I am being an ignorant fuck here, but I call those two Beautiful Examples of Multiracial Origin, certainly not black or white. (And specifically, I refer to Naya as latina because that’s how she refers to herself.)

His mother is white and his father is black. There is no quarter part at all. Yes he is biracial but half of his make up is black which mean he is black. There is no other way to coat it.

Naya Rivera, one of her parents are white and the other is half black and half latino, which mean she is a black latino. There is no other way to coat it.

And I wish people would stop saying quarter German or quarter Jewish like that explains someone’s white race b/c there are black Jewish people and black Germans out there and stating that their a quarter German is just saying what their nationality/culture is and not what their racial make up is.

So yes you did come across as ignorant fuckass.

Sorry about this ignorant fuckass, Wikipedia must have lied to me:

Miller is of multiracial origin: his father is of African-American, Jamaican, English and German background, and his mother is of French, Dutch, Syrian and Lebanese ancestry.

Rivera is of half Puerto Rican, quarter African, and quarter German descent.

I know this is a touchy subject and stuff, and not to rise any controversy, but I just don’t know how it is possible to take a man with African-American, Jamaican, English, German, French, Dutch, Syrian and Lebanese blood and say he is black. With so many different origins, that other people should pick one and get it in the front seems a little… weird to me. Unless, of course, he identifies as such, in that case I will call him, or anyone, whatever they feel they are.

Okay. Let me just say this right here.

In the black community, it is so fucking rare to have a visible gay person representing us in the media. Whether it be character or an actual LGBTQ black person, they’re never on my screen.

I got so damn excited when they showed us that picture in season one and Rachel had a gay black man as her father. Because dammit somewhere there is a gay black boy out there who doesn’t have any role models. He doesn’t have anyone on the screen that looks like him. How is he supposed to think that he can have a chance at happiness if there isn’t a single damn example of it on television? The only black gay person I ever knew when I was growing up, was RuPaul. The only reason I even knew of RuPaul is because he was in that movie with Tyra Banks and Lindsey Lohan. And he was in drag in that movie. It’s not that I don’t love me some RuPaul because he is fierce. But it’s the fact that the stereotype that all gay men just like to dress up as women, is getting old. 

I’m so disappointed in the way that they selected this character change. I wanted to see a black actor playing a happily married black gay man. A man that had a stable job, a loving husband, and a daughter he loved. A man whose character managed to still be happy in a small fucking town with ignorant people. 

But no. We get another white gay couple who have a white daughter.

Maybe I’m over the top with this. But you know what oh well. 

This is why I’m pissed off. To Ryan Murphy and other people, maybe it wasn’t a big deal.

But to me, it’s a big fucking deal.

xdyke:

fireeyedboi

(via gray37)

Bow chicka wow wow.

vogue:

John Legend Photographed with Models Arlenis Sosa and Jordan Dunn for the March Issue of Vogue by Norman Jean Roy

Well aren’t they all just good looking group of people…