Colin Kaepernick Saw This Coming

Posted in Articles, Media Archive, Social Justice, United States on 2017-04-03 02:09Z by Steven

Colin Kaepernick Saw This Coming

Complex
2017-03-30

Dria Roland


Image via USA Today Sports

In pop culture years, 2012 was ages ago. But try to remember. That was the year quarterback Alex Smith suffered a concussion in the first half of the Niners game against the Rams in Week 10, and a backup QB named Colin Kaepernick had to fill in. The game ended in a tie, the NFL’s first in four years. The next week Kaepernick started, and led the team to victory. And even after Smith was declared healthy, Kaepernick continued to start—and to win. A “quarterback controversy” brewed, but coach Harbaugh went with the guy “with the hot hand,” as they say.

With that, a star was born. A second-year, backup QB led the Niners all the way to Super Bowl XLVII, and even though the Ravens came out on top, all people could talk about was Kap. His spread in the ESPN Body Issue made women swoon all around the nation. He signed endorsement deals with Jaguar, Nike, Beats, and Electronic Arts. Feature stories were written about his tattoos, his pet tortoise named Sammy, his being a biracial kid adopted by white parents…

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“I’m very light, so some people don’t really know that I’m black. I’ve been in situations where people will say something kind of racist and I’ll step in and they’ll be like, ‘Oh, well, you’re light’…

Posted in Excerpts/Quotes on 2016-12-07 02:30Z by Steven

“I’m very light, so some people don’t really know that I’m black. I’ve been in situations where people will say something kind of racist and I’ll step in and they’ll be like, ‘Oh, well, you’re light,’” she says, her eyes flashing. “That still doesn’t cut it, buddy. It’s 2016—you better get your shit together before you get slapped out here.” —Sofia Ritchie

Rebecca Haithcoat, “Family Business,” Complex, December 2016/January 2017. http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/sofia-richie-interview-2016-cover-story.

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What does ‘Latinx’ mean? A look at the term that’s challenging gender norms

Posted in Articles, Latino Studies, Media Archive on 2016-06-17 01:07Z by Steven

What does ‘Latinx’ mean? A look at the term that’s challenging gender norms

Complex
2016-04-18

Yesenia Padilla, Xicanx Poet
Southern California

If you’ve been online at all in the past year, you’ve probably seen the word “Latinx” and thought: What does it mean?

Latinx (pronounced “La-TEEN-ex”) is a gender-inclusive way of referring to people of Latin American descent. Used by activists and some academics, the term is gaining traction among the general public, after having been featured in publications such as NPR to Latina. But where did Latinx originate, and is everybody on board with using it?…

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