UNN.com Throwback Week — The Crossroads of Assimilation and Elitism: The Implementing of the new Morehouse Dress Code

In honor of Throwback Week, todays post comes from October 15, 2009. Sit back and enjoy. JLL First stated, what school doesn’t have a dress code somewhere on the books. I know my high school had one, that no one really enforced. My college, Dillard University, had one that they tried to enforce. They were […]

UNN.com Throwback Week — Dealing With The Specter of Ontological Blackness

In honor of the UNN.com Throwback Week, I will be republishing older posts that I consider to be some of my classics. Today’s post was originally published January 12, 2010. JLL In the past week, the country has been treated to backroom comments made by high profile politicians as quoted in a tell-all book Game […]

College Bound: The Mythical HBCUs of Movies and Television

I was actually joking around on Twitter earlier about the four major mythical HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities) that have permeated a certain section of black consciousness. I was making the joke that I would want to send my child to either Hillman College, Mission College, Atlanta A&T University or Truth University. Those institutions […]

Why You Stay in The Friend Zone: A Message to my Fellow Black Men

I’ll admit it, I’m a chronic sufferer of being in the “friend zone.” Cue the “dark and stormy night” music with a crack of thunder and bolt of lightning (and just imagine those sounds effects every time I write “friend zone.” Look, there it is again.) Fellas, you’ve been there at LEAST once, for some […]

Why Obama Can Win in 2012

In fall 2007 self-proclaimed black conservative Shelby Steele wrote a short book A Bound Man: Why We are Excited about Obama and Why He Can’t Win and of course Steele was left having defend mercilessly not just the thesis of his book, but also the title of his book shortly after 11 pm EST on […]

Lies My Community Told Me: “Black Folk Don’t Do Those Things!”

Like many black folks around this country, our hearts sank, yet again when we discovered that the shooter at the Manchester, Connecticut Budweiser Hartford Distribution plant was black. I, like others I’m sure, immediately said “Black folks don’t do those things” or something similar when we first heard about the news. You know, black folks […]

“Help! I’m Hearing Voices!”: The Schizophrenia of The Church

I remember as a kid, interested in music, gospel music at that, that it was normal that I would turn on the radio on Sunday and listen to the music. I actually went so far as to record some songs on cassette tapes even before the idea of a CD-ROM being recordable had entered our […]

Book Review of “Losing My Cool: How A Father’s Love and 15,000 Books Beat Hip Hop Culture” by Thomas Chatterton Williams

Earlier this week, my friend sent me a text and said “I found my new favorite writer. His name is Thomas Chatterton Williams. His book is so well written I want to throw it.” So immediately, upon such a wonderful review, I googled this brother’s name while on my phone driving (yes, I know what […]

The (Anti-)Intelligence of The Hip Hop Culture

Okay, that’s a loaded title, I’ll admit that upfront. So if you’re inclined to take the following article with a grain of salt, I’m not going to be mad at you. That being said, I think it’s time to admit that as a black culture we can no longer afford to blindly act as though […]

The ‘Inception’ of Reality into your Dream

SPOILER ALERT!!!! I wouldn’t consider myself a movie buff, but certainly I appreciate movies that are thoughtful that include a well written script, directed with some expertise and actors that don’t come off as placed there merely for their namesake or their well chiseled face and abs or voluptuous chest and sensual lips. I’m even […]

Joshua Lawrence Lazard

The blog of the one formerly known as The Uppity Negro

Pop Culture