#culture of excellence

[littlemizzlinguistics]

Studying linguistics is actually so wonderful because when you explain youth slang to older professors, instead of complaining about how "your generation can't speak right/ you're butchering the language" they light up and go “really? That’s so wonderful! What an innovative construction! Isn't language wonderful?"

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

the fact that shakespeare was a playwright is sometimes so funny to me. just the concept of the "greatest writer of the English language" being a random 450-year-old entertainer, a 16th cent pop cultural sensation (thanks in large part to puns & dirty jokes & verbiage & a long-running appeal to commoners). and his work was made to be watched not read, but in the classroom teachers just hand us his scripts and say "that's literature"

just...imagine it's 2450 A.D. and English Lit students are regularly going into 100k debt writing postdoc theses on The Simpsons screenplays. the original animation hasn't even been preserved, it's literally just scripts and the occasional SDH subtitles.txt. they've been republished more times than the Bible

[raffaellopalandri]

Book of the Day - Good to Great

Today’s Book of the Day is Good to Great, written by Jim Collins in 2001 and published by Harper Business. Jim Collins is an American researcher, author, speaker and consultant. His work is mainly focused on business management, sustainability, and growth. Good to Great, by Jim Collins I have chosen this book as I put it into a bibliography of a presentation I have been preparing this…

[generatedblacklove]

[thoughtsmindless]

🧡

[blackexcellence]

Happy Juneteenth Tumblr✊🏿✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼

[foreverrryourssss]

Black American Women 🖤🤎

[tygerland]

Artist Bisa Butler has been creating decorative quilts since 2001. Here - in her New Jersey studio - she examines one of her newest works,Young, Gifted and Black, based on a portrait by Black photographer, Roy Francis. (Photos 2023 by Celeste Sloman.)

[gent-illmatic]

Nostalgia✨

[1st-n-front]

[mimi-0007]

Rest in peace. You shaped my childhood. You brought families together. Thank you

[femmefatalevibe]

Femme Fatale Guide: How To Decenter Men In Your Life

Consider the values, goals, and desired lifestyle that feel most authentic to you if social scripts/stigmas didn't apply to you

Take time to become radically honest with your desires as an individual – outside of the perception of men, your family, boss, teachers, peers, etc.

Cultivate a sense of personhood and identity established in your interests, hobbies, skillsets, learning capabilities, creativity, and desire for growth in all aspects of life

Act in your own best interests. Speak up for your needs, and advocate for yourself. Be more "selfish." Don't apologize for what you want and go after it. Act in your own best interests

Become confident in negotiating, assertive communication, and standing on your own two feet. Establish relationships in all aspects that are based on mutual benefit and equitable exchange

Unlearn your self-sacrificing & people-pleasing. Stop shrinking yourself or suppressing your needs to make others feel better or more comfortable

Validate yourself: your needs, desires, goals, dreams, preferences, and opinions. You need to choose yourself every day. Your appeal to others means nothing if you don't like the person you are or are becoming to satisfy the needs or desires of others

Consider the ways you're consciously and subconsciously confining your self-expression and belief system to fit the mold/appease the patriarchy. Actively work to deconstruct this mentality and way of being

Be honest with yourself about how men enrich your life. Not the other way around. Do they fulfill you romantically, sexually, both, or neither? There's no right or wrong answer, except the one that requires you to put on a performance rather than live in alignment with your true self

More resources including book recommendations/creators to follow HERE.

[staff]

tumblr tuesday: Black fashion photography

Fashion editorial, but do it for the culture. Has your dash been a little wan of late? Lacking in a little visual drama? Then this Tuesday has just what the doctor ordered: neon threads, earthy lighting, immaculate drip.

@markelzey:

@eyeofscottie:

@aagdolla:

@trapezoidmouth:

@robertcooper1127:

@bushakiye:

@chubbyteaa:

@cleocartwrightphotography:

@flvnch:

@freakishnerd:

@sianeh16:

[canisalbus]

machete is like a delicate looking white flower, one where the petals turn transparent when it rains. vasco is a marigold for many reasons.

Ooo I like that! It never even crossed my mind to assign marigolds to Vasco, but it makes perfect sense. I had to look it up but the flower that turns transparent in the rain is called skeleton flower, and yeah, I can see how that would fit Machete.

I tend to associate irises, damask roses, and forget-me-nots with Vasco

And red carnations and poppies with Machete

[thoughtsmindless]

🦋

[blackexcellence]

Art by @lehuckbadu

African Hair Threading

Hair Threading has been part of the Black hair scene for many generations. It consists of wrapping sectioned hair in thread. This method of wrapping the hair in thread strengthens the hair without excessive manipulation, which is beneficial for your strands. Not only does the style strengthen the hair, but it also promotes growth.

The style comes from Sub-Saharan African countries and grew its popularity in West Africa, particularly, South Nigeria. Learn more here

Art by Izzakko via @blacklacerabbit

Bantu Knots and Hi-Top Fades

The Zulu people of southern Africa originated Bantu knots, a hairstyle where the hair is sectioned off, twisted, and wrapped in such a way that the hair stacks upon itself to form a spiraled knot (Source). Learn the history of Bantu Knots

The hi-top fade or flattop originated in the U.S. military around the ‘40s and ‘50s. By the mid-eighties, Black barbers began to reimagine the hairstyle, and due to its resemblance to Queen Nefertiti’s Empress headpiece, some speculated the hairstyle's origin. The hairstyle grew as a trend when worn by the like of Grace Jones, Doug E. Fresh, and Salt-N-Peppa.

Art by LaQuecya Allen via @nappy-by-nature

Afro

As far as hairstyles go, there's nothing Blacker than the Afro. In the 1960s, after decades of subjecting themselves to European beauty standards, Black folks decided to take back their hair. This newfound self-acceptance was widely known as the Black Is Beautiful movement, which sprang from the Black Power movement. The 'fro was rocked by Angela Davis, Huey P. Newton, and Jesse Jackson while fighting oppression; the hairstyle quickly emerged as a symbol of Black beauty, liberation, and pride.

Remember: tag your Black hair art with #BlackExcellence365 for a chance to be featured!

And keep your eyes out for next month's theme... 👀