What’s good, Medium?

Mark S. Luckie mourns the death of Vine and points out that Black folks basically built social media:

“God created black people and black people created style,” George C. Wolfe once wrote.

African-Americans heavily influence everything entertainment to political discourse to the culture and conversations that fuel the internet. And yet black users on social platforms are largely ignored by the companies who build them.

In an effort to drive growth, many social media companies make the mistake of exclusively courting brands and celebrities while ignoring influential black users. Vine is the latest casualty of this myopic trend.

Jenn Marie chronicles her time as a Black girl in rural Idaho:

I returned from Idaho a changed woman. Am I still keenly aware of racism? Absolutely. However, experience has shown me that in even the most volatile of situations, your personal attitude and behavior can trump everyone else’s prejudices.

Everywhere I go, I am often one of few black people, giving me the horrible burden of being a ‘representative’ of my race. Regardless of how fucked up that is, it is true, and I am thankful to have the opportunity.

Knowing this, I approach every person I meet with the same type of hospitality and respect that I’d expect to receive. I know they will likely prejudge me, and I not only get over it — I also give them something else to base their definitions on.

Ezinne Ukoha on why she isn’t voting:

Here’s the thing, I am done with this conversation and I am so done with the elections, and all the tried and true think pieces that gush about how we can’t have the monster in The White House because Snow White is so much better.

I’ve seen enough and heard more than my share to conclude that I have no interest in voting this time around.

It’s not because I’m awesomely stubborn or seeking attention or even trying to institute some kind of a “rebel yell” on behalf of the legions of citizens who feel exactly the way I do.

It’s because I am a woman of color, who finally gets it.

From Sandra Bland to Renee Davis, there is no shortage of evidence that proves how devalued we are and how fucked up the system is — without fail. Neither Trump nor Hillary give a rats ass about the lives that are lost every day due to inexplicable circumstances that are mandated by law enforcement.

Jarrett Carter Sr. takes on the growing issue of hunger at HBCUS:

And even for the students who can afford meals off-campus, how many HBCUs are situated in cities with robust dining options beyond McDonald’s, Jack in the Box, Popeye’s, Chinese carryout, or 7–11?

The US Department of Agriculture breaks down food deserts through a visual map, showing the scope of inadequate food access throughout the mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States; home to many of the nation’s HBCUs.

And some schools, like Paul Quinn College, have become hubs of activism against food deserts.