13 year old Zulaikha Patel leads protest against racist hair policy

Meet 13-year-old Zulaikha Patel, one of the students who helped lead a protest against the discriminatory hair policy at Pretoria Girls High School (a formerly white-only institution in South Africa). 

During the school's weekend fair on Saturday, Zulaikha and her fellow classmates staged a silent protest against their school's hair policy, which targets and restricts how Black girls wear their hair to school. On top of being disciplined for wearing her natural hair, Zulaikha has had to move schools three times because her hair did not comply with the code of conduct. Furthermore, Pretoria High's teachers also prohibit students from speaking their own local African languages in the classroom. 

For Zulaikha this is about: "Fighting for every Black child in this country, because it’s time for our endless cries to be heard."  

The Next 'Iron Man' Is A 15-Year-Old Black Girl

When we think of super intelligent “good guys” in the Marvel Universe, there’s a few names that come to mind. We might think of Tony Stark, who built the Iron Man suit (and Spider-Man’s new threads), or Reed Richards AKA Mister Fantastic, who has basically mastered all aspects of physics, biology, and chemistry.

But according to an announcement made at San Diego Comic-Con, the smartest hero in the Marvel Universe is not Tony Stark or Reed Richards or any of the other superheroes that might have claimed the title in the past. The smartest protagonist in all of Marvel is a little black girl named Lunella Lafayette.

Lunella is the main character in the Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur comics, which is a remake of Devil Dinosaur, a classic graphic novel that follows a T-Rex that is magically transported to modern day NYC. In the new version, Lunella replaces the original hero, Moon Boy, and she eventually teams up with the monstrous dino. Part of what makes Lunella so smart is the fact that she carries an “inhuman gene,” and she also is a skillful engineer.

BuzzFeed spoke to Marvel senior editor Mark Paniccia about what’s in store for Lunella in the upcoming issues of the series. Mark said that, “In the third arc of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Lunella faces an impossible half-dozen science-challenges that might not only prove her smarts, but also save the world.”

And that is pretty exciting, not just for older fans of comics, but for the young girls who might read them while growing up. Representation matters, and this news, which follows on the heels of the news that Roxane Gay will write a Black Panther book, is a sign that Marvel is moving in the right direction.

Source: Now This Entertainment/ Teen Vogue

Puerto Rican Superhero Makes Debut

Inspired by the Puerto Rican national anthem of the same name, the superhero La Borinqueña — a woman named Marisol Rios De La Luz, wearing a costume inspired by the Puerto Rican flag — will make her debut this summer at the Puerto Rican Day Parade. She also will be featured in a comic book to be printed in the fall during an event organized by the creator Edgardo Miranda-Rodriguez called Café Con Comics (“Coffee With Comics”); it will be held at the CUNY East Harlem campus building in a historically Puerto Rican neighborhood.

La Borinqueña has the powers of nature — such as hurricanes, the sea and the sun — and protects Puerto Rico from natural disasters. Her greatest power, Miranda-Rodriguez says, will be showing Puerto Ricans — those on the island and in the United States — that the power to make Puerto Rico better lies within them as much as it does inside of her.
“It’s not about [her powers], but it’s about what the character represents,” Miranda-Rodriguez says. “She’s here to remind you that the power of our people comes from our people. We don’t have to ask for something when it is already within us. It’s a narrative that’s going to remind us of ourselves. We’ve always had that power. Being Puerto Rican is our superpower.”

It was the Marvel comic featuring Grandma Estela — the one that touched so many readers — that led to Miranda-Rodriguez’s creation of other Puerto Rican comic-book heroes. He says there is power in those panels when you’re able to see yourself through art.
“People saw themselves. And when you see yourself, that’s empowering,” Miranda-Rodriguez said. “When you hear your story, you recognize for the first time that you have that superpower.”

Source: The Washington Post

Zendaya Is Leading By Example With Her Message On Anti-Bullying

Zendaya is proving herself to be the perfect role model, yet again.

From consistently using her voice to empower others to speaking out against society’s routine racist and sexist ways, Zendaya is a positive force to be reckoned with. 

The 19-year-old actress-singer-activist revealed to People magazine what’s behind her motivation to continuously use her platform to stand up for those who are often marginalized, bullied and unfairly judged.

“I feel like it’s really important for young people dealing with bullying to see a symbol of confidence,” she told People in April. “Whether that be from me on social media or from someone in their family, I feel like that is really important to have someone that they can look to and know that confidence is possible. That’s why I do it.”  

Zendaya is no stranger to being bullied. Time and time again she’s clapped back at critics for their hateful words (i.e. when people criticized her parent’s looks or herfaux dreadlocks last year).

Dej Loaf celebrates 25th birthday with 'Coming to America' themed party

Dej Loaf celebrated her 25th birthday yesterday (April 8) with a private soiree in Atlanta. But this was no regular party. The Detroit rapper pulled out all the stops, coming correct with a Coming to America themed shindig.

Loaf entered the party proceeded by women throwing flower pedals at her feet, ala the movie. She was adorned in an extravagant gold dress and a bejeweled head piece. Those in attendance included Cee-Lo, Young Thug and Toya Wright. Loaf performed some of her recent tracks during the event and later thanked the crowd for sharing the monumental moment with her.

“I appreciate everyone in the building, I mean that from the bottom of my heart,” she said. “I turned 25 today…I invited kings and queens only. I think I did so we don’t want none of that bullshit happening tonight right? We gone have fun.”

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Source: XXL Magazine