Let's face it, we all have a little nerd in us, but a select few wear that character trait with pride.

With the holiday season upon us, it's only right to gift that blerd (Black nerd) moonlighting as your longtime friend or family member, something that captures all their geeky and quirky ways.

The following eight products make great presents for the eccentric, lovable and curious blerd who is always on-hand to provide a fun fact or source of trivia only they would know. Their imagination or sense of adventure might differ from yours, but the mutual love and respect will never waver.

1. "Anime and Trap Music" sweater

Branded as "the friendly geeks," snag your favorite blerd eagerly awaiting their next convention this "Anime and Trap Music" sweater from \n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding:16px;\"> \u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Be4ET_rh780/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> \u003C/p>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 19% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\">\u003Csvg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https://www.w3.org/2000/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink\">\u003Cg stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\">\u003Cg transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\">\u003Cg>\u003Cpath d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\">\u003C/path>\u003C/g>\u003C/g>\u003C/g>\u003C/svg>\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\"> View this post on Instagram\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cp>\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Be4ET_rh780/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by The Quirk Shop (@thequirkshop_)\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/blockquote>\n\u003Cp> ‘ rel=”noopener noreferrer” target=”_blank”>The Quirk Shop\u003C/a>. After one day of wearing this, they are sure to attract new friends who likely feel the same.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Be4ET_rh780/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"13\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding:16px;\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Be4ET_rh780/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> \u003C/p>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 19% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cp>\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Be4ET_rh780/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by The Quirk Shop (@thequirkshop_)\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/blockquote>\n\u003Cp>\u003C/p>\n",{"title":58,"content":59},"\"Anime baddie\" sweatshirt ","\u003Cp>Get your 90s anime-loving bestie this "Anime Baddie" sweatshirt from \u003Ca href=\"https://shop.adornedbychi.com/collections/90s-anime-athletics/products/anime-baddie-unisex-crewneck-sweatshirt\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Adored By Chi\u003C/a>.\u003C/p>\n\u003C/p>\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CCcQMcyHpl0/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"13\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding:16px;\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CCcQMcyHpl0/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> \u003C/p>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 19% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cp>\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CCcQMcyHpl0/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by Adorned By Chi® (@adornedbychi)\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/blockquote>\n\u003Cp>\u003C/p>\n",{"title":61,"content":62},"A unicorn pillow","\u003Cp>Jourdan Porte is the owner of Philadelphia-based \u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/naturallyqueer_designs/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Naturally Queer\u003C/a>, a small business that caters to queer and transgender people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals who love to wear their hair curly or natural. Know someone obsessed with anything unicorns? This \u003Ca href=\"https://naturallyqueer.com/product/hand-painted-pillow/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">hand-painted pillow\u003C/a> will remind them of your gesture every time they look at it. \u003C/p>\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu6SrB-llO2/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"13\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding:16px;\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu6SrB-llO2/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> \u003C/p>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 19% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cp>\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu6SrB-llO2/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by Naturally Queer™️ (@naturallyqueer_designs)\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/blockquote>\n\u003Cp>\u003C/p>\n",{"title":64,"content":65},"Blerd comic pop backpack","\u003Cp>Comic pop art will never go out of style, so it's only fair to give any comic aficionado this carryall with iconic sayings from \u003Ca href=\"https://www.etsy.com/listing/779494861/blerd-comic-pop-backpack?ref=shop_home_active_63&frs=1\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Blerd Official\u003C/a>. Features include a 15" laptop sleeve and a hidden pocket to secure a mobile device. Complete the look with these \u003Ca href=\"https://www.etsy.com/listing/779495717/blerd-comic-pop-leggings?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=blerd&ref=sr_gallery-1-30&organic_search_click=1&frs=1\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">matching leggings\u003C/a>.\u003C/p>\n\u003C/p>\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CEg83djDHGf/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"13\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding:16px;\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CEg83djDHGf/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> \u003C/p>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 19% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cp>\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CEg83djDHGf/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by Blerd™ – Blerd.com (@blerdofficial)\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/blockquote>\n\u003Cp>\u003C/p>\n",{"title":67,"content":68},"Afro-futurism comics ","\u003Cp>Based in North Philadelphia, \u003Ca href=\"https://amalgamphilly.com/harriet-tubman-demon-slayer-1/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Amalgam\u003C/a> is the only Black and woman-owned comic shop, and the first Black-woman owned comic book store on the East Coast. In stock is a fantasy story centering around \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/search/Harriet%20Tubman\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Harriet Tubman\u003C/a>, and the description is a must-gift for the Black and proud recipient with a larger-than-life imagination.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>"When slave owners can't stop the formidable ninja warrior Harriet Tubman, they call on the help of Vampires, Werewolves, Witches, & Demons to stop her," reads the book's synopsis. "Harriet Tubman must lead a family of slaves to freedom while battling an army of darkness."\u003C/p>\n\u003C/p>\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/B5GgOlnjGYa/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"13\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding:16px;\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/B5GgOlnjGYa/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> \u003C/p>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 19% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cp>\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/B5GgOlnjGYa/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse (@amalgamphilly)\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/blockquote>\n\u003Cp>\u003C/p>\n",{"title":70,"content":71},"Black comic book series","\u003Cp>Basically, \u003Cem>The Avengers\u003C/em> with an all-Black cast, \u003Ca href=\"https://blacksuncomics.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Black Sun\u003C/a> is a graphic series that tells the story of people from different worlds who must work together to restore order in their homeland after it has seized from an unknown, invading alien army. For anyone who wants to escape the difficulties of another day in quarantine, this is the perfect gift.\u003C/p>\n\u003C/p>\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CBQx4ibFNjY/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"13\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding:16px;\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CBQx4ibFNjY/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> \u003C/p>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 19% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cp>\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CBQx4ibFNjY/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by Black Sun Comics ???????? (@blacksuncomics)\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/blockquote>\n\u003Cp>\u003C/p>\n",{"title":73,"content":74},"Wakanda flag pin","\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/radical_dreams_pins/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Radical Dreams\u003C/a>' mission is simple: to change the world one pin at a time. Owned and operated by Shannon P., a Black student of medicine who is also a staunch advocate for \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/search/social%20justice\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">social justice\u003C/a>, this \u003Ca href=\"https://www.radicaldreams.net/collections/lapel-pins/products/black-panther-wakandan-flag-lapel-pin\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Wakanda flag pin\u003C/a> could make a great gift for fans of the blockbuster film who wishes every day they had access to vibranium.\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>\u003C/p>\n\u003C/p>\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CEfryAgnlwq/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"13\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding:16px;\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CEfryAgnlwq/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> \u003C/p>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 19% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cp>\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CEfryAgnlwq/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by Radical Dreams Pins®️ (@radical_dreams_pins)\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/blockquote>\n\u003Cp>\u003C/p>\n",{"title":76,"content":77},"\"Fly Nerd\" tee","\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https://flynerdapparel.com/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Fly Nerd\u003C/a> is the brainchild of Mimi, a Baltimore-based creative who earned degrees from Towson University and Parsons the New School of Design. A self-proclaimed "fly" nerd at heart, make your loved one an official member of the weird crew and present them with this \u003Ca href=\"https://flynerdapparel.com/products/fly-nerd-too-hype-unisex-tee?variant=31602710347845\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">unisex tee\u003C/a> for $30. Sizes go up to 4XL.\u003C/p>\n\u003C/p>\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CBSIiZHpBCj/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"13\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding:16px;\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CBSIiZHpBCj/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> \u003C/p>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 19% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n\u003Cdiv>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\">\u003C/div>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003Cp>\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CBSIiZHpBCj/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by Fly Nerd Apparel (@flynerdapparel)\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\u003C/blockquote>\n\u003Cp>\u003C/p>\n\u003Cp>Blessed should be the blerds this holiday season. \u003C/p>\n",true,false,{"disableAd":79,"disableConnatixPlayer":79,"enabledComments":79,"headScript":81},null,"article","2025-12-29T06:31:22.485Z",{"list":85,"total":198},[86,145,174],{"id":87,"author":88,"authors":99,"title":101,"subTitle":10,"excerpt":10,"slug":102,"body":103,"categories":104,"tags":117,"featuredMedia":133,"publishedAt":139,"updatedAt":140,"type":141,"listicle":142,"disableContentGate":79,"isDisabledListicleNumbers":79,"canonicalUrl":10,"socialThumbnail":143,"additional":144},72890291,{"id":89,"avatar":90,"firstName":91,"lastName":92,"displayName":93,"email":94,"username":95,"normalizedUsername":96,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":97,"registeredAt":98},99834,"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/KyraAlessandrini-compress.jpeg","Kyra","Alessandrini","Kyra Alessandrini","Kyra.Alessandrini@blavity.com","KyraAlessandrini","kyraalessandrini","https://www.instagram.com/kyraless/","2023-04-03T03:46:17+00:00",[100],{"id":89,"avatar":90,"firstName":91,"lastName":92,"displayName":93,"email":94,"username":95,"normalizedUsername":96,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":97,"registeredAt":98},"South Carolina State Becomes First HBCU To Have Its Flag Raised Over State House","south-carolina-state-flag-to-fly-atop-state-house","\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/womens-golf-bowling-return-to-south-carolina-state-university\">South Carolina State University\u003C/a> is set to become the first HBCU to have its official flag raised over the State House in Columbia. The university flag will be raised next to the usual American and state flags to celebrate its HBCU National Football Championship victory. The flag will be raised on Jan. 19, which marks \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/trump-removes-mlk-juneteenth-as-holidays-free-national-parks-entry\">Martin Luther King Jr. Day\u003C/a>.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-celebration-of-south-carolina-state-university-s-national-football-championship-victory\">A celebration of South Carolina State University’s national football championship victory\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster approved a request to raise the HBCU’s flag on top of the State Capitol, it was announced on Tuesday. The request was made by State Rep. Hamilton Grant, Rep. Jerry Govan and Sen. Deon Tedder to celebrate South Carolina State’s football victory.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DSm9jA-DcsY/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\u003Cdiv style=\"padding:16px;\"> \u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DSm9jA-DcsY/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;\" target=\"_blank\"> \u003Cdiv style=\" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> \u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; 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font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\u003Cdiv> \u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\">\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> \u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\">\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> \u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\">\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> \u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\">\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003C/a>\u003Cp style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DSm9jA-DcsY/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by Hamilton Grant (@rephrgrant)\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\u003C/div>\u003C/blockquote>\n\u003Cscript async src=\"//www.instagram.com/embed.js\">\u003C/script>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“The coaching staff and football team deserve to be celebrated!” Sen. Tedder wrote in a statement shared with \u003Ca href=\"https://www.counton2.com/news/south-carolina-news/south-carolina-state-university-flag-to-fly-atop-state-house-to-celebrate-hbcu-football-title/\">News 2\u003C/a>. “For the thousands of South Carolina State alumni across our state, this is a historical moment to witness. I’m grateful to Governor McMaster for honoring this request and helping make history by recognizing the excellence, legacy, and impact of South Carolina State University.” \u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Sen. Tedder, who is a university alum, said seeing the flag will be a “powerful symbol of pride and progress.” \u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>On Dec. 13, South Carolina State defeated Prairie View A&M 40 -38 to become the 2025 HBCU National Football Champions. Last summer, state officials raised the University of South Carolina flag after the women’s basketball team won a national title.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-it-marks-the-first-time-an-hbcu-flag-will-be-raised-over-the-south-carolina-state-house\">It marks the first time an HBCU flag will be raised over the South Carolina State House\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Although other universities have been celebrated in a similar way, it marks the first time that the South Carolina State House will raise an HBCU flag.\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>The date will also be significant, as the flag will be raised on Jan. 19, which is MLK Day. The football team will then be presented with the flag during the program’s championship victory parade in Orangeburg, according to \u003Ca href=\"https://hbcugameday.com/2025/12/23/hbcu-to-make-history-with-flag-atop-south-carolina-state-house/\">HBCU Gameday\u003C/a>.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Grant celebrated the news after the Gov. accepted the request: “We are pleased to announce that Governor McMaster has honored our request!” he wrote on social media, according to \u003Ca href=\"https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/politics/2025/12/26/hbcu-flag-fly-over-sc-statehouse-mlk-day/87895301007/\">Greenville News\u003C/a>. “For the first time in our state’s history, an HBCU Flag will fly high above our Capitol.”\u003Cbr>\u003C/p>\n",[105,109,113],{"name":106,"slug":107,"id":108},"Blavity-U","blavity-u",70685,{"name":110,"slug":111,"id":112},"College Sports","college-sports",70686,{"name":114,"slug":115,"id":116},"HBCU","hbcu",70684,[118,122,125,129],{"id":119,"name":120,"slug":121,"description":10,"image":10},74288,"Blavity U Top Stories","blavity-u-top-stories",{"id":123,"name":114,"slug":124,"description":10,"image":10},38270,"hbcu-2",{"id":126,"name":127,"slug":128,"description":10,"image":10},39231,"south carolina state university","south-carolina-state-university",{"id":130,"name":131,"slug":132,"description":10,"image":10},44529,"top stories","top-stories",{"url":134,"thumbnail":135,"credit":136,"title":137,"alt":138,"type":50},"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/GettyImages-2251777923.jpg","https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/GettyImages-2251777923-150x108.jpg","Photo: Paras Griffin/Getty Images","Head Coach of the South Carolina State Bulldogs","Head Coach of the South Carolina State Bulldogs celebrates after defeating the Prairie View A&M Panthers","2025-12-28T21:38:42-05:00","2025-12-28T21:38:48-05:00","default",[],"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/61297164-21ef-476a-a1ed-df9736c10ba9-549573159_1212102807613412_3871155082600607559_n.webp",{"disableAd":79,"disableConnatixPlayer":79,"enabledComments":79,"headScript":10},{"id":146,"author":147,"authors":154,"title":156,"subTitle":157,"excerpt":10,"slug":158,"body":159,"categories":160,"tags":162,"featuredMedia":164,"publishedAt":170,"updatedAt":171,"type":141,"listicle":172,"disableContentGate":79,"isDisabledListicleNumbers":79,"canonicalUrl":10,"socialThumbnail":10,"additional":173},72889856,{"id":148,"avatar":149,"firstName":10,"lastName":10,"displayName":150,"email":151,"username":150,"normalizedUsername":152,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":153},95243,"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/16fdff8cddc7bd4702273ce7e1677d1d0021c4b55e83ca690c8b22edc3cbfdf4?s=1024&r=g","Christopher Rhodes","christopheredward.rhodes@gmail.com","christopher-rhodes","2020-09-14T00:00:00+00:00",[155],{"id":148,"avatar":149,"firstName":10,"lastName":10,"displayName":150,"email":151,"username":150,"normalizedUsername":152,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":153},"Joy Reid Warns Erika Kirk About Touching Black Women's Hair","Reid, a previous target of Charlie Kirk, has clashed with Erika Kirk and criticized her right-wing backers.","joy-reid-warns-erika-kirk-about-touching-black-womens-hair","\n\u003Cp>Ever since the assassination of \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/amanda-seyfried-not-apologizing-for-calling-charlie-kirk-hateful\">Charlie Kirk\u003C/a>, his widow Erika has been increasingly in the spotlight, taking a leadership role in his Turning Point USA organization and becoming one of the most prominent public figures within the ultra-conservative movement. Along the way, Kirk has made comments about her detractors, including\u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/joy-reid-slams-stephen-a-smith-over-remarks-black-women\"> Joy Reid\u003C/a>. Now, Reid is responding, giving Kirk some clear advice on how not to approach her or other Black women.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-joy-reid-erika-kirk-exchange-public-criticisms\">Joy Reid, Erika Kirk exchange public criticisms\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Although \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/karen-attiah-says-shes-been-fired-from-washington-post-charlie-kirk?amp;utm_campaign=content_distribution&utm_medium=syndication&utm_source=yahoo_cs\">Charlie Kirk\u003C/a> had previously insulted Reid and other Black women for “steal[ing] a white person’s spot” as they advanced in their careers, the public spat between Reid and Erika Kirk seems to have started when Reid was one of several people criticized Kirk and Vice President JD Vance for closely embracing during a public appearance together soon after her husband’s assassination. “Holding on the back of his head and rubbing on his head,” Reid said of the public hug. Reid said if Vance that it would be a “MAGA fairy tale” if he finally sees the light that he needs a white queen instead of this brown Hindu,” referencing online speculation that Vance could leave his wife, Usha, who has been the target of racist attacks, for Kirk.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-media-max-width=\"560\">\u003Cp lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">🚨BREAKING: Joy Reid ATTACKS JD and Usha Vance.\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>"Vance has a problem in that the base of MAGA is fundamentally racist. They can't have the successor to MAGA be the guy with the brown Hindu wife."\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr> \u003Ca href=\"https://t.co/rcIOP8F2vb\">pic.twitter.com/rcIOP8F2vb\u003C/a>\u003C/p>— Spencer Hakimian (@SpencerHakimian) \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/SpencerHakimian/status/1993366288132194801?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 25, 2025\u003C/a>\u003C/blockquote> \u003Cscript async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\">\u003C/script>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Kirk responded to the criticism during one of her appearances at last week’s Turning Point USA conference, AmericaFest, which featured figures from \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/jasmine-crockett-responds-after-jd-vance-calls-her-street-girl\">Vice President Vance\u003C/a> to \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/nicki-minaj-erika-kirk-maga-turning-point-usa-america-fest-appearance\">Nicki Minaj\u003C/a>.  “Joy Reid probably needs a really, really good hug, and honestly, I’m here for it if she needs it,” Kirk said to the America Fest crowd. “I’ve got a good hug for you, good hug for you. I’ll even touch the back of your head,” she continued, referencing the criticism of her hug with Vance.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\u003Cp lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Erika Kirk: Joy Reid probably needs a really, really good hug, and honestly, I'm here for it if she needs it. I've got a good hug for you. I will even touch the back of your head \u003Ca href=\"https://t.co/MJsTjxukdF\">pic.twitter.com/MJsTjxukdF\u003C/a>\u003C/p>— Acyn (@Acyn) \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/2001815567406371207?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 19, 2025\u003C/a>\u003C/blockquote>\u003Cscript async src=\"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\">\u003C/script>\n\u003C/div>\u003C/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-reid-responds-to-kirk-s-hug-offer\">Reid responds to Kirk’s ‘hug’ offer\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Now, Reid has responded to Kirk’s latest comments. In a \u003Ca href=\"https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/erika-kirk-warned-joy-reid-231529560.html\">segment\u003C/a> of The Joy Reid Show, the host reiterated her earlier comments about the Vance family, “it is not my fault that MAGA is so racist that they are literally attacking Usha Vance” on social media, arguing that “the MAGA base cannot stand non-white people, particularly non-white immigrants.” After discussing the history and right-wing agendas behind conservative commentators like Charlie and now Erika Kirk, Reid rejected Kirk’s hug offer.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“Dear young lady, I don’t need a hug from you. First of all, I would never let you get close enough to hug me ’cause I don’t trust you,“ Reid explained. “And second of all, I don’t know if anybody ever told you – you’re pretty young – but don’t be offering to touch Black women’s hair. We don’t allow it.”  Reid noted, “This is not the 19-teens. It’s not the 1920s or the 1930s. You cannot come up to me, touch me, or touch my hair. I don’t allow it.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\u003Ciframe title=\"Joy Responds To Erika Kirk's "Hug and Head Touch" Offer | The Joy Reid Show\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/ntcGhAHFsKs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003C/iframe>\n\u003C/div>\u003C/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>With Reid having a long history of clashing with conservatives, and Erika Kirk now taking a leading role in Turning Point USA and in right-wing media, this may not be the last time that the two women have words for each other. Whatever may be said between them in the future, Kirk has been given a clear message to keep her hands away from the hair of Reid or other Black women.\u003C/p>\n",[161],{"name":27,"slug":28,"id":29},[163],{"id":130,"name":131,"slug":132,"description":10,"image":10},{"url":165,"thumbnail":166,"credit":167,"title":168,"alt":169,"type":50},"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/photo-collage.png-30.jpg","https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/photo-collage.png-30-150x84.jpg","Photo: Getty Images","photo-collage.png (30)","Erika Kirk, Joy Reid","2025-12-24T21:03:21-05:00","2025-12-24T21:05:13-05:00",[],{"disableAd":79,"disableConnatixPlayer":79,"enabledComments":79,"headScript":10},{"id":175,"author":176,"authors":177,"title":179,"subTitle":180,"excerpt":10,"slug":181,"body":182,"categories":183,"tags":185,"featuredMedia":188,"publishedAt":194,"updatedAt":195,"type":141,"listicle":196,"disableContentGate":79,"isDisabledListicleNumbers":79,"canonicalUrl":10,"socialThumbnail":10,"additional":197},72889883,{"id":148,"avatar":149,"firstName":10,"lastName":10,"displayName":150,"email":151,"username":150,"normalizedUsername":152,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":153},[178],{"id":148,"avatar":149,"firstName":10,"lastName":10,"displayName":150,"email":151,"username":150,"normalizedUsername":152,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":153},"Student Loans Update: Trump Admin Planning To Garnish Wages For Debt Defaults In 2026","Ending the pandemic-era pause on student debt collection, the Trump administration ramps up its efforts to force borrowers to repay their loans.","student-loans-trump-admin-planning-to-garnish-wages","\n\u003Cp>For the first time in years, borrowers who have stopped paying their \u003Ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://blavity.com/student-loan-forgiveness-delays-prompt-class-action-lawsuit\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">student loans\u003C/a> may have their wages garnished to repay their debts. The return of wage garnishment for student borrowers comes as the Trump administration continues to enforce student debt collection more aggressively, a policy that could impact millions of Americans.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-wage-garnishments-for-student-loan-debt-to-return-in-january\">Wage garnishments for student loan debt to return in January\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The \u003Ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/23/politics/trump-administration-start-garnishing-wages-default-student-loan-borrowers\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Department of Education\u003C/a> announced Tuesday that, beginning early next year, some individuals who have defaulted on their student loans will have their wages garnished to repay their debts. Those impacted by the debt collection policy will receive a notification from the government of its intentions before the beginning of wage garnishment.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“We expect the first notices to be sent to approximately 1,000 defaulted borrowers the week of January 7, and the notices will increase in scale on a month-to-month basis,” the DoE said in a statement.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The garnishment policy applies to people who have defaulted on their loans, defined as borrowers who have not made a payment for at least 270 days. While it is unclear how many people will have a portion of their wages held back to pay the government, data released earlier this year showed that over 5 million people were in student loan default in the United States, with almost 4 million other borrowers delinquent after having gone more than 90 days without making a payment. The move to go after defaulted borrowers’ wages comes as new regulations passed in the GOP-backed “\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://blavity.com/what-is-trump-big-beautiful-bill\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">One Big Beautiful Bill Act\u003C/a>” put new limits on the amounts of loans borrowers can acquire, while also placing new limits on deferment and repayment options.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ending-pandemic-era-pause-on-debt-collection\">Ending pandemic-era pause on debt collection\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The return of wage garnishment continues the Trump administration’s policy of ramping up student debt collection, reversing pandemic-era policies that eased or paused student debt collection. The first Trump administration paused student loan repayments in March 2020 as part of its approach to economic relief during the \u003Ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://blavity.com/student-loan-payments-are-resuming-what-you-should-know\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">COVID-19 pandemic\u003C/a>. The student loan repayment pause was then extended several times under President Joe Biden, who also ramped up efforts to forgive student debt. The Biden administration extended student loan \u003Ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://blavity.com/student-loan-forgiveness-biden-update\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">forgiveness\u003C/a> to over 5 million people, though the Supreme Court blocked greater efforts by Biden to wipe out student debt systematically.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The current Trump administration has signaled for months that it would ramp up student loan collection efforts, with the administration announcing in April that it would resume collecting on \u003Ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://blavity.com/student-loans-to-be-sent-to-debt-collection-by-trump\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">defaulted debts\u003C/a> starting in May. The renewal of wage garnishment next year continues this more aggressive debt collection policy. Although the Department of Education has not given many \u003Ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/business/student-loan-debtors-default-wages-garnish.html\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">details\u003C/a> about the current plan for wage garnishment, existing policy holds that up to 15% of a borrower’s wages can be withheld for student loan debt repayment. The government can also withhold Social Security payments and tax refunds for debt collection purposes. The renewed debt collection efforts are likely to disproportionately impact \u003Ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-set-garnish-wages-student-185316215.html\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">low-income Americans\u003C/a>, who are more likely to be in default.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Over 40 million Americans hold over $1.6 trillion in combined student loan debt, creating a massive burden on the country’s population. As the Trump administration gears up to take more actions to collect that debt, many people are set to feel the financial impact of their student loans for the first time in years.\u003C/p>\n",[184],{"name":106,"slug":107,"id":108},[186,187],{"id":119,"name":120,"slug":121,"description":10,"image":10},{"id":130,"name":131,"slug":132,"description":10,"image":10},{"url":189,"thumbnail":190,"credit":191,"title":192,"alt":193,"type":50},"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2206108152.jpg","https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2206108152-150x100.jpg","Activists with the Sunrise Movement sit outside the U.S. Department of Education on March 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at dissolving the Education Department. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the order would not be completely shut it down but instead would continue to administer \"critical functions,\" such as student loans and Pell Grants. | Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images","Trump Signs Executive Order Intending To Abolish Education Department","Activists with the Sunrise Movement sit outside the U.S. Department of Education on March 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at dissolving the Education Department. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the order would not be completely shut it down but instead would continue to administer \"critical functions,\" such as student loans and Pell Grants.","2025-12-24T14:07:23-05:00","2025-12-24T21:06:43-05:00",[],{"disableAd":79,"disableConnatixPlayer":79,"enabledComments":79,"headScript":10},242,{"list":200,"total":350},[201,236,262,286,323],{"id":202,"author":203,"authors":210,"title":212,"subTitle":10,"excerpt":10,"slug":213,"body":214,"categories":215,"tags":217,"featuredMedia":226,"publishedAt":231,"updatedAt":232,"type":141,"listicle":233,"disableContentGate":79,"isDisabledListicleNumbers":79,"canonicalUrl":10,"socialThumbnail":234,"additional":235},72890350,{"id":204,"avatar":205,"firstName":10,"lastName":10,"displayName":206,"email":207,"username":206,"normalizedUsername":208,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":209},96045,"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/DSC09602-2-compress.jpg","Tomas Kassahun","tomas.kassahun@blavity.com","tomas-kassahun","2019-09-06T00:00:00+00:00",[211],{"id":204,"avatar":205,"firstName":10,"lastName":10,"displayName":206,"email":207,"username":206,"normalizedUsername":208,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":209},"K'aun Green, HBCU Football Player Shot By Police, To Receive $8M Settlement","kaun-green-8-million-settlement-san-jose-police-shooting","\n\u003Cp>K’aun Green, the college football player who was shot multiple times by a \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/black-activist-who-gave-anti-bias-training-to-san-jose-police-struck-by-rubber-bullets-from-cop-within-that-same-police-force\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">San Jose\u003C/a> police officer in 2022, could soon get an $8 million \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/amazon-sending-refunds-prime-members-ftc-settlement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">settlement\u003C/a>. The settlement, which could be approved by the city council in January, would mark the second-largest payout in San Jose’s history, according to \u003Ca href=\"https://thegrio.com/2025/12/27/san-jose-police-shooting-8-million-settlement-kaun-green/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Grio\u003C/a>.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-did-police-shoot-k-aun-green\">Why did police shoot K’aun Green?\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Green was shot by an officer on March 27, 2022, in front of La Victoria Taqueria, a San Jose restaurant. As police were responding to a call for a homicide, police officer Mark McNamara saw Green leaving the restaurant with a gun in his hand.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>McNamara then fired four times, striking Green in the stomach, arm and knee. Green, who was 22 at the time, sustained major injuries, but he managed to survive since the bullets didn’t hit any of his bones or essential muscles.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Later on, the gun that was spotted in Green’s hands was actually taken from another man during a fight inside the restaurant. Green insisted he was trying to protect people from getting hurt.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“Sometimes you’re doing nothing more than being a good guy,” Adante Pointer, Green’s civil rights attorney, said, according to The Grio. “And you can still wind up being shot by a police officer, no matter what you do.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-k-aun-green-will-receive-an-8-million-settlement\">K’aun Green will receive an $8 million settlement\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>McNamara’s attorneys said their client had “qualified immunity” when he shot Green, and the city is not responsible for the shooting. Pointer, however, said that Green deserves every penny of the $8 million settlement.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“The number is reflective of the harm K’aun suffered, but also the egregiousness of this particular police officer,” Pointer said, according to \u003Ca href=\"https://www.ktvu.com/news/football-player-shot-san-jose-police-could-be-awarded-8m\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">KTVU\u003C/a>. “This is a young man that deserves every penny that San Jose is finally coughing up.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>KTVU reported that the city of San Jose refused to apologize to Green and declined to settle his federal lawsuit until now. In a memo to the council, the city attorney said the settlement must be approved by Jan. 13 to ensure that the case doesn’t go to trial.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>McNamara was forced to resign after investigators found racist text messages in his phone. Meanwhile, Green is now attending the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff on a full scholarship.\u003C/p>\n",[216],{"name":27,"slug":28,"id":29},[218,222],{"id":219,"name":220,"slug":221,"description":10,"image":10},77100,"K'aun Green","kaun-green",{"id":223,"name":224,"slug":225,"description":10,"image":10},11124,"Settlement","settlement",{"url":227,"thumbnail":228,"credit":229,"title":230,"alt":230,"type":50},"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GettyImages-1929753525.jpg","https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/GettyImages-1929753525-150x100.jpg","Photo: Sinenkiy via Getty Images","Football on the Field","2025-12-28T23:32:20-05:00","2025-12-28T23:32:26-05:00",[],"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Kaun-Green.webp",{"disableAd":79,"disableConnatixPlayer":79,"enabledComments":79,"headScript":10},{"id":237,"author":238,"authors":239,"title":241,"subTitle":10,"excerpt":10,"slug":242,"body":243,"categories":244,"tags":246,"featuredMedia":251,"publishedAt":257,"updatedAt":258,"type":141,"listicle":259,"disableContentGate":79,"isDisabledListicleNumbers":79,"canonicalUrl":10,"socialThumbnail":260,"additional":261},72890229,{"id":89,"avatar":90,"firstName":91,"lastName":92,"displayName":93,"email":94,"username":95,"normalizedUsername":96,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":97,"registeredAt":98},[240],{"id":89,"avatar":90,"firstName":91,"lastName":92,"displayName":93,"email":94,"username":95,"normalizedUsername":96,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":97,"registeredAt":98},"Tank's 17-Year-Old Son Durrell Babbs Jr. Is Already Carving His Own Path In Music","tanks-son-durrell-babbs-jr-releases-christmas-song","\n\u003Cp>At just 17 years old, Durrell Babbs Jr. is carving his own path in the music industry. A singer, songwriter and pianist, Babbs released a \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/25-best-black-christmas-songs-for-your-holiday-playlist\">Christmas song\u003C/a> to celebrate the \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/3-ways-to-avoid-holiday-loneliness\">holiday season\u003C/a> and hopes it brings people joy in a time of uncertainty.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-durrell-babbs-jr-comes-from-an-accomplished-family-of-musicians\">Durrell Babbs Jr. comes from an accomplished family of musicians\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Babbs grew up in a musical environment. His father is veteran R&B singer Tank, whose real name is Durrell Babbs Sr. His mother is Alysse Stewart, a well-known radio personality, program director and host on Magic 106.9 in Fayetteville, NC.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“I hear her voice on the radio, and I just know it’s her. She puts that spin on it — her own spin to make it hers,” Babbs said of his mother, according to \u003Ca href=\"https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/cumberland-county-news/fayetteville-teen-makes-his-mark-in-music-with-christmas-release/\">CB S17\u003C/a>. “My dad, his singing — he just does it.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cblockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSmPKDHDtsp/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\">\u003Cdiv style=\"padding:16px;\"> \u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSmPKDHDtsp/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; 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font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003Cdiv style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\u003Cdiv> \u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\">\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> \u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\">\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003Cdiv style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> \u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\">\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> \u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\">\u003C/div> \u003Cdiv style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\">\u003C/div>\u003C/div>\u003C/a>\u003Cp style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;\">\u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSmPKDHDtsp/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;\" target=\"_blank\">A post shared by Durrell Babbs Jr. (@durrellbabbs)\u003C/a>\u003C/p>\u003C/div>\u003C/blockquote>\n\u003Cscript async src=\"//www.instagram.com/embed.js\">\u003C/script>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Stewart complimented her son’s own endeavors in music. \u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“How proud I am of him — it’s pretty dang gone big,” she said.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Babbs started his musical journey at a young age — taking piano lessons when he was 7 years old.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“And after that, I kept going. I kept learning songs and songs,” he said in an interview with \u003Ca href=\"https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/charlotte/news/2025/12/25/fayetteville-teen-writes-original-song-famous-family-\">Spectrum News\u003C/a>.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>As a high school senior, Babbs is also interested in acting. He is currently performing as a main character in \u003Cem>The Best Christmas Pageant Ever\u003C/em> at Cape Fear Regional Theatre. Babbs plans on pursuing music after graduation and auditioning for a spot at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ciframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/FmEWahSeXes?si=_XKbGt2ef3og0hL6\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003C/iframe>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-durrell-babbs-jr-s-first-song-celebrates-christmas\">Durrell Babbs Jr.’s first song celebrates Christmas\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Babbs debuted “Christmas So Songs” during last year’s holiday season, so this release marks a relaunch. “Christmas So Songs” was co-written and recorded alongside his godfather, Eddie Owens.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“This is a big first, because on a holiday that can be either a hit or a miss,” Babbs said, according to CBS 17. “It’s a song that will hit right during the holidays, at that specific time to be given and be gifted.” \u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Babbs said he wants to promote feel-good music, especially during the holidays.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“I wanted to make something that everybody can resonate with, even though there’s a lot of bad days, there’s always good days to come right after,” he told Spectrum News.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Babbs also hopes that releasing the track inspires others to use their talent for good, saying, “You got to give the gift, make everybody happy around the world.”\u003C/p>\n",[245],{"name":27,"slug":28,"id":29},[247],{"id":248,"name":249,"slug":250,"description":10,"image":10},36220,"Tank","tank",{"url":252,"thumbnail":253,"credit":254,"title":255,"alt":256,"type":50},"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/GettyImages-2235328356.jpg","https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/GettyImages-2235328356-150x100.jpg","Photo by Julia Beverly/Getty Images","An Evening Under The Stars for Lovers & Friends – Stockbridge, GA","STOCKBRIDGE, GEORGIA - SEPTEMBER 13: Tank performs onstage during An Evening Under The Stars for Lovers & Friends at VyStar Amphitheater at The Bridge on September 13, 2025 in Stockbridge, Georgia","2025-12-28T23:32:11-05:00","2025-12-28T23:32:16-05:00",[],"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Durrell-Babbs-screenshot2.jpg",{"disableAd":79,"disableConnatixPlayer":79,"enabledComments":79,"headScript":10},{"id":263,"author":264,"authors":265,"title":267,"subTitle":10,"excerpt":10,"slug":268,"body":269,"categories":270,"tags":272,"featuredMedia":277,"publishedAt":282,"updatedAt":283,"type":141,"listicle":284,"disableContentGate":79,"isDisabledListicleNumbers":79,"canonicalUrl":10,"socialThumbnail":278,"additional":285},72890396,{"id":204,"avatar":205,"firstName":10,"lastName":10,"displayName":206,"email":207,"username":206,"normalizedUsername":208,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":209},[266],{"id":204,"avatar":205,"firstName":10,"lastName":10,"displayName":206,"email":207,"username":206,"normalizedUsername":208,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":209},"Don Bryant Dies: Soul Singer-Songwriter And 'I Cant Stand The Rain' Writer Was 83","singer-don-bryant-dies-at-83-i-cant-stand-the-rain-writer","\n\u003Cp>Legendary Memphis soul singer and \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/dandelion-trailer-kiki-layne\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">songwriter\u003C/a> Don Bryant has died at age 83. John Doyle, executive director at the \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/trump-targets-memphis-next-city-national-guard-deployment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Memphis\u003C/a> Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum, said Bryant was one of the greatest songwriters to come out of Memphis.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“Our museums should put his name on some songwriter programming that really reaches kids and not only teaches them how to play guitar or how to sing into a microphone, but how to write great songs,” Doyle said, according to \u003Ca href=\"https://wreg.com/news/memphis-soul-singer-don-bryant-dies-at-83/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WREG\u003C/a>.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-inspired-don-bryant-to-write-i-can-t-stand-the-rain\">What inspired Don Bryant to write ‘I Can’t Stand the Rain’?\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum features images of Bryant along with his wife Ann Peebles, who co-wrote the 1973 hit song “I Can’t Stand the Rain.” Rolling Stone described the song as one of the greatest tracks ever written.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“They were waiting for the rain to subside and Ann Peebles said ‘I can’t stand the rain’ and Don immediately being the songwriter that he was, pulled out a piece of paper and started writing the lyrics for that song,” Doyle said, per WREG.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The song also received high praise from the late John Lennon: “It became one of the biggest songs to ever come out of Hi Records and one of the biggest songs to ever come out of Memphis. John Lennon when he was in concert in Los Angeles, he showed up in the audience. John Lennon made the comment that ‘I Can’t Stand the Rain’ is perhaps the best song he had ever heard,’” Doyle said.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-don-bryant-was-inducted-into-the-memphis-music-hall-of-fame\">Don Bryant was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>With over 150 songs written for Hi Records, Bryant is remembered as an iconic artist who laid the foundation for countless legends.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“Memphis is a city of singers, everybody in the whole planet knows Elvis and Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, but someone like Don Bryant really laid the groundwork for what soul music is about,” Doyle said.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>In 2019, Bryant was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame. He was also nominated for a Grammy in 2020, gaining recognition for his blues album \u003Cem>You Make Me Feel.\u003C/em>\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“Don loved sharing his music and songs with all of you and it gave him such great joy to perform and record new music. He was so appreciative of everyone who was part of his musical journey and who supported him along the way,” Bryant’s loved ones said in a Facebook statement, according to WREG.\u003C/p>\n",[271],{"name":27,"slug":28,"id":29},[273],{"id":274,"name":275,"slug":276,"description":10,"image":10},77101,"Don Bryant","don-bryant",{"url":278,"thumbnail":279,"credit":280,"title":275,"alt":281,"type":50},"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/GettyImages-848191436.jpg","https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/GettyImages-848191436-150x107.jpg","Photo: Jason Davis/Getty Images for Americana Music","Recording Artist Don Bryant performs on stage in 2017","2025-12-28T23:28:04-05:00","2025-12-28T23:28:09-05:00",[],{"disableAd":79,"disableConnatixPlayer":79,"enabledComments":79,"headScript":10},{"id":287,"author":288,"authors":296,"title":298,"subTitle":10,"excerpt":10,"slug":299,"body":300,"categories":301,"tags":312,"featuredMedia":313,"publishedAt":319,"updatedAt":320,"type":141,"listicle":321,"disableContentGate":79,"isDisabledListicleNumbers":79,"canonicalUrl":10,"socialThumbnail":314,"additional":322},72889824,{"id":289,"avatar":290,"firstName":10,"lastName":10,"displayName":291,"email":292,"username":293,"normalizedUsername":294,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":295},94449,"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/33shoot-1-compress.jpg","Kahlil Haywood","kahlil.haywood@blavity.com","Kahlil-haywood","kahlil-haywood","2021-10-11T00:00:00+00:00",[297],{"id":289,"avatar":290,"firstName":10,"lastName":10,"displayName":291,"email":292,"username":293,"normalizedUsername":294,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":295},"Audi Crooks Is Guaranteed To Have A Cultural Impact — Here's Why Her Future Is So Bright","why-audi-crooks-future-is-bright","\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/iowa-state-audi-crooks-breaks-her-own-record-47-points\">Audi Crooks\u003C/a> has dominated women’s college \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/why-wnba-and-toronto-are-ready-for-the-tempo\">basketball\u003C/a> this season. Averaging nearly 29 points per game, she leads the Iowa State Cyclones with veteran composure.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>In her junior year, one would say that my saying that would be apropos. I mean, hell, her team is undefeated as of this writing, sitting at 13-0. So, how does a juggernaut of a squad dominate this way? Luckily for you, like DX, I’m here to break it all down.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-audi-crooks-is-one-of-a-kind\">Audi Crooks is one of a kind\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Crooks is one of the most unique players you’ll ever see in basketball. Her wide base, which is accompanied by her 6’3″ stature, makes her a tough cover for any defense. In her third year of play, she has increased her scoring output by about 4.9 points per game on average each season.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>She also happens to be logging fewer minutes this season at 26 minutes per game than last at 29 minutes per game. That means she’s actually doing much more on the court with less time. Some of that has to do with the wide margins of victory in many of the Cyclones’ games. When you handle business and put teams away early, you can take your hard hat off early. That’s exactly what Crooks has been able to do this season, and it’ll pay off as March Madness approaches.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\u003Ciframe title=\"Audi Crooks is IMPOSSIBLE to Guard | FIBA Basketball\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/_YhiWZDAh_c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003C/iframe>\n\u003C/div>\u003C/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>As for her future, it’s clear that the WNBA has to be in the cards. The league now features a wide array of styles: Caitlin Clark’s sharpshooting, Angel Reese’s rebounding, Paige Bueckers’ playmaking and A’ja Wilson’s versatility. Yet, it still hasn’t seen a talent like Audi Crooks; she is bound to be a match-up nightmare in the paint.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-audi-crooks-cultural-impact\">Audi Crooks’ cultural impact\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>What’s so amazing about Crooks off the court is that she is someone who, optically, many wouldn’t put in a basketball box. Yes, she looks totally different than everyone else. Our myopic views of what fit is and can be are pretty narrow. What we see from athletes like Crooks is that maintaining this size in this fashion has been a benefit to her on her athletic path.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\u003Ciframe title=\"Audi Crooks DOMINATES with 41-POINTS vs. Kansas\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https://www.youtube.com/embed/xyA12c8-sKY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003C/iframe>\n\u003C/div>\u003C/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The beauty in that is Crooks will continue to be a great example for other women in sports. She’s widening the image of what a women’s basketball player can be. I think about past NBA players like Eddy Curry, Tractor Traylor, or Nikola Jokic—none fit the typical athletic silhouette, yet each built a legitimate, even legendary, career.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>There’s a cultural impact that Crooks will have. It’ll do wonders for increasing conversations around inclusivity, which is something sorely needed in our society, especially in this country. I cannot wait for her to declare for the WNBA Draft. As far as I’m concerned, the league is already on notice. And with JuJu Watkins on deck within the next couple of years, the league’s newest expansion teams, it’s all becoming an embarrassment of riches. And for women’s sports, that’s the type of problem that you want to have.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>\u003C/p>\n",[302,303,304,308],{"name":106,"slug":107,"id":108},{"name":110,"slug":111,"id":112},{"name":305,"slug":306,"id":307},"Opinion","opinion",114,{"name":309,"slug":310,"id":311},"Sports","sports",93,[],{"url":314,"thumbnail":315,"credit":316,"title":317,"alt":318,"type":50},"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/GettyImages-2251355571-Cropped.jpg","https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/GettyImages-2251355571-Cropped-150x94.jpg","Photo: David K Purdy/Getty Images","Audi Crooks","Center Audi Crooks of the Iowa State Cyclones","2025-12-28T22:04:08-05:00","2025-12-28T23:12:51-05:00",[],{"disableAd":79,"disableConnatixPlayer":79,"enabledComments":79,"headScript":10},{"id":324,"author":325,"authors":326,"title":328,"subTitle":10,"excerpt":10,"slug":329,"body":330,"categories":331,"tags":333,"featuredMedia":342,"publishedAt":346,"updatedAt":347,"type":141,"listicle":348,"disableContentGate":79,"isDisabledListicleNumbers":79,"canonicalUrl":10,"socialThumbnail":10,"additional":349},72890429,{"id":204,"avatar":205,"firstName":10,"lastName":10,"displayName":206,"email":207,"username":206,"normalizedUsername":208,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":209},[327],{"id":204,"avatar":205,"firstName":10,"lastName":10,"displayName":206,"email":207,"username":206,"normalizedUsername":208,"description":10,"twitter":10,"facebook":10,"instagram":10,"registeredAt":209},"Cam Newton's Eyebrows Raised By Natalie Nunn Revealing Shaq Bought Her A Car While Was At USC","cam-newton-natalie-nunn-shaq-car","\n\u003Cp>Reality TV star \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/women/natalie-nunn-net-worth-2\">Natalie Nunn\u003C/a> has sparked a rumor about \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/shaq-threatens-robert-griffin-iii-over-angel-reese\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Shaquille O’Neal\u003C/a> after making an appearance on Cam Newton’s podcast. Nunn told Newton that she received a $21,000 car from O’Neal when she was still a college student in the 2000s.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-did-natalie-nunn-date-shaquille-o-neal\">Did Natalie Nunn date Shaquille O’Neal?\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Newton was in disbelief when Nunn shared that O’Neal purchased her first car.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“Shaq bought me my first car,” Nunn said on Newton’s \u003Cem>Funky Friday\u003C/em> podcast, admitting that her comment may have been off topic.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Before Nunn could finish her thoughts, Newton asked, “You dated Shaq?”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>While Nunn said she never dated O’Neal, Newton still wanted answers.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“Something ain’t adding up,” he said repeatedly.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Nunn then went on to explain how she got her first car from the NBA legend: “I was at USC. He bought me a bug, a brand new convertible bug,” she told Newton, according to \u003Ca href=\"https://firstsportz.com/shaquille-oneal-lavish-gift-reality-star-natalie-nunn-ticks-nfl-legend-cam-newton/\">First Sportz\u003C/a>. “I was in college and he played for the Lakers.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Still, Newton was puzzled, saying, “You dated Shaq? Make it make sense.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>O’Neal purchased a 2004 Volkswagen New Beetle for Nunn. At the time, O’Neal was married to Shaunie Henderson, so Newton’s reaction implied that he believed that Nunn and O’Neal were secretly an item.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-natalie-nunn-rose-to-fame-through-bad-girls-club\">Natalie Nunn rose to fame through ‘Bad Girls Club’\u003C/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Before rising to fame via Oxygen’s \u003Cem>Bad Girls Club\u003C/em> in 2009, Nunn, who is now 41, was a soccer player at USC, according to \u003Ca href=\"https://thesportsrush.com/nba-news-cam-newton-raises-eyebrows-after-reality-star-natalie-nunn-reveals-shaquille-oneal-bought-her-a-21k-car-at-usc/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Sports Rush\u003C/a>. Nunn has since gone on to executive produce and star in Zeus shows like \u003Cem>Baddies\u003C/em>; she’s known as the “Baddies CEO.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“I always tell these girls [Baddies], you need to have seven different things that you do to make money if you want to be a millionaire,” Nunn said in an August 2025 interview with \u003Ca href=\"https://www.forbes.com/sites/nadjasayej/2025/08/11/baddies-ceo-natalie-nunn-on-bling-and-luxury-fashion-essentials/\">Forbes\u003C/a>. “Seven different ways that you make money. I have many things that I’m involved in.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>She recently launched a tequila line, \u003Ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DM6RFeyS1ek/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Baddie Baddie Shot O’ Clock\u003C/a>. She also dabbles in music with her latest project, \u003Cem>Queen Baddie\u003C/em>, dropping in August.\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>“Go out and get stuff done,” Nunn told Forbes, offering advice to women who want to be their own boss. “Don’t just sit there and scroll on your phone. Do something productive. It’s a serious thing. I want people to enjoy life.”\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>In 2012, Nunn married former soccer player \u003Ca href=\"https://blavity.com/women/natalie-nunns-husband\">Jacob Payne\u003C/a>. They welcomed their daughter, named Journey Ruth Payne, in 2017.\u003Cbr>\u003C/p>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>\u003Cbr>\u003C/p>\n",[332],{"name":309,"slug":310,"id":311},[334,338],{"id":335,"name":336,"slug":337,"description":10,"image":10},30394,"Cam Newton","cam-newton-2",{"id":339,"name":340,"slug":341,"description":10,"image":10},56773,"natalie nunn","natalie-nunn",{"url":343,"thumbnail":344,"credit":167,"title":345,"alt":10,"type":50},"https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/photo-collage.png-32.jpg","https://cms.blavity.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,slow-connection-quality=30,onerror=redirect/https://cms.blavity.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/photo-collage.png-32-150x84.jpg","photo-collage.png (32)","2025-12-28T21:46:05-05:00","2025-12-28T21:46:10-05:00",[],{"disableAd":79,"disableConnatixPlayer":79,"enabledComments":79,"headScript":10},75392,["Reactive",352],{},["Set"],["ShallowReactive",355],{"page-8-products-from-black-owned-brands-that-will-make-perfect-gifts-for-the-blerd-in-your-life":81,"L5mKWLzO22":81,"7VUhfdt1ev":81},"/8-products-from-black-owned-brands-that-will-make-perfect-gifts-for-the-blerd-in-your-life",["Reactive",358],{}]