COLORLINES - Akiba Solomon

Akiba Solomon

Managing Editor
Brooklyn, NY

Akiba Solomon is the Managing Editor of Colorlines.com and an NABJ-Award winning journalist, editor and essayist from West Philadelphia. Online, she has written about the intersection between gender and race for Colorlines.com and culture for Ebony.com. As Colorlines.com’s inaugural reporting fellow, Solomon reported on reproductive health access for women of color during and immediately after President Barack Obama's re-election campaign. A graduate of Howard University, the Brooklyn resident co-edited Naked: Black Women Bare All About Their Skin, Hair, Hips, Lips, and Other Parts (Perigee, 2005), an anthology of original essays and oral memoirs about Black women and body image. Solomon has also been a researcher for Glamour, a health editor for Essence and a senior editor for the print versions of Vibe Vixen and The Source.

She has also written for a range of publications on a freelance basis, including Redbook, Vibe and Heart & Soul. As a panelist, she has spoken about women’s and social justice issues through the lens of hip-hop culture at a range of institutions including The Schomburg Center for the Research in Black Culture, Stanford University, Yale University, Harvard University and The University of Chicago.

Check out Akiba's media appearances here.

Follow Akiba at @akibasolomon.

The Real Value of Rihanna’s ‘Man Down’ Video

by Akiba Solomon on June 7 2011, 8:01AM

Generic tsk, tsking by media watchdogs makes me wonder if they actually watched the controversial video.

Topics: Akiba Solomon, Chris Brown, Rihanna's "Man Down"

Indiana’s Anti-Choice Zealots See Poor Black Women As Collateral Damage

by Akiba Solomon on June 3 2011, 10:37AM

Even after federal intervention, Hoosier State Republicans stand by their vendetta against Planned Parenthood. Now, guess who’s really paying the price.

Topics: Akiba Solomon, Health

Psychology Today (Sort of) Apologizes for Publishing Kanazawa’s Pseudoscience

by Akiba Solomon on June 1 2011, 9:24AM

The tardy-for-the-party publication is sorry for hurting black women’s feelings.

Topics: Akiba Solomon

Smart People Talk Beyonce So I Don’t Have To

by Akiba Solomon on May 31 2011, 12:05PM

Some of my favorite feminist thinkers weigh in on the Beyonce backlash, while I dance around artlessly to “Who Run the World (Girls)” in the mirror.

Topics: Arts & Culture

DSK Rape Case Takeaway No. 4: Discuss at Your Own Risk

by Akiba Solomon on May 27 2011, 8:17AM

What do you do when a group discussion about a touchy-but-ubiquitous subject gets dangerously personal?

Topics: Akiba Solomon, DSK Rape Case

‘Uncle Luke’ Campbell Gets a Surprising Number of Votes in Miami

by Akiba Solomon on May 25 2011, 2:21PM

Although he lost the election, the former 2 Live Crew frontman argues that his ‘grassroots’ run marks the beginning of his peoples-centered political career, not the end.

Topics: Akiba Solomon

Takeaways from the DSK Rape Case

by Akiba Solomon on May 24 2011, 12:55PM

Hotel housekeepers are catching hell, plus two other lessons we’ve learned from the coverage of former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Topics: Akiba Solomon, DSK Rape Case

The NY Post Makes DSK’s Alleged Rape Victim an AIDS Predator

by Akiba Solomon on May 20 2011, 12:20PM

In its lust for a salacious scoop, Rupert Murdoch’s chronically race-baiting tabloid has made both the alleged victim and her community into the villains.

Topics: Akiba Solomon, DSK Rape Case, Health, Media

The Pseudoscience of “Black Women Are Less Attractive”

by Akiba Solomon on May 17 2011, 12:33PM

A London School of Economics psychology professor creates bar graphs to show how black women are uglier than women of other races. Psychology Today publishes it. Sigh.

Topics: Akiba Solomon, Media

CNN Anchor Don Lemon Talks About Being Gay, Black and on TV

by Akiba Solomon on May 16 2011, 11:30AM

He told the Times that he couldn’t write a feel-good black memoir without being honest and challenging what he says is one of the community’s biggest taboos.

Topics: Akiba Solomon, Gender & Sexuality, Media

Wesley Yang Confuses Asian Masculinity With White Male Supremacy

by Akiba Solomon on May 16 2011, 9:58AM

A Korean-American writer argues that to truly succeed in the real world, Asian men must unlearn traditional values that foster meekness. But is the real world all it’s cracked up to be?

Topics: Akiba Solomon

Luther Campbell’s Serious Blind Spot

by Akiba Solomon on May 12 2011, 9:15AM

In his bid for mayor of Miami-Dade County, the entrepreneur, father, husband and philanthropist claims he’s post-“Uncle Luke.” Not so much.

Topics: Akiba Solomon

The Best Black Comedy You’re Not Watching

by Akiba Solomon on May 9 2011, 9:18AM

“The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl and Friends” is must-see (Web) TV. Here’s why.

Topics: Akiba Solomon, Arts & Culture

Rep. Chris Smith: Fetuses Are the ‘Most Persecuted Minority In the World’

by Akiba Solomon on May 4 2011, 4:55PM

The latest race-baiting from the anti-abortion movement. This one’s a doozy.

Topics: Akiba Solomon

The Radical Anti-Choice Bill We Can’t Afford to Ignore

by Akiba Solomon on May 3 2011, 3:42PM

H.R. 3 is set to hit the House floor tomorrow. Tell your Congress member to vote no.

Topics: Akiba Solomon

I Didn’t Watch the Royal Wedding, But It Still Won’t Go Away

by Akiba Solomon on April 29 2011, 12:32PM

If we’re talking royal fantasies, I’d choose Prince Akeem over Prince William any day.

Topics: Akiba Solomon, Media

It’s Time to Talk to Employers About Domestic Workers’ Rights

by Akiba Solomon on April 27 2011, 9:00AM

As the movement for domestic workers’ rights spreads across the country, progressive employers will need a heads up that speaks to their consciences—and their pockets.

Topics: Akiba Solomon