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Shani Hilton

Shani Hilton is associate editor of Campus Progress. You can find her blogging here.

Recent Articles

Lilith Failure.

Shani HiltonAug 03, 2010

I was wrong. In the June issue of the Prospect, I argued that Lilith Fair 2010 could remain relevant if it promoted up-and-coming artists, increased its diversity, and offered a counterpoint to hypersexualized pop music. Unfortunately, tonight is the last stop of the fair's revival after an 11-year hiatus, and it's about as irrelevant as anyone could have dreamed.

The biggest acts at tonight's D.C. show are Sarah McLachlan and the Indigo Girls. The latter have faded into relative obscurity despite a devoted fan base. McLachlan's notoriety remains, I suspect, because she organized the original run of Lilith.

Last Words on the Down Low.

Shani HiltonJul 29, 2010

On Tuesday, I wrote about President Obama's visit to The View today and suggested he bring up his new initiative to fight the HIV/AIDS in the black community. But as I predicted, Obama did not mention it, nor did he confront host Sherri Shepherd for blaming high rates of HIV/AIDS in the black community on the "down low" (DL) phenomenon -- the theory that bisexual black men get infected with HIV by other men, and then go on to infect women who are not aware that their partners are having sex with men. The theory took off in the late '90s and after several black fiction authors presented it as a common lifestyle. 

California's "Green" Economy.

Shani HiltonJul 28, 2010

This November, California voters will be voting on Proposition 19, which would legalize recreational marijuana use and tax it at $50 per ounce. Nate Silver homes in on the polling, noting that automated polls show greater support than person-to-person polling. Among black voters, for example, the automated call polls show a 28 to 38 point lead. But traditional polls show Prop. 19 trailing by 12 points among blacks.

Obama Should Debunk a Dangerous "View."

Shani HiltonJul 27, 2010

ABC News reports that President Obama will be visiting the set of the ABC talk show The View tomorrow. The ABC news brief focuses on Obama's low approval rating, and notes that he'll be in "the hot seat" with the show's five women hosts.

Obama, who released a new National HIV/AIDS strategy last month, has a chance to shift the heat to the show's hosts. When comedian D.L. Hughley visited the show in late June, he and host Sherri Shepherd had a "hot topics" discussion that touched on the prevalence of HIV and AIDS among black Americans.

WikiLeaks Falls Prey to Old Media Problems.

Shani HiltonJul 26, 2010

Hello, my name is Shani Hilton, and I'll be guest blogging this week. I blogged for TAPPED last winter, and I've written about black women and abortion, and the Lilith Fair revival for TAP since. I'm currently the associate editor at Campus Progress, and I blog at PostBourgie.

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