Why White Guilt Is The Least Important Consideration In My Work
One of the most common refrains I hear from white readers of my work is, “I really liked this piece because it didn’t make me feel bad about being white.”...
Category: Race
Why, As A Queer Black Woman, It’s Important That I Write About Culture
Growing up, my mother never had a shortage of Ebony and Essence magazines splayed across our coffee table, a fact that has shaped me into adulthood. When I was bored, I...
Understanding the ‘cultural not remedial’ aspect of Black Vernacular English
Why don’t you hand in papers in Ebonics since that is how you talk?” I remember someone asking me this in my early days of grad school. I then explained...
It’s Not ‘Impostor Syndrome’ When You’re Black and Woman
Almost every morning for the past two years, I have found myself sitting in my car on this predominantly White campus playing Tasha Cobbs or Kendrick Lamar or BJ the...
‘The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’ and the Birth of My Black Womanhood
The other day, as I was driving and watching his little puzzled face in my rear-view mirror, I told my son how Lauryn Hill’s experience having her son Zion was so similar...
The Fight for Black Lives Must Be Transnational
Recently, the Movement for Black Lives convened in Cleveland, Ohio. Activists, organizers, writers, community leaders and concerned citizens alike gathered for three days to engage one another on the important issues facing...
A Word of Thanks to the Black Men Who Taught Me Self-Hate
There have been few constants in my life. But, as I was reflecting today, I remembered a daily, weekly, monthly occurrence throughout my childhood that often left me questioning my...
What if We Loved Black Women Like We Love Black Male Rapists?
When I was seventeen, I was groomed and preyed upon by a high school basketball coach. He told me to stop wearing panties if I wanted to get a ‘real...
Meet Musiq Soulchild’s Alter-Ego Purple Wondaluv [ALBUM REVIEW]
Musiq Soulchild was one of the biggest faces in the neo-soul movement of the early-2000s. His soaring falsetto and straight to the heart compositions on tracks like “Love” and “Don’t...
#WhoIsBurningBlackChurches, Black Twitter Demands Answers
Since the murderous acts of terror (which left nine Black people dead) at the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina two weeks ago, six Black churches in the South have...
Bree Newsome, A Black Woman, Climbs a 30-foot Flag Pole, Still Can’t Be Seen
This morning, Bree Newsome climbed a 30-foot flagpole in Columbia, South Carolina. I repeat. Bree Newsome climbed a 30-foot flagpole. I repeat. Bree Newsome. Again. Bree. Newsome. Some of y’all...
I Have No Words for Tamir Rice.
“Can I have that toy shooter Mommy?” “No.” “Why?” “Because you’re Black.” While many little boys run through streets, backyards, and playgrounds with toy guns, my sons don’t. Seeing White boys...
Scared From Within and Scared From Without
When I was 15 years old, I had what any level-headed person would call a stalker. Let’s just call him “Mike”. He was at least ten years older than me...
Being Respectable Won’t Keep You From Being Labeled the ‘Angry Black Woman’
I guess Shonda Rhimes didn’t get the memo. She was the latest victim in bigoted white America’s endeavor to undermine successful black people. And she certainly won’t be the last.
On Black Humanity and the ‘White Gaze’
“Is it because I’m black?” This is the question we often ask ourselves when the taxi won’t stop or the other pedestrian on the sidewalk won’t smile back or when...
When You ‘Mistake’ Me for the Other Black Woman at Work…
Being a six-foot-four inch tall black woman often precludes me from being mistaken for other people. Growing up, I was almost never told “Hey, you look just like my friend,”...
