Ask any artist or person who makes a living from creative endeavors what their greatest fear is. Seven times out of ten, they will say it’s the terror they feel knowing that some faceless entity or individual will and can steal their work. It’s a personal violation that guts an artist to their core. The […]
As much of the viewing public prepares to consume another episode of #OscarsSoWhite, there are a number of people – myself included – who will be abstaining from the ocular throwback to the Jim Crow Era when Black people had to enter the premises through the back door and in their servant livery. I suppose […]
There are things that grieve me – matters of such grave concern that they rob me of sleep when I should be resting at twilight and continue to plague my thoughts during the day. I obsess over these affairs incessantly. I have questions. Questions like: “Is God pleased with my life?” “Will the price of […]
This Sunday my Bishop (yes, David. I have a Bishop!) mentioned in passing that the wife of a certain predominant preacher was at a conference and decreed that the gathering of the saints was for our personal pleasure, not for God’s. He intimated that she intimated that our happiness was of greater import than that […]
David Bowie passed away today and the tributes to his memory and his art are rushing through and flooding the Internet like a tidal wave. I still remember the first David Bowie song I ever heard. It was Let’s Dance…a song that is actually incredibly difficult to dance to (if you’re Black). While we had […]
Two summers ago my husband built an aquaponics system in order to grow fruits, vegetables and herbs. He was inspired by several medium-to-small scale operations that we saw while on vacation in South Africa and decided to give it a try at home. In that time, he’s grown peppers, spring onions, lettuce, mint, basil, thyme, […]
Ever since news broke last night that two detainees of Yemeni origin have been resettled in Ghana after spending years in Guantanamo Bay prison, tongues have been wagging about what the Ghanaian government might have taken in return for harboring the two men. Why Ghana? Why not Oregon? After all, Mahmud Umar Muhammad bin Atef […]
This is a story about the importance of condom use. Yes, some may interpret is as primarily being the sad tale of a young woman who’s bright future was dimmed over a decade ago – the wretched result of straying from the good and godly path for the sake of dick – but it’s mostly […]
2015 will end in just two days. Incredible! It feels as though it was just a few weeks ago that we were doubled over in laughter in response to Two Thoozin’s hopes and prayers that “evultin will be vibely on Nachurrr Gawd!” – and yet a whole year has gone by! This year has been […]
*Warning: This post contains gratuitous (and crude) references to the male reproductive organ. If you take offense to the words “penis”, “dangle” and “cock”, you should probably stop reading right abooouuuut…NOW. It would appear that we’re all going to have get comfortable with seeing penises in places we are not traditionally accustomed to encountering […]
Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas, Merrrrr’ Kritmah! This is a special time of year for most people. For others, the holidays can be very hard for myriad personal reasons. They are a reminder of people whom have been lost, or of broken relationships, or that one crazy aunt who handcrafted pink bunny pajamas and who truly […]
There are two types of people in this world where Christmas music is concerned: Those who love it, and those who don’t. You can’t be “neutral” about Christmas music. It’s just not possible. As for me, I happen to fall in the category that loves the hokeyness of holiday tunes and like millions of other […]
When I moved to Atlanta at the turn of the century, I used to ride the MARTA, switch on my Walkman and listen to the city’s favorite radio station: V-103. Everyone who was anyone that mattered (as far as the world of urban radio was concerned) worked at V-103. Frank Ski, Wanda, Ryan, Portia Foxx. […]
First of all: Happy John Boyega Day! Today –and forevermore, quite frankly – John Boyega belongs to all of us, not just Nigerians. Just like sister Lupita is for Africa. Kenya alone cannot commandeer all her shine! Much has been written and commented about Black representation (or the lack of) in film, particularly in the […]
“If you could go back 10 years and advise your younger self, what would you say?” As much as I hate this question because of the impossibility of the phenomenon ever taking place and therefore for the insatiable craving it creates, I find myself pondering and eventually answering it. If I could go back 10 […]
Being a creative is easy. You get to lock yourself in a cocoon and create a fantastical world full of imaginary beings, wild, unlikely scenarios and color. So much color! The universe of the Creative Mind is capable of holding unimaginable amounts of joy, bliss and happiness. Or not. The Creative can frame his/her world […]
No, I’m not pregnant. And I’m not adopting (yet). Every time a woman hollers about having “an announcement”, folk assume a baby is involved. DAG. I mean, just because I look like I ate a baby doesn’t mean I’m having one. Okay, so yeah. I AM having another baby… but not the sort made of […]
The first time I heard about Daniel Holtzclaw – and the atrocities now synonymous with his name – was in September of this year. Now that the depth of his crimes are widely known, it may shock many of you to know that he was placed under arrest as early as August, 2014. It certainly […]
It’s the holiday season at long last! Yes, sir! It’s that time of year that children all over the world have been looking forward to for the past 11 months. It’s time for parents to PAY UP! They’ve been good at school and in the grocery store with the promise of that new Lego set, […]
Like many Black folk around the world, I find myself puzzled by what happened at Trump Towers this week. We want to know how did so many Black clergymen and women find themselves willingly meeting with Donald Trump in support of his bid for president? And furthermore, what was the purpose of mingling with a […]
No. Nope. We said “You can NOT!” Ok, then tell me why. I’ll think about it. Make a list of all the items you’ll need to make a YouTube channel successful. We’ll go from there. Yes. That means you can have a YouTube channel. This is the story of how my pre-teen goaded me into […]