Latest Essays

You came to my blog looking for an article today, didn’t ya? Well I have NOTHING. I’m just ready for the weekend, dang it. Wake me when it’s 4:30 so I can go home to my screamin’ kids.

Jewelry by Auntie Rose Marie, Mother of Nana Darkoa, Owner of MAKSI Clothing, Accra Ghana I’m always pretty pissed off when Westerners put Africans in one big box labeled “African”. The notion that we are a ubiquitous people with a homogenous culture and language (i.e. we all speak African) is as accurate as calling a […]

And it isn’t me. My baby brother has managed to do what I have been dreaming of since I was a ‘tween: Write AND publish a book. Yup, Sami Gyekye, my once potbellied, slobbering baby brother is now a published author. His journey began more than a year ago. He called me one afternoon (as […]

It’s International Women’s Day, a day to celebrate the accomplishments of women everywhere…I think. I haven’t actually researched the holiday (is this actually a “holiday”?). As my contribution to this day to celebrate women, I offer you some advice that I have received from other women that have aided me tremendously thus far: Don’t wear […]

*And by this I don’t mean MY church. My church ain’t half bad (although it could stand to do a lot better) – I mean Christianity as an entity* This weekend I had the rare opportunity to sit down and watch TV between dashing out of the door to take the kids on an outing […]

I don’t know if “jealous” is the right word to describe how I feel about my friend Amma Bonsu’s most recent undertaking. Perhaps “dreadfully sick with envy” is a more apt depiction.  Amma is my ‘junior sister’ from secondary school. In 1991 she was a spritely fashion forward girl, tiny even by Ghanaian standards. In […]

I always try to keep my Friday posts happy and light hearted, but this has been a tough week for a number of women in my circle. This week, I’ve been on the listening end of some real big girl issues, and in being a part of these conversations, I’ve realized that the final nail […]

People screw up and screw around: it’s a fact. Sometimes the consequence of that screwing is a baby. Some people consciously make the opportunity to screw up with as many other people as they can. Oh let me stop talking in circles. People need to be more selective with (and committed to) whom they get […]

I have nothing to write about today. The people on my job have sucked the life, creativity and sanity out of me. When I leave these walls, the only thing I’ll be grateful for is that I have not been raped by my co-workers. But that’s really no consolation… I’ll be getting (violently) raped by the […]

One of the reasons I like my new (temporary) job is because my work environment is a hotbed for daily HR violations. No one has a filter, including the director for our division. However, as free as Mr. Englishman is with sharing his often inappropriate thoughts, he can’t hold a candle to Rob, a massive […]

This has been a hard week for two of my mom friends – and indirectly been a hard week on me because I worry about them so much. Their lives are drastically different from one another’s, like some remixed urban version of Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities” centered around two African-American women connected by […]

Background: Beyonce has posed in “blackface” for L’Officiel Paris magazine. The African-themed photo shoot pays tribute to the legendary Fela Kuti and is featured in the mag’s March 2011 issue, which also celebrates their 90th anniversary. While “blackface” has always been controversial, the magazine stands by its decision, saying: “The Fashion magazine is about to […]

  Last night I ‘sold’ my first pair of “I got pregnant and now my feet have gone from a size 9 – 10 and can’t fit these shoes anymore so come and buy these shoes at a steeeep discount”  (http://mindofmalaka.wordpress.com/2011/01/20/big-feet/) shoes to my friend and senior from high school, Pearl K. (Please: When reading […]

What do drugs, whores, pimps and violence have to do with the circus? Generally nothing, unless it’s the UniverSoul Circus. No really…the grand finale – the climax of the show – circles around the tale of a redeemed hooker. What ever happened to plain old dancing ponies and tigers that leap through circles of fire? […]

One of my old mates from Hampton (the REAL HU) got me thinking about a new show that ought to be on TV. In fact, I KNOW we ought to. I don’t think we’ve had a plot that surrounded a Black female medical professional since Diahann Carroll played Julia. That’s not true. There’s Jada Pinkett […]

It’s a popular saying: “All men are dogs.” It’s a phrase women use generally to console other women who have been “dogged” by a man, and in doing so, insinuating that men and dogs have equivalent behavior when it comes to the treatment of women. But wouldn’t it be wonderful if men actually did act […]

The other night I got really pissed off with God. Let me qualify that: I wasn’t necessarily pissed WITH God – it was more with my understanding of how His process works. I was pissed because we’re supposed to be moving to South Africa in a few months and we don’t have wads of cash […]

One of the best things a woman can do for herself is to surround herself with other women. Conventional belief will dispute this assertion, but I think it’s a fundamental need for female survival, and always had been. Just as important as it is for a woman must surround herself with other women,  it is […]

I was driving into work this morning listening to National Public Radio and a segment featuring two teenaged boys discussing their education came on after an update on Egypt. The presenter gave them a glowing introduction, mentioning that they both wrote for VOX (Voice of Our Generation), a publication written by and for Atlanta teens. […]

*This article is not for little kids. All you teenagers I’ve FB friended from church stop reading HERE! I don’t want to be a cynic, I promise you I don’t…but Valentine’s Day SUCKS. I used to be one of those people who would balk at other cynics who decried Valentine’s Day as “just a paper” […]

I am well qualified to teach Black history…although I probably shouldn’t. One’s ability to do a thing and whether it’s proper to do said thing are two completely different camels in the same shed. I am far too honest and blatant in my delivery to teach a subject as touchy and emotional as my peoples’ […]