MusingsI’m writing a screenplay! This should come as little surprise to anyone. Last year I partnered with a Nigerian documentary maker and wrote my very first episodic script. That submission earned our team entry into IFP’s prestigious Episodic Lab in New York; one of ten out of 400 candidates. To say that the feat was […]
MotherhoodI never thought I’d say it, but there are days when when I long for the simplicity of exploding diapers, hostile tantrums and 2am feedings. The same is not true for every mother, but I couldn’t wait to hold conversations with my kids. I would respond to their earnest, incoherent babble with seriousness and equal […]
On the 17th of June, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation. “Y’all wanna go outside so bad; and drink your liquor so bad; and get y’all nails li’l done SO BAD – then yeah! Gwan den! Just wear a mask when you do!” That’s not really what he said, of course…but that’s the […]
GH2013Sammy Gyamfi is the National Communication Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), a position he’s held since 2018. He is a lawyer by trade, most noted for his outlandish populist tirades. He is the generator of a despicable political cartoon depicting George Floyd’s body being suffocated by Ghana’s EC. In the mid 1970s, my […]
MusingsEvery so often a Diaspora Wars will erupt on social media. It’s never quite clear what factors incite the digital skirmishes at the time, but one proclamation always rears its head: certain African Americans/Blacks want everyone to know that they are the descendants of royalty. They are not wrong. Though I was in Ghana for […]
MadnessLeVar Burton is my Reading Rainbae, and yesterday he said my name during his live Twitter reading session! LeVar Burton needs no introduction, but in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past 40 years, here’s a quick introduction. The acclaimed actor, producer, author, literary advocate and cultural icon has been an influential […]
The South African SeriesClub Quarantine is the brainchild of DJ D-Nice on Instagram Live on weekends, usually at 11PM EST, or whenever he feels like spinning. Before they cut it down to make room for a bank, I used to live in a cavernous house shielded by a massive white wall and a towering neem tree in LaBone; […]
MadnessHi. Hey. Happy New Year and so forth. I really wish that I could’ve titled this piece something a little more genteel to suit you all’s fragile sensibilities, but that’s the plain truth: My 40s are kicking the crap outta me. I actually began writing a similar piece about this time last year, but I […]
MusingsToday is the 23rd of November, 2019, and officially marks the tenth year since the creation of MOM. …I know, right? How many cell phones have you powered through in that amount of time. I almost didn’t acknowledge this milestone, but my BFFFL – Nana Darkoa – is a firm believer in celebrating benchmark moments. […]
MusingsIn 2009 I contracted as a recruiter in a boutique organization that sourced and screened resumes for Ma & Pop shops to Fortune 500 companies. It was a maddening, hectic time fraught with office politics, instability and hostility as a natural byproduct; but more than that, working in such an erratic environment offered my opportunities […]
MotherhoodAt 8:15 every morning I take a water aerobics class because Big Girls need fitness too. And because while my breasts are cumbersome, vexing impediments to my speed while on land, they make excellent built-in flotation devices. Buoyant things, those GGs. So anyway, it’s me and the oumas in the pool every morning. At first […]
MusingsAbout a week ago, Netflix suggested a title that had my interest piqued upon visual contact. That title was ‘Dolemite Is My Name’. A little background might be helpful in understanding my excitement. The first time I heard the word Dolemite was in the early 90s when Snoop Dogg rapped it in the verse: Fallin’ […]
MarriageTwenty-four years ago, a friend of mine gave birth to a beautiful brown baby girl; a brown baby with cheeks not dissimilar in appearance to sweet cinnamon rolls and a pair of eyes that shone like polished pearls. I first met this summer child – Londyn* – when she was six. I had no children […]
GH2013Kwaku Sintim-Misa (KSM) is an acclaimed actor, comedian and talk show host. Last week he invited me to appear on his long-running TV program, the KSM Show. You’ll be proud to know that I kept my cool and resisted the urge to gush for a full six minutes into our conversation prior to taping. Though […]
GH2013Me: Hey, y’all! I’ll be going to the North this month! I’ll be taking a bus and I… Person A: Wouldn’t you rather fly there instead? Me: Of course I would. Person: A.1: So you are going alone? Aren’t you afraid? Me: Well…Of course I am. I’m terrified. Person A.2 & beyond: Hmmm. Let’s pray […]
Marriage“Should I have sex with my husband when I’m fasting?” The question was delivered to me earnestly, without forewarning or a natural segue. At a recent book reading, I mentioned to the room that my husband is a pastor (which is passive and has different connotations than the title Pastor’s Wife) and I woman with […]
GH2013I don’t think this year of return thing is good at all. It seems like more focus is being put on the Ghanaians come from abroad, and we who are here are being left out. Like that guy – the (Steve) Harvey guy came here and went to the dungeons and was so upset. Me, I can tell you I’ve been to Cape Coast (Castle), Elmina…when I enter those dungeons I don’t feel anything.
The South African SeriesRemember I told you all a few months ago that months ago that the family was moving into a century-old Dutch style home? And how excited I was because I know that the original builders never could’ve imagined in 100 years that my big, Black arse would be living in the lodgings so comfortably with […]
MusingsNiggerati: A blending of the words ‘nigger’ and ‘literati’, coined by unrivaled African American novelist, anthropologist and filmmaker, Zora Neale Hurston. Last week I received an email inviting me to participate in a literary initiative targeting young readers on the African continent. The person who referred me is a woman I’ve yet to meet, but […]
MotherhoodBesides, a boyfriend isn’t what she’s really after. What she wants is social acceptance and external validation…which is normal for a person her age. On some level, we all crave this.
The South African Series“As whites, we don’t teach our children about apartheid. For us, it’s not important. But the Blacks…they make sure to talk to their children about apartheid. All the time. It’s the complete opposite.” I had the opportunity to make a new acquaintance in George on Friday night. As I’ve explained on numerous occasions, the demographic […]