Getting there: You leave Atlanta on I-20, merge onto I-95N, pass some cotton fields, take a deep breath and inhale a few lung fulls of horse manure and cow dung, blink and then you’re in Fayetteville. It’s a small military town with lush hills and where I rendezvousing with The Fabulous Bessie Afeku, my fellow […]
Nikki Hunter is the lead vocalist in the band Trials of Evolution – or TOE, as I like to call them. She is my little cousin, and was once the apple of my eye. I have spent many a hard week’s wages on McDonald’s, Target gear and outings for our “niece and aunt” days in […]
*For Mia I’m going through a metamorphosis right now that is surprising to those who know me best. I really don’t care about a lot of things that would typically drive me mad. I attribute it to turning 30-something, although it could just have more to do with my life experiences thus far. The 23 […]
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 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 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 […]
Did you see this video last week? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/41365925 This is Nadin Khoury, a 13 year old boy who lives in Upper Darby, PA. He was beaten up by a pack of bullies. After I watched this video, I did some searching on the history precipitating this incident. I discovered that Nadin and I have something […]
Today I turn 33. Unlike my 30th birthday, this day is not filled with dread, fear and loathing. I’ve embraced my age; and while I have not embraced my body, I know that I am in a position to change it. Unlike the morning of my 30th birthday, I know for a fact that I will […]
Last Sunday I bought a new pair of shoes from Aerosoles at DSW where I work. I’d been eyeing them all summer long and they had finally gone on the discount/clearance rack. To my disappointment, there were none in my size – 9 ½, but they were SO cute that I begrudgingly took them in […]
Three days ago someone posted the Pump up the Jam on Facebook. I immediately ‘stole’ it and posted it on my Wall. Do you remember Pump up the Jam? If you don’t (and if you ever heard it, how could you possibly forget it?), here’s a quick reminder: PUTJ was a song done by Technotronic […]
(Slhore trans: Slut + whore) In ‘primitive’ cultures around the world, women disfigure themselves in the name of beauty. We have our necks stretched with copper/brass coils in Thailand; our lips stretched with clay and/or wood plates in parts of Africa and South America; nicked our faces, bellies and backs with razors in the […]
I have no words. Ladies and Gentlemen, from the mind of my little brother, Sami Gyekye, I present to you this intriguing Christmas tale: The birth of Santa Clause. On the very first Christmas, four Wise Men set off to deliver gifts to the baby Jesus. One of them read the memo wrong and went […]
Clearly I’ve been out of corporate America for far too long. Since I was laid off at the end 2008 and said “screw it” to trying to find a regular office gig, I’ve mastered the nuances of stay-at-home mom drama. At the end of the day, mommy drama is no big deal. My kids’ needs […]
Every family has its own set of time honored Christmas traditions and rituals (if they are fortunate enough not to have the holiday cancelled by an over-zealous matriarch) that are performed year-after-year. It’s what keeps college students coming home, and if the traditions are particularly fun/amusing/special, individuals will attempt to share these with people outside […]
My last court date, as expected, did not disappoint. The events were so bizarre that I halfway expected Mr. Bean to jump out of some obscure corner waving a conductor’s wand. Pure insanity, I promise you. After shelling out sixty bucks for the kids daycare fees (because that’s hoe much it costs me every time […]
So now we come to the topic that still makes me quake with fury: Stephanie. Again, you said that you would not have Na around any women that you weren’t in a serious relationship with. I had no idea that Nadjah was seeing Stephanie until the day you told me she spanked her for climbing […]
There are a bunch of little boys out there getting Black women pregnant and dipping; it’s really starting to make me angry. You, Azania Olezene, Lakieshia Jones, James Holcomb and 2 others like this. KSTell why are these Black women dealing with “little boys”? Thursday at 9:49am · Marshall Grant Because these boys […]
Chris sat in home office, his eyes and finger tips weary from hours of programming. He paused in the middle of keying in a complex code that a client had contracted him to complete. A wave of dissatisfaction suddenly washed over him. There has to be more to life than this, he thought. He looked […]
Part 2: Kwasia Dat Kwasia dat trans: That foolish person/thing. Some of you have journeyed with me for the last 5 1/2 years through the metaphoric hip-deep cesspool that Douche Bag has attempted to drag me through. Fortunately, I have managed to hover above the mire, coming out with only the stink clinging to me […]
Last night I sank to a new low in my motherhood experience. A friend of mine has graciously allowed me to use her home for the remainder of my stay in Ghana. It has done A WORLD of difference for my countenance. My father also offered to watch the girls for the next two days […]