We were stinky. We were cranky. We were happy to have the cylindrical flying ship that had borne us from one hemisphere to another at our backs. Finally! We were in South Africa! After making small talk with the man at the reception desk at the Holiday Inn in Jo’burg and tipping our very happy […]
Once upon a time, in a town just like yours, there lived two mothers. There were seven children born between the pair, each child in possession of the average needs that you’d expect: food, shelter and love. These the two mothers provided faithfully. One night, a terrible frost struck the town and all of the […]
Last night as I was wearily putting the kids to bed, there was one thought that subdued all others jostling for dominance: God! Just one more day until the weekend. The thought of Friday night set my heart racing. Friday is a euphemism for ‘Saturday Eve’, a day when we can get out of bed […]
One of my first duties as First Lady was to have breakfast with the Bishop of our church’s international fellowship. I know what you’re thinking. Pause. Hold up. What do you mean ‘First Lady’, Malaka??? First Lady of WHAT?!? Just give me a few days and I’ll explain in delicious detail. I don’t want to […]
The voice on the other end of the phone was dry in its affectation. “Mizz Grant?” “Yes?” “I have Stone with me, and he needs a change of clothes.” It was the school nurse. I muttered in exasperation and asked if she could give me 30 minutes to get there. “I’m not at home right […]
We’ve had unseasonably warm weather this February. Last week the skies were blue, a few flowers braved an attempt at bloom (for which they were summarily punished when another cold snap ran through these parts) and the sun has washed everything in its glow. My spirit could not help but be positively affected. So I […]
*Trigger warning: Today’s post discusses miscarriage. If this is a sensitive topic for you, I beg you not to read on. Thank you, and be well and blessed. “Is that your daughter?” “Yes. She’s my second born. She’s in the same grade as Summer.” “Is the girl that’s with her yours too?” “No,” I […]
*Warning: This post contains vulgar language… You know, the type of language women and girls are subjected to every day, several times a day. Occasionally, women’s magazines, glossy journals and quirky BuzzFeed videos address the issue of gender-based harassment and violence against women using provocative imagery and devastating statistics that it sets concerned tongues wagging…for […]
Marley Dias is an 11 year old 5th grader who saw a gap in what she was exposed to in her literary world and decided to fill it. When the New Jersey student expressed her frustration about the types of books crowding her curriculum – books about “white boys and dogs” – her mother gave […]
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 […]
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 […]
“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 […]
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 […]
I gave birth to my eldest daughter 9 weeks premature. Her early delivery by C-section was the result of external factors plaguing me; mainly stress. Between the numerous healthcare professionals, well-wishers and hospital cleaners, I was also visited by a number of consultants: lactation, AM Care, etc. However one of these professionals was not on […]
“Mommy. NOBODY likes me.” My sister stiffened at the declaration. Her son is five, and is the only minority in his Fairfax county kindergarten classroom. Standing at no more than 38” and weighing about the same in pounds, Aiden is one of the smaller children in his age group. He is a jumble of emotions […]
It was 11:34 am and time to leave the hospital. The nurses had been wonderful, the delivery without complication. It was time to take Baby home. But Tope couldn’t decide between the three coming home outfits she’d narrowed down from ten others she’d shopped for over the course of the past 9 months. Her husband, […]
It’s always a low point on my Sunday when a pastor or Bishop or Archbishop goes into a tirade about hemlines at some point in his message. This happens week after week at Any Church, globally. My own house of worship is not immune to this scourge. Nevertheless, as a “devoted” member of my congregation, […]
Kidnapping is real. It’s scary. It’s the reason I stopped watching Law & Order:SVU once I began bearing children. The very idea that a stranger could muster the unmitigated gall to not only initiate conversation with MY child, let alone approach him/her with the intention of stealing them away from our home causes ice to […]
Before I begin, I must implore Black people not to allow ourselves to get distracted. We must not be driven by sheep or led by the nose-ringed bull at an agricultural fair by its handler. Make no mistake: when we allow our focus to be lost to petty diversions – of any sort – we […]
“Stone! Come and pick up all these strips of paper from my floor. Who did this?” “Argh! I told Castillo not to do this, but he said he was Sharp Boy. He was using his head to cut pieces of paper.” I paused and looked at my son, in order to process what I was […]
(…or she may have been Wendy the Welder. I can’t ask her, because she’s dead.) The years between 1939-1945 must have been an intoxicating time, fraught with uncertainty, new possibilities and loads of change. The Second World War had changed everything for Americans, and my Aunt Clara was not to be exempted from the alterations […]