On October 12th, most of America marked Columbus Day by shutting down all federal holidays and grieving parents with the closure of school. As a child, I loved Columbus Day. I was completely committed to the narrative that I had been sold by my elementary school teacher: That Christopher Columbus had sailed to America, discovered […]
Do you remember watching Mad Max when you were a kid (or young adult, if my dad is reading today) and thinking to yourself “Ah, ah. Is this Earth? Why are these people so cruel, selfish and reckless? More importantly, why are they dressed like this?” Everyone was attired as if scurvy had switched its […]
Yaa Asantewaa, Queen Mother of Ejisu and holder of 157 other titles. If you don’t know her name, you must live in a Hobbit hole devoid of books or access to the internet. She’s part of the Sovereign Women’s Pan African Council; up there with Queen Nzingha and Queen Nandi and Harriet Tubaman n’ dem. […]
Just hang in there with me. I was watching a kung fu film set in ancient China called ‘Drink With Me’ earlier this week, and a wandering warrior named Golden Swallow was passing through town in search of her brother, who had been captured by bandits and was being held for ransom. Golden Swallow and […]
https://www.facebook.com/190822330968156/videos/935985956451786/?pnref=story This is not what I intended to write about today, but once again, this is one of those videos I couldn’t help but share. I love history and I love hair, so when the two collide it gets shared! Hey…I made a rhyme thing. This video by Chime absolutely struck a chord in me. […]
“Hey, Charity! What you doin’?” “Girl… my momma is moving in with me next week. She’ll be down here from Detroit. Just tryin’ to get the house ready.” “What’s with the cage?” “Oh, these? These are my birds. Momma hates birds. She says they stank.” “Hahaha! Well, let me leave you to it then. Catch […]
Chauvinism : an attitude that the members of your own sex are always better than those of the opposite sex : the belief that your country, race, etc., is better than any other Siiiiggghhhh… Fresh off of the Sabbath, there are people out here on the interwebs and at a Golden Corral near you showing […]
My friend Toyah dropped by the house the other night while I was hiding from my children in my room. We struck up a conversation about life – Black life in particular – in America. This is important to tell you, because the discourse Toyah and I typically engage can be described as anything but […]
Glance at this photo. What are your immediate thoughts? Does it offend you? Why, or why not? Think about it for a second. Why are you or why aren’t you offended by this picture? Sure, it looks innocuous, but this harmlessly snapped image has had the Nigerian Twirraverse in an uproar for almost two days […]
I watched the movie ‘Selma’ when it opened up nationwide last week and determined that my two eldest children should watch it too. At ages 10 and 8, I deemed them old enough to see the PG 13 movie. The girls were fortunate in their choice of mother, for what better boon could there be […]
One of my earliest memories is of being lost in a store. I can’t tell you how old I was or which establishment I found myself temporarily stranded in, because I have no recollection of either detail. I just remember I was with my mother, who in her impatience to finish shopping, did not wish […]
“The Miss Universe Organization (MUO) is a Donald J. Trump and NBC Universal joint venture which uses its global grassroots reach to empower women to be self-confident and strive to be their personal best. MUO believes that every woman should be “Confidently Beautiful.” The MISS UNIVERSE®, MISS USA®, and MISS TEEN USA® beauty pageants provide […]
When it comes to social change in Ghana, Ghanaians obey a strict set of rules and rarely deviate from the following process: Express shock and outrage about a particular event Talk about it on radio/Facebook/What’sApp/Twitter Deride anyone with an opposing opinion Wait for the next breaking news story to over shadow the aforementioned outrageous event […]
The woman who threads my eyebrows is from Iran. Last year, she told me that 2013 was going to be a “very bad year”. Numerology dictated that it would. She didn’t offer any predictions for 2014 and I’m not due to get a threading until next Friday, so I’ll have to ask her then what […]
GO BACK TO AFRICA!!!! This is something red-faced bigots used to scream (now they can conveniently type it on a keypad) whenever a person of color has the audacity to point out/complain about/ponder over America’s dismal race record and erratic application of justice. “Hey darkie! If you don’t like it, you can just go back […]
Warning: Rant I have been advised in the past to carefully consider the things I say and to determine whether they are necessary. I sat on this for three days and have concluded it needed to be said. Let me lead with this: Some of you need your wombs destroyed, so that you cannot further […]
Part of my hybrid upbringing was learning the “Black National Anthem”. As a child, I hated this separatist idea – that there were two Americas – that I was being indoctrinated with, but I dutifully learned the first stanza of the song as required and could sing it on demand. The anthem is a song […]
I wonder if the world knows what a debt it owes to African Americans. Every modern liberation movement has been based on the tactics employed by those in endeavor for Civil Rights in America. And while MLK’s non-violent methods were borrowed from Ghandi, we did what we always do when we get a hold of […]
I woke up with this burden for Lauryn Hill this morning. There are many reasons we need Lauryn Hill, the most pressing of which is because people are still surprised when I open my mouth and speak both eloquently and intelligently. How can I blame them when the pervasive images of Black womanhood are Nicki […]
“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. – Malachi 3:8 You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” – 2 […]
Dear Broken Heart, How is it you are still beating? I marvel at your strength. To endure such a blow and to choose to carry on…My; that that is a testament to your tenacity indeed. I suppose you’ve been here before though. You’ve had a lifetime of being ‘swerved’ and have come back from it. […]