I’ve recently begun getting into podcasts and This Afropolitan Life (TAL) has become an early favorite. TAL is “a blog that inspires Afropolitan women to live stylishly, adventurously, conscientiously, and confidently—by a woman who’s trying to do the same. “ Clarissa Bannor hosts each show (or at least each episode I’ve listened to thus far) where she […]
“If it’s what you truly want … I can wear her skin over mine. Her hair over mine. Her hands as gloves. Her teeth as confetti. Her scalp, a cap. Her sternum my bedazzled cane. We can pose for a photograph, all three of us. Immortalized … you and your perfect girl.” – Beyoncé, Anger […]
A year ago, a good friend of mine was going through a course with the aim of becoming a certified life coach. He asked me if I would be willing to be his “guinea pig” and participate in mock coaching sessions. Unfamiliar with the nuances of coaching and totally unimpressed with these “white pipo tinz”, […]
Over the weekend I was contacted by a journalist who asked me to elaborate on my reactions to a popular web series that I wrote about a year or more ago. I’ve received both praise and derision for that article, with a fellow writer going as far as refusing to acknowledge me by name in […]
As I type, it’s 3:35 am…so I don’t know how much sense this post is going to make. I’m sure I’ll look over it at noon and ask myself, “Self! Were you on crack when you wrote this?” And I’ll say, “Naw, Self! I was just tired as Usain Bolt chasing a Nima boy for […]
This morning, after performing the perfunctory duties of cleaning the kitchen and picking up my kids’ carelessly strewn clothes and toys from all over the house, I paused to reward myself a cup of hot coffee. I poured Kauai granules into my French press, prinked in some natural cane sugar and swirled a ¼ cup […]
A few weeks ago I celebrated the 38th anniversary of my uterine occupation and eventual evacuation. I opted to commemorate the day by recreating the sensation of that scenario with seven very good friends. No, silly! I didn’t invite seven other people to crawl with me back into my mother’s womb and attempt to break […]
Before my self-imposed exile from Twitter this week (inspired by threats of physical harm against my family and a story for another day), one of the last stories I read was an opinion piece written by Siyanda Mohutsiwa entitled I’m Done with African Immigrant Literature. Here she describes her frustration and angst about having to […]
There are certain givens that I have always assumed would remain givens. You know what I mean? Don’t you have those for your own life? Like, as a woman of faith, there are certain variables I have expected to remain constant for as long as I drew breath. The sun would always rise in the […]
As much of the viewing public prepares to consume another episode of #OscarsSoWhite, there are a number of people – myself included – who will be abstaining from the ocular throwback to the Jim Crow Era when Black people had to enter the premises through the back door and in their servant livery. I suppose […]
There are things that grieve me – matters of such grave concern that they rob me of sleep when I should be resting at twilight and continue to plague my thoughts during the day. I obsess over these affairs incessantly. I have questions. Questions like: “Is God pleased with my life?” “Will the price of […]
David Bowie passed away today and the tributes to his memory and his art are rushing through and flooding the Internet like a tidal wave. I still remember the first David Bowie song I ever heard. It was Let’s Dance…a song that is actually incredibly difficult to dance to (if you’re Black). While we had […]
Two summers ago my husband built an aquaponics system in order to grow fruits, vegetables and herbs. He was inspired by several medium-to-small scale operations that we saw while on vacation in South Africa and decided to give it a try at home. In that time, he’s grown peppers, spring onions, lettuce, mint, basil, thyme, […]
Being a creative is easy. You get to lock yourself in a cocoon and create a fantastical world full of imaginary beings, wild, unlikely scenarios and color. So much color! The universe of the Creative Mind is capable of holding unimaginable amounts of joy, bliss and happiness. Or not. The Creative can frame his/her world […]
The first time I heard about Daniel Holtzclaw – and the atrocities now synonymous with his name – was in September of this year. Now that the depth of his crimes are widely known, it may shock many of you to know that he was placed under arrest as early as August, 2014. It certainly […]
Ho, ho, ho, Friends! The rainy season is here (unless you’re in South Africa, where it’s summer) and the season of ChrisKwaHannuFestivus is upon us! Formerly known as ChrismaKwanzaHannukah, ChrisKwaHannuFestivus is a celebration for those of us who do not discriminate against any of the holidays that traditionally take over the month of December. It […]
We live in the digital age, and we consume much more news and information than our fore bearers just a generation ago did. Studies have revealed that we are assaulted with 174 newspapers worth of data, and that we receive five times more information than we did in 1986. If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed by […]
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 […]