My journey through music as a 30 something Black woman has thus far taken the expected path. I went to my first concert when I was 12; I saw The Boyz at the Ohio State Fair. I saw Shaba Ranks in Ghana when I was 16. Somewhere in between, I saw Public Enemy in concert […]
I have writer’s block today, unfortunately. An incident at Dunkin’ Donuts this morning has my Mind all messed up, so I can’t search out a topic and craft any relevant (or irrelevant, as is usually the case) thought around it. So today, I’m going to share an email conversation I just had with one of […]
Actually, it was anything but; I just like the play on words, hence the title. Caroline celebrated her birthday this Saturday, and I was invited to her shindig by her friend Napoleon (yes, that’s his real name – and yes, he’s Black). I thought it was going to be a nice, somewhat quiet evening spent […]
I wonder what it must feel like, to have people scream and throw under things at you as you’re sorting through the produce at the farmer’s market. After 40 years, does it ever get tiresome? I imagine it would take its toll on you – which explains why Prince is so reclusive when he’s not […]
I can’t even wrap my mind around what words to write. Where do I even begin? Well, let’s begin the middle! The Fabulous Dogooder, Bessie (my Prince compatriot) bought our tickets and guess where we’re sitting? The FORTEENTH ROW! Floor level baby! I’m going to see Prince for the first time in concert and I […]
A few weeks ago I blogged about a girl who came in to interview with my company who didn’t get the job because she didn’t have the right “personality”, when what my manager really meant was she sounded too “Black”. It’s an unfortunate event that happens every day to Black folk – the immediate disqualification […]
Next week, something will happen that I’ve been hoping and wishing for for over two decades. I’m going to see Prince live in concert! A series of events have kept me from seeing The Purple One my whole life. Either I was too young, too far away (in Africa) or too broke to go see […]
And it isn’t me. My baby brother has managed to do what I have been dreaming of since I was a ‘tween: Write AND publish a book. Yup, Sami Gyekye, my once potbellied, slobbering baby brother is now a published author. His journey began more than a year ago. He called me one afternoon (as […]
I don’t know if “jealous” is the right word to describe how I feel about my friend Amma Bonsu’s most recent undertaking. Perhaps “dreadfully sick with envy” is a more apt depiction. Amma is my ‘junior sister’ from secondary school. In 1991 she was a spritely fashion forward girl, tiny even by Ghanaian standards. In […]
I have nothing to write about today. The people on my job have sucked the life, creativity and sanity out of me. When I leave these walls, the only thing I’ll be grateful for is that I have not been raped by my co-workers. But that’s really no consolation… I’ll be getting (violently) raped by the […]
One of the reasons I like my new (temporary) job is because my work environment is a hotbed for daily HR violations. No one has a filter, including the director for our division. However, as free as Mr. Englishman is with sharing his often inappropriate thoughts, he can’t hold a candle to Rob, a massive […]
Background: Beyonce has posed in “blackface” for L’Officiel Paris magazine. The African-themed photo shoot pays tribute to the legendary Fela Kuti and is featured in the mag’s March 2011 issue, which also celebrates their 90th anniversary. While “blackface” has always been controversial, the magazine stands by its decision, saying: “The Fashion magazine is about to […]
I was driving into work this morning listening to National Public Radio and a segment featuring two teenaged boys discussing their education came on after an update on Egypt. The presenter gave them a glowing introduction, mentioning that they both wrote for VOX (Voice of Our Generation), a publication written by and for Atlanta teens. […]
I am easily impressed. Unless an individual or corporation makes a deliberate and obvious attempt at epic failure (like those douche water enema bags Delta Airlines), I generally find the good in most people and services. But this week, Chick-fil-a hit it out of the park. I mean they just went above and beyond! If […]
I was already pissed off because I had to take a day off from work and lose 8 hours’ worth of wages for the week. Coming off the heels of a fabulous birthday and birthday weekend, the news that I had been selected for jury duty did much to dampen the spirit of levity I […]
I have openly admitted that I’ve lost a fair amount of ‘cool’ since I became a mom. I think the last time I was considered hip and up to date on anything was in 2006, when my second daughter was born. That being said, I am not ashamed to admit that I did not know […]
In America, as with the rest of the world I’m sure, accents are a fascinating thing. They tell us where people are from, possibly where they’ve been, and what caste/class that person is a part of. Foreign accents in this country are considered charming, which is why 8 times out of 10, a guy with […]
Say what you will about being a contractor: It’s short term; they can cut your project at any time; it’s unstable; there are no health benefits; blah blah BLAH! For all the negatives, I can rebut with a good number of positives: The autonomy, the freedom to leave if the job sucks, the ability to […]
As a rule, I generally don’t watch reality TV shows anymore. They all ‘jumped the shark’ a long time ago in my view. But last night, my baby boy wouldn’t go to sleep and the only thing that was of any interest on TV was The Sing-off, hosted by Nick Lachey. The Sing-off is a […]
I used to work for a recruiting firm in Marietta that hired a casserole of characters to serve as “recruiters”. It was a glorified call center, painted with slate blue walls and outfitted with slate gray cubicle-ettes (half cubicles that offered 0 privacy). 8.5 of the Black men that worked there were gay. The .5 […]
This week my grandmother-in-law threw her middle finger in my face. I mean, she totally flipped me and my family ‘the bird.’ And by ‘bird’, I of course don’t mean a cuddly, colorful parrot used for entertaining guests. In the 14+ years that I have known Marshall, I have never met the woman. My husband […]