Blog
European_Douchebag and the Bearded Sikh Girl: When Cyberbullying Goes Terribly Right
I'm not sure how much attention you're willing to pay to the ramblings of a Reddit poster named "european_douchebag," but the guy has sparked a conversation that has led many, myself included, to examine the impromptu judgments we make about how other humans choose to...
1968 Olympics Black Power Salute: Ever Wonder What that White Guy Was Thinking?
When American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their black fists in protest and solidarity at the Mexico City Olympic games in 1968, I was much too young to understand the significance of the moment. I do remember the controversy it stirred. I have vague...
Joshua Bennett’s ’10 Things I Want to Say to a Black Woman’ — To Click or Not to Click?
Spoken word artist Joshua Bennett has ten things he wants to say to a black woman, and I'm not sure I want to hear it. I've happened upon Bennett's YouTube video and I see that hundreds of thousands of viewers have already clicked "play." I'm curious. And dubious....
Kathleen Cross Interviewed by Masud Olufani
This is a cross post from BahaiTeachings.org "In her multidisciplinary professional practice, which includes writing, pedagogy, and public speaking, Kathleen Cross unpacks the social complexity of being fair-skinned in a society where one’s proximity to “whiteness”...
Phenomenal On So Many Levels
I'm sharing this Amazon.com review of Skin Deep here because I felt the reader really connected with the characters and really understood the plot of the novel and the part melanin plays in it: Wow! This was an awesome read. It was recommended by a book club, so this...
Help Me Understand Why Cannes Winner “Blue is the Warmest Color” is a Triumph for Lesbians
I was a late bloomer. I was a tree-climbing, pet-menagerie-loving, book-devouring tomboy my entire childhood. At 14 years old I still had not reached puberty, and I had begun to wonder if something might be physically wrong with me, since most of my girl-friends had...
Tatiana Zamir Wants to Touch You…
Truth is a part of our foundation…even though pain may come from being vulnerable, beauty will surely follow.” –Tatiana Zamir Tatiana Zamir wants to touch you. Yes, you read that right. Not only does Tatiana Zamir want to touch you, she wants you to know that it may...
One on One with Kumaserati: We Talk Black Wall Street, Kat Stacks and ’99 Names of God’
If you are a serious aficionado of "conscious" hip hop music, you are no doubt familiar with the name Kumasi Simmons, a.k.a., Kumaserati, a gifted hood-born poet with a unique flow that has attracted souls from as close as Brooklyn and Compton to as far as Paris,...
I Dreamed of Rihanna’s Grandmother Last Night
Anyone who knows me knows that I believe that the dream world is much more than an odd vacation spot our brain visits as it recharges for another day. Indeed, some of my most life-altering experiences have occurred in that other world, and many of my ideas about God,...
Sometimes it Lasts…But Sometimes it Hurts Instead
"Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead." -Adele The photo above was taken at a surprise party for Todd Barr on September 8, 2002--his last birthday on earth. I wonder if the people in attendance that day know what a tremendous gift they gave...
Here’s Why I Love Kola Boof
"I wish, so much, that I hadn’t stayed with the bodies over night. Because that is how I received my imagination...I could hear their blood going into the earth...And I know TOO MUCH." -Kola Boof Whenever I think of Kola Boof, I see an image of Naima Bint Harith, a...
Happy Birthday to Me, Tupac and a White Dude Who Dyed for Freedom (not a typo)
Today is my birthday. And Tupac's Too. Another June 16th human being I really love is John Howard Griffin. I hope you already know all about this man, but if not, he was a White anti-racist who grew up in the South and wanted to do something to reach the hearts and...