Online review platforms such as Yelp and Google operate on the premise that the average dining experience delivers the respect and grace consistent with hospitality mythos. This expectation, of course, operates under the default of a white perspective. While I am sure that those of my collective have encountered outstanding service at times, I am…

My black is brown My ancestor’s blood marks the ground on which many walk  and talk over an obscured memory that separates wrong from right black from white and brown the silent sea speaks of stories unheard by the unseen stories that run like bleeding rivers black like the brown backs  of those beaten  niggerized…

Al Joyner, after the untimely death of his wife, the woman affectionately known as “Flo Jo,” noted that she “passed the ultimate drug test.” In the late 80s, Flo Jo would become the fastest woman in the world, a title that rightfully revealed a lifetime of hard work but engendered predictable scrutiny from anti-black adversaries….

They call us pessimistic  because we won’t smile for the optics Because if their representation Doesn’t yield a celebration In your heart Or mind You’re the pessimistic kind They quote Malcolm but lack the courage to truly implement his practice They hear the words of a revolutionary and like the sound but get gone when its finna…

Manifest. A word and practice that has attained significant traction in the last few years or so. Whether it is “manifesting” your true love, dream career, or any other ideal status, the concept suggests a spirituality that, if tapped into, yields life-changing results. Despite its frequent presence in everyday dialogue, manifest, as a word and…

I. Anti-black Altruism News stories that highlight “altruism” often maintain racist mythos. A recent news story featured a (black male) teacher who gave a young, black student the shoes off his feet. On the surface, the newsstory delineates community, but as an ornament of the racist media, this feature is violent propoganda. The gesture reinforces…