Part of the reason folks rallied in reaction to Trayvon Martin’s murder has to do with ideas about who is an appropriate or worthy victim. He was shot by a vigilante, he wasn’t armed, he was a good student, had some class privilege, he was doing something mundane, simply returning from buying Skittles and ice […]
Category: Activism
Feminist Care Packages: Healing Love for Hard Times
“Thrown away where? The world is round.” – Luciente This month we’d hoped to talk about love and relationships but a lot of terrible things have been happening in the world. Whitney died. Too Short gave some terrible advice. So did Not So Very Smart brothas. and there’s a thread in these narratives about black women and girls bringing things […]
Love Overflow: A Red Reflection (and a Trigger Warning… SMH)
It’s early on Valentine’s Day, an invented holiday by U.S. greeting card companies (for real, look it up!). I just learned about Too Short’s “Fatherly Advice” to young boys about how to “turn girls out” in a video for XXL. While this is not shocking for Too Short, it also speaks to the culture we […]
The World Can Wait
Cis and trans* women of color do a lot of work that they don’t get paid for. Work at home, work at work, work in our communities, everywhere really. And a lot of it is done out of love. Love for our communities, love for our lovers, and things/people we believe in.There’s a saying, “do […]
Tonight! Join a conversation on the State of the Union!
CF Eesha here, y’all. Tonight is the President’s State of the Union address to Congress. If the election season so far is any indication, we know that amidst the politicians and the pundits there’s very little time for real talk. This is one of the most important elections in recent history : there is a […]
Some Reflections on the Limits of Sainthood
How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: […]
Go See Pariah!!!
I’ve been trying to write a review for the movie Pariah for a while now but I can’t write anything that conveys what this film accomplishes. For those who need to know about the film before you see it, read Summer M.’s take and the review by Mecca Jamilah Sullivan at the Feminist Wire. Brilliant […]
Teaching Moments: On Accountability, Love & Patience
I teach and do research on issues centering on identity and diversity. As the fall semester is coming to a close, I had the benefit of watching my students, many who started the semester ambivalent about difference and the need for diversity and acceptance, come full circle. Through presentations and last words, they expressed how […]
Some Thoughts on Jay-Z and Those “Occupy All Streets” T-Shirts
Sometimes, for the life of me, I cannot figure out why we expect rappers to be invested in social justice. Rapping is a job. This is not to say that they can’t be. I only ask why we expect them to be. When Kanye showed up at OWS NYC, I thought this is interesting. The […]
The Immediate Need For Emotional Justice
The Immediate Need For Emotional Justice Guest Post by Yolo Akili “Emotional Justice” is a term widely recognized as coined by journalist and Radio Host Esther Armah. Oppression is trauma. Every form of inequity has a traumatic impact on the psychology, emotionality and spirituality of the oppressed. The impact of oppressive trauma creates cultural and […]