Check out Crunkadelic and EeshaP reviewing the film adaptation of Solomon Northup’s slave narrative, 12 Years a Slave. Have you seen the film, fam? What are your impressions? Join the conversation below, on Facebook, and on Twitter.
Category: Race
De-Tangling Racism: On White Women and Black Hair
Pictures from a new exhibit by photographer Endia Beal called “Can I Touch It?” showcase several white women, all corporate execs, who agreed to get a “Black hairstyle” and then have their portrait taken. Apparently, this very quotidian fixation with Black women’s bodies and Black women’s hair is now the stuff of art exhibits. This project […]
Somebody, Anybody? It’s Hard Out Here for a Sista
Trigger warning: Violent language “Somebody, anybody sing a Black girl song” Ntozake Shange, For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When the Rainbow was Enuf Being a Black woman or girl in the United States has never been easy. That much […]
Reproductive Injustice and the ‘War on Women’ or, An Ode to the Intersections
These days, it’s hard to read something in regards to feminist activism without hearing the phrase “war on women.” Despite important and sharp critiques regarding the limitations of the phrase, it continues to hold cache as a means to characterize the depth and fortitude of the conservative legislative attack on women’s reproductive rights. This attack, as […]
To Rachel Jeantel, With Love
If you’ve been following the George Zimmerman Trial, the name Rachel Jeantel probably rings a bell. Rachel is 19 years old and was one of the last people to speak with Trayvon Martin before his murder. Brought on as a witness for the prosecution, this brave young person has been ridiculed in the mainstream media […]
Girl, Bye: Why This Moment is Bigger than Paula Deen
Unless you’ve been living under a rock these past few days, you’ve probably heard about the kerfuffle with Our Fair Lady of Butter, Paula Deen. The quick and dirty of it all is that Deen and her brother, Bubba Hiers, are facing a discrimination suit from a former employee, Lisa Jackson, who has accused the […]
Bringing Back Wonder Woman
AS LOVELY AS APHRODITE – AS WISE AS ATHENA – WITH THE SPEED OF MERCURY AND THE STRENGTH OF HERCULES – SHE IS KNOWN ONLY AS WONDER WOMAN. Dear privileged Hollywood women, We need you. It’s time. You can no longer remain silent. You must act. You must step up. White men alone cannot decide […]
Some Thoughts on ‘Accidental Racist’
Thought #1: When I first saw the name of this song go across my Facebook feed a few weeks ago I didn’t know what to make it of it. I assumed, at first, that it was an unfortunate spoof or offensive rant. I was disinterested in either so disregarded it. Thought #2: When I realized, […]
always arriving: a black scholar’s mixtape
But we knew. And our knowing was like a sister’s embrace. Sonia Sanchez, “A Letter to Dr. Martin Luther King,” homegirls and handgrenades (1984) I first sat at the feet of Sonia Sanchez at Spelman College where I was assiduously loved and educated. Sanchez was invited by the Women’s Resource and Research Center to help […]
Truth. Be. Told. An Interview with Katina Parker
If you’ve been looking at my posts lately, I’ve clearly been on a kick of interviewing people who are creating work in the world that inspires me. The latest installment comes from multimedia maven Katina Parker about her project Truth. Be. Told. that highlights Queer Black Visionaries and their work in the world. Let’s take […]