Guest Post by Regina N. Bradley at Red Clay Scholar While listening to Beyonce’s latest single “Bow Down/I Been On” an eyebrow raised in amusement along with a low “woooooord?” I couldn’t believe that Beyonce, Mrs. “Girls-Run-the-World” was talking to bitches and – gasp! – demanding they bow down. But it wasn’t Bey’s emphatic […]
On Kimani Gray—Or To Be Young, Guilty, and Black
**Trigger warning for violence** I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around the situation with Kimani Gray, but it just doesn’t make sense. I mean, considering the unceasing frequency of U.S. American police brutality, the story is “simple” enough. Ten days ago, sixteen-year-old Kimani, known as KiKi to his loved ones, was out late, […]
Single, Saved, and Sexin: The Redux
One of the most controversial posts we’ve ever had here at the blog was called Single, Saved, and Sexin’: The Gospel of Getting Your Freak On. In that piece, over two years ago, I argued: Sex is a form of creative power. And it is in the literal fact of its creative aspects that we […]
thank you: a women’s history month mix
“You are magnificent.” So read the final line of an email I received from the CFC’s Moya Bailey the first Friday of 2012. The subject line was, “Love for you in the new year!” It recalled the summer we became friends and its consequence on her journey. She offered thanks and called me by a […]
Getting to Happy, or The Myth of Happily Ever After
Happy Endings? “Is this going to have a happy ending?” This question rose from an otherwise quiet classroom from a student who was getting worried since the documentary we were watching seemed to be going awry. The documentary, Home, follows the experience of a working-class single black mother of six children on her journey to […]
Happy 3rd Blogiversary to the CFC!
Hey Crunk Community, Crunkadelic here, wishing a happy third blogiversary to the CFC! We’re so excited to have reached this important milestone in our time as a collective. When we began blogging on March 1, 2010 we had modest expectations. We really wanted to create a space and a community where we could dialogue […]
Pineapples
They say eating pineapples makes your juices taste good. Lately, I find myself ordering lots of fruit salads, tryin’ to guarantee that my juices keep her coming back for more. She doesn’t know this of course. I mean, I know she loves me and I know she loves my goodies but still … I’m trying […]
Trigger Warning – How to Love?: Thoughts on Wayne’s “Emmett Till” Lyrics and More
By CFs Moya and Whitney We’d initially planned to post this the monday after the Oscars but other things were more pressing. *Trigger Warning for expletives, misogyny, and violent lyrics* In the remix to Future’s Karate Chop, Lil Wayne sings the “very unfortunate” (really, Fader?) lyric that compares sex to the beating of Emmett […]
Be/Loved Community: It Ain’t Just For February
“The Beloved Community. . . is a global vision, in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth. . .poverty, hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated because international standards of human decency will not allow it. Racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry and prejudice will be replaced by an all-inclusive […]
A Love Letter to Quvenzhané Wallis
give your daughters difficult names. give your daughters names that command the full use of tongue. my name makes you want to tell me the truth. my name doesn’t allow me to trust anyone that cannot pronounce it right. – Warsan Shire Dear Quvenzhané, Hi! My name is Moya. I am a big BIG fan of […]