It’s middle school. It was long past my first year in a PWI and it was time for a dance. At the time, I refused to dance, so I walked around with friends. I was in the hall when I was startled by my white friends getting excited and flooding toward the gym. Leaving the …
And why colourblindness is an issue I went to bed early and noted there was some drama at the Oscars. Never one to care much about award shows, I wasn’t interested enough to learn more. At 3 am, I groggily checked my phone and found what I assumed to be minor drama was blowing up …
What the context of “the slap” can teach outsiders about Black culture Read More »
I’ve been asked a question for as long as I can remember. “So, where are you from?” People of all colours, backgrounds, and ages have always been curious about a thing I was bound to disappoint on. “Here,” or “Ohio,” were my confused answers. All the while, I tried to figure out why I was …
When I was a kid, I was taught Critical Race Theory in school. To be fair, no one was calling it that at the time and especially not in non-academic spaces. And yet looking back, it becomes obvious to me that there were three different approaches by my social studies teachers in dealing with race …
I have a gentle soul and somehow I’ve ended up with a livelihood centered around that gentleness and educating. I see so many people expecting and feeling entitiled to that kindness. As though compassion ends when a person isn’t nice to you. That every Black person you know should be able to give you that. …
Black people don’t go to tanning salons! Most of you probably laughed, but have you thought about why you laughed? This article is about colorism, the concept that was at the core of that joke. Black people don’t go to tanning salons because we don’t desire to be dark. There’s a long-standing history and lots …
For the first time in my life, my words have left me without my permission. They fly away like dandelion seeds in a gentle breeze and I worry they will never come back. My thoughts, a rolling royal blue- Black ocean in a storm that won’t seem to end. I’m lost, without a paddle and …
What do I have to do for you to acknowledge my humanity? Read More »
Living with roommates from different cultures is sometimes great, sometimes challenging and sometimes, you accidentally use horse shampoo… “That’s horse shampoo” she laughed as I told her I’d borrowed some shampoo that was in the shower. She… had horses. I was shocked and laughed it off. Life happens. An unusual happenstance that makes a good …
It’s been a while since I posted the infamous chicken poll, and with moving I lost track of it. But, if you were surprised here is (part) of why I posted about it. We all learn from a variety of sources of how to live in the world and majority of the time we never …
“Happy, Kwanzaa!” says a well meaning Susan, the cashier, as I leave the store. Why do they always do this? I can feel my cheeks burn, (thank GOD I’m Black) and I shuffle out the door. Just slow enough that she doesn’t think I’m running from this awkwardness and the ever present worry of being …
Kwanzaa: it’s not Black Christmas? Then what is it? Read More »
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