In college I went to a friends house for an all nighter. Suddenly the sun was burning my eyes. I was gross, in surrounded by papers, in yesterdays clothes and reeked of the crushing weight of deadline stress. “Hey, can I use you shower?” I asked a friend. “ Sure,” He says yawning and hands …
“What? You scared?” She sneered at me, as I hid under covers. Gory death flashed across my mind for minutes, even after my eyes had closed. Once, when I was a young kid, I plopped down in front of a television late at night. I had been waiting for cartoons to start. Instead of cartoons, …
I find this question to be a little more personal than I was expecting so early into Obsidian but here goes. As a young Black person, I think it’s important to keep in mind that I grew up in two different cultures. One was White culture and the other was Black Culture. Which one I …
How is Black Flirting Culture Different from White Flirting Culture? Read More »
As an ally, it is important to call out people who are racist or participate in erasure. But let’s face it: Having conversations around cultural appropriation and racism are hard. Often, the majority of discussions are either extremely serious or a bit heavy handed. There is a lot of hurt, discomfort, blame and guilt involved. …
Cultural Appropriation: Making Hard Conversations Easier Read More »
So, you wanna be inclusive? A question that gets thrown around woke communities all the time is “how do we get more diversity” and honestly you probably aren’t going to like my answer… Get, uncomfortable. Uncomfortable? What’s that got to do with anything? Well, more than you think. If you are white in America I …
For years there has been an ongoing debate about the importance of dressing up at social dances. Understand that dressing up is a part of the culture if you are doing an African American vernacular dance. I’m going to explore why dressing up matters, how it shows up often in Black Culture as a means …
A complicated topic few in America causally talk about is what to call the Americans that descended from Slaves. Over the years what is considered disrespectful has changed and currently the American Culture seems to be split between if using the term African American or Black is better. With this complicated topic I think it’s …
Luckily I feel like this question is fading away but I’ve heard it’s floating around still, “why are there no Blues dance elders” The answer to me has always been obvious. White people never picked it up. Yeah, I said it. I bet many of you are confused. What does white people liking a thing …
Why are There no Blues Elders in the Dance Community? Read More »
Maybe you aren’t from the United States, maybe you don’t know any Black people, or worst of all you do, and you just don’t get it. What are all these people complaining about? Racism doesn’t exist, Black people just need to get their act together. Welcome. If you are ready to consider the idea that …
What is blues dancing? How do I explain blues dancing to people? Is it just doing whatever you want? So, it’s like free-style? As a professional blues dance instructor and ex-organizer, I get these questions all the time; and on Obsidian we have never taken the time to answer them. What is blues dancing? Blues …
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