Why Black History Month is Relevant

In the good-natured American way, Black History Month is questioned more and more each year. It seems as though a certain sect of people find this month to be useless and, well, racist. Yes, folks. People consider Black History month to be racist. It’s as if a whole month dedicated to the history of one…

Letters to the Black Community: Our Right to Vote

Dear Black Folks, My people! I love you with all of my heart. We’ve been through the most. Slavery. Reconstruction. Jim Crow. Post-racial America. We’ve bonded together to rise above it all. Some of us even had the chance to see a black President. We’ve experienced the joy of obtaining highest office in the land…

Am I Black Enough?

My life has been one constant question. I’m sure that’s no different than anyone else. I mean we all have questions that could follow us for the duration of our lives. However, this particular question looks at multiple facets of my character. It’s been asked over and over. It’s been posed in various situations and…

Super Tuesday

Are we really going to do this? Seriously. Are we really going to elect Donald Trump as the Republican nominee for President of the United States? The man who won’t denounce the Klu Klux Klan. The man who wants to build a wall between Mexico and the United States. The man who will openly, brashly…

Why I am Going to Vote

If you’ve been paying any attention to the news, then you’ll know this is a presidential election year. Although nominees for the respective parties have not been announced (to my knowledge), candidates have announced their bid and debates are on-going. Truthfully, there is not one person running for President of the United States that has…

Laws of the Land

I’ve mentioned this subject a couple of times on previous posts, but I feel it is necessary to talk about it again. Jim Crow laws. These laws were established to segregate whites from those they did not want to be around. Namely blacks and Mexicans. It was a social order until institutionalized segregation became legal…

The Difference Between A and ER

Editor’s Note: This post is going to take an in-depth look at the word “nigger.” As such, it will be used (as discreetly as possible) throughout this commentary. This post was not written with any intent to offend. Rather, it is to make people think about the ramifications of using this word. What’s the difference…

The Deception of Time

Through the many conversations I’ve had in real life or via social media, I’ve come to realize people have a common thought process on time. The phrase that I keep hearing/reading is as follows: It’s 2016. Aren’t we past that? The answer to this question is no, we aren’t past that. In fact, we are…

Ode to a King: A Dream Deferred

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends. And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up…

Does White Privilege Exist?

In a perfect world, having an advantage over another due to the color of one’s skin would be nonexistent. We don’t live in a perfect world. White privilege began the moment European settlers asserted themselves over Native Americans. Throughout American history, white privilege was tangibly relevant. The days of slavery. Sharecropping and plantations. Japanese concentration…

The Underlying Theme

Officers Timothy Loehmann and Frank Garmback involved in the death of Tamir Rice, a 12 year old African-American boy, were not indicted by a grand jury for criminal charges. Probable charges were murder, involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, negligent homicide, and dereliction of duty weighed against Loehmann. This non indictment comes on the heels of a hung jury for the Freddie…

It’s A Shame

Shaming. There are so many types. Fit shaming. Fat shaming. Slut Shaming. Passenger shaming. Dog shaming. Kid shaming. The list goes on. Shaming is where a person is humiliated or embarrassed for actions/words that go against societal standards. As of late, there is a movement to stop shaming people, and just accept their actions. I…