It is common for people who do anti-racism work to be referred to as grifters, and it’s one of the more commonplace insults that has been hurled at me over the years. Depending on my mood, it can actually make me chuckle, since I can say with certainty that anti-racism work is not exactly lucrative. When I took over Community …
On May 1, Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old unhoused Black man—who struggled with his mental health—was killed by a fellow passenger on a New York City subway after he reportedly caused a ruckus and loudly proclaimed to be in need of food and water. By all accounts that I have read, Jordan’s behavior in the moments prior to being put in …
Over the years, as my writing has become almost entirely focused on whiteness and white people, I accidentally have moved further away from the very reason why this blog was created: To claim my own humanity while living in a very white state—and not lose my very essence as a Black woman. While I have generated a sizable audience across …
There was a time that pretty much whenever I had a racist encounter, I would write about it. Over the years though, as I have gotten older, I made the conscious choice to not always write about them—unless they were particularly egregious. My personal pain, humiliation, and rage don’t always need to be witnessed and personally, for the sake of …
In my 15 years of running Black Girl in Maine, only once have I ever done a Go Fund Me-style campaign, and that was a few years into blogging, when my laptop unexpectedly died. However, life recently has thrown enough curveballs at me—namely in the form of my health—that I realized that pride cometh before the fall. Since 2008, Black …
In my last post, I wrote about a recent neo-Nazi rally in Portland, Maine. For non-locals and those not following the story, the city and police department’s response has been less than satisfying. No arrests were made, despite clear footage and individual accounts of violence. Why? According to the police, they were unable to assess how the “fight” started that …
As a general rule, while I primarily use this space to share my thoughts on all things anti-racism related, for a myriad of reasons I rarely talk about my actual work. So much so that a local community member recently expressed surprise to learn that my actual job is serving as an executive director of an anti-racism organization and that …
On Sunday, March 19, I sat down to write my weekly blog post. I didn’t get very far. Instead of writing the piece, I ended up having a panic attack that lasted for well over an hour. Despite using all the tools in my panic attack toolkit to make the attack end, nothing helped. In fact, things actually worsened to …
There is a certain irony in starting a blog as a way to express my feelings but also having the blog become so well-known that I start to censor myself (so as to not create undue tensions in other parts of my life). No longer are my thoughts anonymous and, well, that has its ups and downs. As a result, …
Early Access
Are you a member?
Be in the know. Members gain early access to new posts.
Round Up
A curated list of relevant articles & a peek into what Shay's reading
What's Shay Reading?
Members only get a peek into what Shay's reading and wants to share.
Sample Round Up
Happy Friday! It’s a gorgeous day up in my corner of the world and way too beautiful to be writing a blog post today. So I present you with the Friday Round-Up a list of blog posts this week from other bloggers that blew my mind. Perhaps if you need to kill some time or have a quiet moment you can check them out. http://ravingblacklunatic.blogspot.com/ Check out this cat, I have been a fan of his work forever. http://www.whataboutourdaughters.com/ Good stuff here as well http://sweetersalt.com/ A Maine blogger who talks fashion and food…the best of both worlds http://paganchild-starmommy.blogspot.com/2011/03/keeping-focused.html A new blog that offers words of wisdom for all of us. http://mscleaver.com/ Another Mainer who for Lent is giving up pants, she is also a crafty gal If you have any links to good blogs, feel free to leave em. It’s my hope to make the Friday Round Up a regular feature at my new home specifically I would live to shine some light and love on smaller bloggers. It’s hard out here in this blogosphere with so many good blogs to choose from and so little time so let’s help everyone get a slice of the pie. I will be back on Monday, at that time I will unveil some ideas I have around monetizing things but You May Also Like: No related posts.
Member Only Posts
Are you a member?
This content is available to Members Only. If you are already a member, you can upgrade to the next membership level for immediate access to this content.
Sorry, we couldn't find any posts. Please try a different search.
Private Online Community
Are you a member?
This content is available to Members Only.
Calling All White People, Part 62: Tucker and the fighting white men
TODAY’S EPISODE: A Tuck’s take on white male combat So, it seems that a large part of Tucker Carlson being fired from FOX News is around a text message he sent to a producer after witnessing a group of Trump supporters gang up on an “Antifa kid” to beat the crap out of him, describing the assault as “three against …
Read more