Of all the stereotypes and tropes that abound about Black women, the one that is the hardest to shake and causes the most harm is the “angry Black woman” trope. It seeks to frame us as mean, aggressive, and ill-tempered; it is used most to silence and separate us from healthy emotions. To be a Black woman in the United …
A few days ago, I sat in disgust reading how Texas Rep. Nicole Collier was being held in the Texas legislative chamber because she refused to sign a permission slip agreeing to surveillance and a police escort to ensure that she would return to chambers. I found myself wondering, “Where are all the prominent anti-racism authors and voices that took …
A few days ago, I was scrolling on Facebook and came across a horrific and racist caricature of a wonderful public servant, Deqa Dhalac. The caricature was being circulated by Maine gubernatorial candidate Bobby Charles, who decided to dig up an old video of now-state Rep. Dhalac when she became the first Somali-American mayor in the United States after being …
I have been spending the past few days somewhat unplugged and with my son and his family, who are visiting from Tennessee. Normally, when I plan to take downtime away from Black Girl in Maine work, I like to let folks know—not because I am filled with an inflated sense of self-importance but because the reality of self-funded media is …
“Running round in circles, lost my focus, lost sight of my goals, I do this for the love of music, not for the glitter and gold.” – India Arie When I started writing professionally in 2003, I started writing for myself. To be a writer is to have something to say. Full stop. If it resonated with others, that was …
Growing up in the 1970s and ‘80s as a Black girl, life wasn’t easy, as my parents intentionally chose to live in a way that meant financial scarcity. Aside from the brief years my father spent in law enforcement, that scarcity was a constant backdrop of our lives. Over the years, as an adult, I have come to realize that …
As a writer, I deeply feel the idea that while words can evolve in their definitions, that they have meaning, and that such meaning should not be changed or corrupted consciously for no good reason. Remigration is one of those words. On the basic face of it, re-migration (and I use the hyphen to differentiate from what “remigration” has become) …
During a recent House Energy and Commerce Health subcommittee meeting, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his latest plan as part of Making America Healthy Again. And that is that in four years, he would like to see all Americans sporting a wearable. For those not in the know, a wearable is a device that …
I grew up in a Black America where our history didn’t get the full coverage and respect that it was due. It was a time when too many white folks at best strived to be color blind and reduce racial differences to the cringe-inducing melting pot concept. In the 70s through the very early 90s when I became an adult, …
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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.
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From “Support Black women” to crickets
For the better part of a decade, it was common to see hashtags and think-pieces admonishing people to support Black women and to trust Black women, but in the last few years, as the post George Floyd fatigue started to settle in, we started seeing less and less of that. Until, that is, the months leading up to the 2024 …
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