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Hate on steroids and a moment of love for Deqa: Maine happenings

By Shay | August 7, 2025 | Comments Off on Hate on steroids and a moment of love for Deqa: Maine happenings

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 …

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From “Support Black women” to crickets

By Shay | August 7, 2025 | Comments Off on 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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The importance of rest and knowing your “why”

By Shay | July 27, 2025 | Comments Off on The importance of rest and knowing your “why”

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 …

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Don’t lose sight of Black elders in the search for the new-new

By Shay | July 21, 2025 | Comments Off on Don’t lose sight of Black elders in the search for the new-new

“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 …

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We aren’t helpless; buck up!

By Shay | July 14, 2025 | Comments Off on We aren’t helpless; buck up!

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 …

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MAGA’s leaders make it clear they want to make America white again

By Shay | July 9, 2025 | Comments Off on MAGA’s leaders make it clear they want to make America white again

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) …

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Get off my lawn (or, Not all innovation is good for the collective)

By Shay | June 26, 2025 | Comments Off on Get off my lawn (or, Not all innovation is good for the collective)

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 …

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Blackness isn’t a commodity; don’t let it get hijacked…oh yeah, it’s Juneteenth

By Shay | June 18, 2025 | 1 Comment

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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The gentrification of equity in media and content

By Shay | June 16, 2025 | 1 Comment

My writing for the last several months has focused more on political and current events, but today I need to take a detour back to my lane of anti-racism work, because there is something that has been gnawing at me that I finally can put into words. Over the last year, the world has been spiraling out of control. We …

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Umm, please don’t sit…and other thoughts on activism

By Shay | June 13, 2025 | Comments Off on Umm, please don’t sit…and other thoughts on activism

Earlier this week, I found myself in a conversation with my ex-husband and, as longtime readers know, we have an amicable relationship. He’s still my emergency contact and over the years he has played a pivotal role in helping me develop Black Girl in Maine. We were discussing the constitutional crisis and the overall political climate when he told me …

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Critique and activism: People getting prickly about No Kings

By Shay | March 27, 2026

As the United States prepares for another No Kings Rally on March 28, emotions online are running high as seasoned organizers—many of them Black and Brown folks—express hesitation that another national rally will do much to move the needle on our current conditions in the United States. In turn, many white-bodied people are feeling prickly …

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Critique and activism: People getting prickly about No Kings

By Shay | March 27, 2026

As the United States prepares for another No Kings Rally on March 28, emotions online are running high as seasoned organizers—many of them Black and Brown folks—express hesitation that another national rally will do much to move the needle on our current conditions in the United States. In turn, many white-bodied people are feeling prickly …

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Round Up

A curated list of relevant articles & a peek into what Shay's reading

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Members only get a peek into what Shay's reading and wants to share.

Sample Round Up

By Shay | May 29, 2022

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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