I cried when I heard the verdict. The tears were a long time coming. And they were complicated. They began out of relief because I honestly didn’t think he would be found guilty of all three charges. I thought maybe one or two, tops. Then my tears continued at the realization of exactly how justifiably low my expectations are of …
Despite still being trapped in a pandemic, the world is clearly coming back to life, because we have decided that after 13 months, we are done with COVID. Never mind that COVID hasn’t quite signaled that it’s ready to exit. Or that it’s done with us. And, in America, a return to normal means two things, Black and brown people …
I despise cynicism. It’s lazy, it’s destructive in its inaction, and it’s flatly wrong. All around us—every single day—one can plainly see people go out of their way to help one another. We push cars out of the snow, give money, and run into burning buildings all for the sake of strangers. But there are patterns—systemic patterns. If you see …
If you are in the business of comedy and making people laugh, the laziest route to fast laughs is to laugh at Black people with no regard to our trauma and history. Which is what NBC’s Saturday Night Live did on April 3, 2021, with their “Vaccine Game Show” sketch featuring esteemed actor Daniel Kaluuya. The premise of the “show” …
It’s been a couple of months since I made the decision to run for a seat on my city’s Charter Commission, and I have to say that for all the talk in recent years of asking women to run for office—and specifically Black women and other women of color—there is so much that isn’t spoken about. And, frankly, it’s disconcerting. …
Several weeks ago, an institution here in Maine reached out to me about a potential collaboration. The organization was looking to do an event, and asked if I would create a talk about Black folks in Maine. Honestly, it sounded like a great project, and most certainly up my alley given what I do. Then I continued to read the …
Calling All White People, Part 51 TODAY’S EPISODE: This is exactly who we are I’m sure you’re all familiar with the whole entire concept of “rock bottom” and “acceptance” and all that when it comes to addictions or problematic personality traits. You know what I mean: A person who is alcoholic or has serious anger management issues, for example, …
One of the most interesting contradictions of the past year—at least for me—has been that despite losing my father and living through the pandemic, much of my time at home has felt like a kind of reprieve. A reprieve, at least, from the daily aggressions (micro and macro) that come with the terrain when you are Black in America. To …
Last week a local sports announcer in Oklahoma accidentally broadcast himself calling a team of high school girls the n-word. He blamed his actions on his diabetes. On Wednesday, the Wisconsin State Assembly decided against recognizing Black History Month, instead opting to honor Rush Limbaugh. Late Tuesday evening a 21-year-old white man killed eight people in the Atlanta area. Six …
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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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Tired Black women: How will you love and care for us?
When I started this space back in 2008, it wasn’t my intent to have it grow into a resource of learning for the public; it was actually just my reflections and musings on living in Maine as a Black woman and raising kids here, during a time when blogging was all the rage. But sometimes, despite our intentions, we end …
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