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The sea claims them for their hubris, and still we worship them because of their wealth

By Shay | June 24, 2023 | Comments Off on The sea claims them for their hubris, and still we worship them because of their wealth

Unless you were away from social media and television for a while and just got back—or you have a supernatural ability to avoid trending news—you know that the story of the week involved five people lost deep under the ocean surface. Five very rich men who decided to explore the wreckage of the Titanic in a submersible vessel of dubious …

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The whitewashing of Juneteenth…Why?

By Shay | June 11, 2023 | Comments Off on The whitewashing of Juneteenth…Why?

During our summer of racial unrest, back when folks were clearly scared that the angry Black masses were going to burn down the world, President Biden—in what increasingly feels like an attempt to both pander to and appease Black folks—decided to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.  I’m sure this seemed like a great idea at the time. In theory, a …

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Yeah, it’s ok to be white but…and it’s a big BUT

By Shay | June 6, 2023 | 3 Comments

The so-called great racial awakening of 2020 is the gift that keeps on giving—unfortunately, it’s a gift that was questionable at the outset. Now, as the years have rolled on, that gift has alternately been useless or downright harmful for anyone truly concerned with racial justice or in need of such justice. For many white people, the declaration that “Black …

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Is DEI work effective? Is the tide truly turning?

By Shay | May 30, 2023 | 1 Comment

Lately I find myself wondering if much of the anti-racism work of the last several years has done more harm than good. Admittedly, as the executive director of one of the oldest anti-racism organizations in the United States and as a longtime anti-racist writer and speaker, it may seem strange to hear me say that. But I admit that I …

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When the racists rally together: The real grifters

By Shay | May 19, 2023 | Comments Off on When the racists rally together: The real grifters

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 …

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When discomfort is racial…and deadly

By Shay | May 13, 2023 | 1 Comment

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 …

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Calling All White People, Part 62: Tucker and the fighting white men

By Average White Guy | May 7, 2023 | Comments Off on 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 …

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Claiming my own humanity

By Shay | April 30, 2023 | Comments Off on Claiming my own humanity

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 …

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Racism strikes, my blood pressure spikes

By Shay | April 21, 2023 | 1 Comment

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 …

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BGIM Media needs your help: Spring campaign

By Shay | April 15, 2023 | Comments Off on BGIM Media needs your help: Spring campaign

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 …

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The world is on fire: Is it okay to rest?

By Shay | May 10, 2024

Prior to 2020, it never occurred to me—as a near-lifetime career activist—that one could simply be too overwhelmed to stay active in the work. I mean sure, life happens, but we simply must go on. Right? After all, that had been my operating style for decades until 2020.  When my mother died in the spring of …

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The world is on fire: Is it okay to rest?

By Shay | May 10, 2024

Prior to 2020, it never occurred to me—as a near-lifetime career activist—that one could simply be too overwhelmed to stay active in the work. I mean sure, life happens, but we simply must go on. Right? After all, that had been my operating style for decades until 2020.  When my mother died in the spring of …

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Round Up

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

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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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