This week the Supreme Court ruled the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional. To be clear: Do I think this decision will help black youth directly? No. Am I happy as hell that Ā blatant and intentional bigotry rooted in homophobia, sexism, and religiousĀ radicalism is finally legally recognized asĀ wrong in my country? Hell Yes. This is not […]
According to census data, nearly half of all children in the U.S. under the age of 5 years-old are minorities. Furthermore, whites are a minority among babies, and will be in the minority of children under the age of 18.
Chicago teen and Rockford College student Dionte Maxwell was shot and killed outside of a family birthday party after strangers were asked to leave the premises. Rather than leave peacefully, they shot Dionte in the chest.
It is my earnest hope that our black leaders would pause in their pursuit of personal ambition and legacy to stop and look into the eyes of the child of potential that stands before them. A child that – regardless of circumstance and waywardness – can become an agent of change that can dramatically impact the world in which we live.
Two requests: 1. Forgive me for writing about basketball two weeks in a row, and 2. Allow me to wonder aloud for a bit. Last week, one of the most disappointing articles I read was about theĀ rise and fall of Allen Iverson, the first overall pick of the 1996 NBA draft (to the Philadelphia 76ers) […]
Interviewed by Rashad J. Smith VH-1’s Master of the MixesĀ Ā judges believed that by letting go an irreplaceable component to the show, they are that much closer to choosing theirĀ Master of the Mix. I believe that they have clearly made a mistake! Previously referred to as the “Diddy of DJ’s” … HOLLYWOOD’S CHAMPION OF NEW […]
This past week I was asked by a group of middle school students āwhat do you believe inā? Even though the question was light hearted and blameless, I think as a black male twenty-two year old constantly challenged by the power and privilege dynamics of this society, it is important to rigorously interrogate my own […]
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has announced the appointment of David J. Johns as the executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans.
Often when I tell people I am from Detroit (particularly white people), I am often met with a look of either bewilderment or amazement. This shock is often magnified when I tell people that I attended Detroit Public Schools all my life. I suppose people begin to short circuit when I tell them my birthplace […]
Brother. I wish I had known. When we were little black boys. Putting posters of blue dodge vipers and red Michael Jordan Jerseys on white walls of apartment rooms that we shared throughout our childhood. Back when PokĆ©mon cards were stolen in after school programs. Back when Momās smile was still bright enough to make […]
Below is an original poem I wrote after my childhood friend, Naomi Clyburn, was murdered in my hometown.
Megan Piphus, an upperclassman at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, recently appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. She’s using music, ventriloquism, and puppetry, to inspire youth to dream big and in color!
