24 Search results for "white normativity"

“Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within…” — James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time Black love is important. Some call it revolutionary. There are an abundance of art projects and essays which make that argument and explain why Black love matters—be it because marriage […]

by Maximillian Matthews I wonder when my late father first observed the singularity of my gender performance. Perhaps he saw it when he took me to my first concert during Janet Jackson’s 1993 Janet tour, and noticed how I knew every word she sang on the stage. He may have seen it when he observed […]

In a world that often expects and perpetuates whiteness and hetero-normativity, Black and Brown people in LGBTQ communities have a unique need for safe spaces. Given this need, an organization called Families of Chicago (FOC) will host a holiday celebration for queer and trans people of color—especially young Black people—on Sunday, December 10, 2017 in […]

by Idiley In 1985, a conservative group called Accuracy in Academia (AIA) was established with the intent of protecting “academic freedom.” Their mission was to get schools to return to “the quest for truth,” which manifests as an active push against what they claim to be a “liberal bias” in academia. Since AIA’s inception, these points […]

By George Johnson This June marked the 17th celebration of “Pride Month,” a designation declared by Bill Clinton to recognize and observe the heritage and culture of LGBTQ people. As LGBTQ rights continue to be attacked politically, growth in pop culture and media is simultaneously surging in areas of journalism, television, Broadway, and the big […]

By Jay Dodd Recently, I was on a panel for local 8th graders about personal identity and how it connects to work around justice / community building. While discussing my story of self-discovery, I realized the students kept squirming every so often. I was intentionally not centering the talk around the “sex” in sexuality, so […]

Dear Nelly, At the urging of others, I am taking a hesitant trip down memory lane. I was a 19 year old junior and president of the feminist group at Spelman College when you decided to hold a bone marrow registration drive on our campus on behalf of your sister, who needed a transplant. Your […]

The Trayvon Martin case has remained in the nation’s conscious. Just about every news source is covering the trial and the nation is still dialoging about what should happen to the man who killed him. With the national attention this case has received, I can’t help but think back to Rekia Boyd and wonder why […]

When it comes to the black community and queerness, the common proverb-the more things change, the more they stay the same- provides much truth. Just yesterday N.B.A. player Jason Collins released his inspiring coming-out story. In this piece, Collins outlined his voyage to self-acceptance, his loving and supportive family and friends and his thoughts on […]

Now that the Super Bowl dust has settled, I am nursing my way out of an omg-no-football-for-seven-months depression with small bits of NBA basketball (Derek Rose has overtaken Chris Paul as my favorite player), until March Madness helps me get through the last leg of my winter hibernation.  Overall, the big game was rather entertaining, […]

So, that we are crystal clear I do not run behind black men. I do not beg them to spend time with me. I am not desperate for their attention, money, or third arm. I am so tired of Nightline, CNN, ABC, and yes the great matriarch himself, Tyler Perry, telling me that I am […]

Like many loyal fans of Keyshia Cole’s show, The Way It Is, I watched the premiere of Frankie and Neffe with bated breath hoping to see black reality drama at its finest. Of course, when people learn of my guilty pleasure many people are downright appalled that I, black feminist girl advocate Fallon, would want […]