2284 Search results for "2014"

How theology based on a “one true god” cuts Black people off from necessary indigenous practices
By DJ Ferguson My mother, no stranger to emotional blackmail, had no hesitation in using it on behalf of her god in an attempt to reconvert me. “Don’t you think God (Yahweh) ever mourns?” she asked, hoping to get me to feel sorry for the possessive West Asian shepherd god whom I no longer worship. […]
COMIC: Avoiding Accountability with culturally insensitive propaganda 101
COMIC: Avoiding Accountability with culturally insensitive propaganda 101 by JeCorey Holder Children gather ’round and listen to a tale. This curvey ol’ swamp witch, ageless as the sea and just as capricious, is about to take you all the way back to the distant days of the mid-2000’s. The Hallowed Towers of Tumblr were at […]
African Traditional Religions prepared me to grieve my mother
I’ve learned it’s best not to try to control how the memories of my mother show up, or what emotions they are wearing when they enter. This one is dressed in a rare crossbreed of inconsolable laughter and a stabbing sob, and it’s seeping out of my iphone from wherever the speaker is located on […]
6 Mental Health Awareness podcasts and shows for Black women
by Ajeé Buggam If 2020 didn’t teach us anything, it taught us the importance of our mental health and how fragile it truly is if we don’t tend to it. Oftentimes in Black homes, checking in regarding each other’s mental health is not a common conversation we inquire about. The unfortunate truth is Black people […]
Between Black artists and Black love
By Donnie Moreland It must’ve been 2015 when I first viewed Debbie Tucker Green’s Second Coming (2014). It’s a film which asks the question, what if the nativity story took place between two working class Black folks already raising a little boy in South London. It’s a mesmerizing dreamscape of rage and longing, orbited by […]
Choosing Play is Black radical parenting
by Hess Love “Colonialism, capitalism, the myth of white supremacy and all interwoven systems of oppression, have never allowed for the divine unique spark of children to truly flourish – and they were never designed to. Singing this spark back to us is the quest that many of us spend our adult lives journeying upon. […]
Black folks die from broken hearts all the time
*This piece is published in partnership with Breakthrough as part of By & For: Black Youth, a written series documenting the issues affecting Black girls and gender non-conforming youth.* This essay mentions death, suicide and state violence. “Memory is a tough place. You were there. If this is not the truth, it is also not a lie.” […]
Increases in police funding will not make Black people safe, it is time city leaders listened
by Philip V. McHarris Communities directly impacted by violence are starting to advocate for the diversion of funds from policing towards more community based solutions to violence and harm. Unfortunately, city leaders are not listening. Early in December, residents and community organizers attended the Minneapolis City budget hearing. They argued against allocating funds for […]
How one online community has channeled their misogynoir into the “Save Yourself Black Men” movement
by Aaron Fountain This essay contains quotes with extremely hateful rhetoric against Black women Wearing a helmet that covers his face and talking over a compilation of photographs of Black men with mostly white women, Youtuber MadBusDriverX frequently tell his listeners “save yourself Black men.” Save themselves from what, one might ask. The answer is […]
Protecting Black children should never mean re-injuring them, owning them, or denying their sexual autonomy
by Donnie Moreland This essay contains discussions of domestic violence and sexual assault Ruminations of my daughter’s hypothetical death play on repeat, ever since her birth. I’ve accepted them as inescapable conditions of parenthood—Black parenthood especially. I also believe the story of Julia Martin’s death in 2016 partially informs my anxieties in raising a daughter. […]
Why bisexual people don’t owe anyone disclosure of their sexuality
By J.R. Yussuf Today marks the 31st anniversary of National Coming Out Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness of civil rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. A main goal of this celebration is to help create an environment where living openly and honestly is possible. But while coming out can be incredibly validating, a […]
Tips, resources, and affirmations for Black students in higher education
by Jamara Wakefield Let’s keep it real, there are few radical resources available for Black students when experiencing oppression on campus. It manifests in a variety of forms: from explicit aggression to microaggressions to institutional policies to interactions that feel “off” but aren’t easily quantifiable, in part because the campus environment justifies these actions. The […]