8823 Search results for "1 in 5"

I like Mad Men. It’s a good show, well-written and -acted. All of that. I’m not turning myself into a Mad Men avatar like other fans, but I get the allure. (Besides, there’s no maid’s uniform.) The world of Mad Men is sleek, shiny, colorful; it totally messes up my “the only colors available in […]

  Lately I’ve been completely repulsed by the state of hip-hop. When hip hop was first recognized as a mainstream genre, rappers served as journalists by writing and broadcasting candid exposés on their plights and struggles.  Even the profanity-laden rap group, NWA, expressed the anger that young black men from the inner city had with […]

I know you’re damn near hyperventilating waiting for Tuesday blogging goodness from the kid.  But check it out: a dissertation cannot write itself, even if you keep telling it that you’re busy describing what’s going on in your life in 140 characters or fewer.  And since I’m totally not trying to have my dissertation chair […]

Born of Jamaican roots on August 17, 1887, Marcus Garvey is the grandfather of pan-Africanist cultural movements throughout the diaspora. His Universal Negro Improvement Association went onto inspire generations of movements, scholars and black people across the world. Today, I encourage all of you to take a moment out to remember this powerful ancestor, and […]

On March 3rd, 2009, Aniysah was taken from her mother’s arms by New York’s Family Court System and placed in the care of Aniysah’s father who has a history of domestic violence offenses. Furthermore, there were no records verifying that she would be taken to a safe living environment or that she was enrolled in […]

  In High School I went to a church that rallied students to stand in front of abortion clinics with red tape covering their mouth and black marker written on the tape displaying one simple word. “Life.” I never personally went on these escapades, but there was already a contradiction building between my personal life […]

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca_vv6urOCY Just last week, I stumbled upon a movie trailer on YouTube that really caught my attention.  The independent film, Precious, tells the story of Claireece “Precious” Jones, a Harlem-bred, morbidly obese, pregnant, HIV-positive, illiterate, junior high school student who struggles with low self-esteem.  If that isn’t already an earful, Precious’ story is further complicated […]

      As a 19year old Black male, my life prospects don’t look to bright- statistically speaking. My life span is 7.1 years shorter than any other cohort-group and I’m 5 times more likely to die of HIV/AIDS. That’s just health related. When it comes to education there is a 40% chance that I will [...]

R.I.P. John Hughes It’s been a tough summer for 80s babies. Though Purple Rain–and my sister–turned 25, those of us who remember taper-legged jeans and neon colors the first time around have had a rough summer vacation with the death of Michael Jackson and now John Hughes. Frankly, the shit is freaking me out. I’m […]

A couple of months ago a good friend of mine asked me to accompany her to America’s Next Top Model auditions here in chicago….

This week, I am going to feature a blog I wrote for Document the Silence which is a website I co-founded dedicated to ending violence against women of color. Right now, we are in the midst of mounting a national online media campaign to document how domestic violence and the family court system work in […]

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0KHbK81QxI I am looking forward to the theatre release of this comic documentary Good Hair about black folks’ obsession with ‘good’ hair. Chris Rock’s drive to start this project came when his daughter asked him why she didn’t have good hair. My best friend feels that “most people don’t think about [hair] in terms [of self-hate] as […]