403 Search results for "last words"

I wasn’t prepared for the responses to my most recent essay on living intentionally as a childfree Black woman and taking ownership of my womb. I never presumed I was alone in my sentiments on this subject, of course, but I also didn’t expect my words to resonate so deeply with so many people. Writing […]

by Maximillian Matthews After arriving on the campus of Elon University in the fall of 2005, I instantly sought out the Black community in an effort to not feel isolated and misunderstood. I knew I would need Black folks in order to thrive at predominantly white institution. My need for kinship led me to Alpha […]

by Roni Dean-Burren It’s the most wonderful time of the year! It’s back to school season and I’m ecstatic. My friends and family are posting photos of their kids in their full backpacks with new shoes and grinning faces as they head back to 187 days of learning bliss. In the midst of all this […]

by Tiffany Hobbs  I hope Jesus doesn’t look like the white man on the wall. That flowy-locked iteration of the Messiah they wanted Black people to believe in would find his alabaster skin colored with surprise as Ms. Aretha Franklin entered the gates and demanded payment—her heavenly reward—upfront. Her blessings must be plentiful, as she […]

by Briana Lawrence Self reflection is… weird. You’re sitting there, drinking a cup of coffee out of your favorite mug (mine being a Tetris themed mug with the words “EPIC FAIL” plastered on them since the pieces aren’t put together properly — it’s me in a nutshell). You’re sitting there, minding your own beeswax when, […]

Minding the Gap, a documentary by Bing Liu, follows what happens to Liu and his two friends Zack and Keire as they grow up in the rust belt town of Rockford, Illinois. The film traces the violence, poverty and trauma that affected their formative years and continues to affect them as they enter adulthood. The […]

When Beyoncé’s Lemonade dropped in 2016, I became the target of ire from many of her fans. The album, its imagery, and subject matter did not move me in the way that it moved most of them, and my apathy towards it and critiques of the artist have always been easily dismissed as hateration. But […]

I hated summer reading lists growing up — hate is a strong word, but it’s honest.

By Kejhonti Neloms I can never forget the time when your car broke down in the parking lot of those shitty Flaget Apartments across the street from the old folks’ home. It was the West End. It was summer. It was 8AM. I think it was Sprint that fired you. Maybe it was Nextel. I […]

By JaLoni Amor Owens In the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), which was released in May of 2013, there was a significant change in the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These changes specifically impacted recognition of race-based trauma in racial and ethnic minorities. Prior to the publication […]

I don’t have any children of my own, so take everything I say here with a grain of salt. You can use whatever can be distilled from my tears, if you have to. They don’t have any other use, I am told. I don’t have any children of my own, but I have been a […]

Ethiopia and Eritrea have declared peace after nearly 20 years of “no war, no peace” between the two countries, according to reports from the BBC. Previously, a peace treaty which was supposed to end hostilities between the nations after border conflicts from 1998-2000 was never actually implemented. As a result, the two countries have been […]