844 Search results for "pain"

I love fashion, but—as a fat woman—it doesn’t always love me back
by Kamilah Bush I love clothes. I love fashion and style. I love all kinds of clothes from the big fashion houses to things I’ve fished out of thrift store bins. I watch the major award shows just for the gowns. My favorite holiday is The First Monday in May, also known as the Met […]
Reminders and affirmations to help you through quarantine
We are in the midst of a global disaster and it’s taking its toll on everyone in a multitude of ways. While it’s true that Black people have weathered the storms of global anti-Blackness, incremental genocide, and continued discrimination, we are not unaffected by the current crisis. It’s true that “back to normal” for us […]
Now is an opportunity for Black folks to reimagine what constitutes loss
by Donnie Moreland My father is a diabetic, with chronic pain and a fragile immune system due to rounds of dialysis, which cause more pain and thus tosses him into the throws of a cycle which is, observably, hell. He is also a business owner, which necessitates an urgency of decision making, that suffers when […]
Comic: Stop mocking accessibility and mobility tools for the disabled and elderly
by JeCorey Holder
I’ll always be the “angry” and “unreasonable” Black student when I call out racism on my campus
by Indigo During my first semester of law school, I struggled with acclamation into legal academia, but being at an institution invested in public interest lawyering, I shrugged it all of. Then, the racial tensions within my first-year cohort at my University exploded after several of my colleagues complaining to Academic Affairs about our only […]
Shedding the need for white validation and embracing the nuances of Black knowledge
by Inigo Laguda Living Black in the internet age comes with “tipping points” – times where we witness unforgettable instances of prejudicial violence or communal disrespect against those who look like us. For some of us, that tipping point was the murder of Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice and/or Korryn Gaines. Some of us won’t have […]
Black non-monogamy is a pre-colonial practice
Valentine’s Day is tomorrow and as usual it’s got me reflecting on how utterly diabolical consumerist culture is, how it influences and perpetuates our constant need to measure who is most worthy of love, affection and gifts. And why we think it is our business to begin with. It also has me deeply bitter about […]
Despite appropriation, vampiric whiteness will never be able to suck the blood out of Black art
I haven’t trusted Billie Eilish since I became aware of her nearly a year ago. The context in which I learned about her was a valid and necessary social media post which lamented how fucked up it is that Eilish has apparently gone out of her way to dress “modestly” so as to not be […]
Steve McQueen’s ‘Western Deep’ is a counter memory for Black miners during South African Apartheid
by Donnie Moreland Steve McQueen’s Western Deep is a horror film. Though McQueen’s 2002 dual video installation (presented with Carib’s Leap) is, in form, video art, I feel it is possible to understand Western Deep as genre cinema. An exploration into the TauTona Mine Shaft No.3 of South Africa—also known as Western Deep—it is a […]
Yup. Non-profit culture and performative activism perpetuate ableism and anti-Blackness
In May, I quit my paid job as a counselor/ organizer in Oakland, CA. I was burned out, depressed, and incredibly frustrated with the conditions that Black folks are exposed to and expected to accept while working within social justice organizations. I had health insurance, but my co-pay was $60 and it didn’t cover mental […]
Reflecting on Patrick Chamoiseau’s ‘Slave Old Man’ and physical memories of the enslaved
by Donnie Moreland This essay contains spoilers for Patrick Chamoiseau’s 1997 novel, Slave Old Man The final words of Patrick Chamoiseau’s Slave Old Man read, “Brother, I shouldn’t have, but I touched those bones.” Those bones being, “The clavicles. Some vertebrae. A few formless bits. Porous things. And a broken tibia…” Those bones, as are […]
We need to respond to PTSD with community care
by Jamila Mitchell This article discusses suicide, r/pe, and other topics that may be triggering for some readers. For some reason, I found myself in pain on the floor of my bathroom with a closed door, empty pill bottles, and spilt bleach. Frantically, I reached out to people through my phone and Facebook contacts. All […]