91 Search results for "empowerment"

By Monika Estrella Negra The majority of the Black punks I have talked to were drawn to (or got lost in) the Punk scene in order to escape the rigidity and heteronormative idealism of traditional Black political organizing. This is not to infer that all Black punks identify with far leftist views, nor does it […]

There aren’t enough accessible therapists to go around. I met this reality after an Ifa divination that I got while I was in Cuba, and my dreams for an entire year afterward, told me that I needed to focus on my mental health. My ancestors were LOUD about the mental work that I needed to […]

by Sarah Thomas  As conversations about sex, sexuality, and relationships become more and more mainstream, Black folks need to be visible as both audience and educators. When we are navigating questions about who is worthy of our love and who the people are exploring the finer points of relationships and their lives publically, it can […]

by Marq M.  In July 2012, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration approved Truvada as Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). Simultaneously, there’s been increasing awareness around additional benefits of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) as a method of preventing HIV transmission, as well as reinfection from other strains. That understanding caught on to an extent that, in […]

by Maximillian Matthews “It was a nightmare, worse than pictures of a war torn or burned out riot area.” – Barbara Perry, a Durham, NC resident reflecting on returning to her neighborhood Horrified and traumatized, Black residents of Durham, NC surveyed the remains of their neighborhoods and businesses following the urban renewal of the late […]

Editor’s Note: This month at BYP, we will be exploring Black Liberation & Organizing, and we are interested in publishing works that address these topics. How do we hold politicians accountable to Black communities? Is that even possible? What should be our role in the electoral politics? What does abolition look like in practice? What […]

by Taylor Amari Little My Ancestors are my protectors. No, really. Truly ride or die. It is imperative that you know this. As you probably know, sometimes parents ain’t shit. Though this is nothing unusual of cisgender heterosexual men in U.S. society. For me, that was my father who was absent for the majority of […]

By Nefertari Sloan I was fired from my job as senior health & sexuality educator, the only job I’ve ever fallen in love with less than a month ago. I am a damn good sex educator. I am non-binary. I am Black. My identities are relevant in this case especially because I wasn’t terminated for […]

By “DJ Ferguson” If you were to listen to “Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin—really listen to the words and let their meaning sink in—it becomes clear after a few verses that despite its name the song is not about immigration. It’s about colonialism. We come from the land of the ice and snow From the […]

In 2015, Rwandan literary author Dominique Uwase Alonga founded the African publishing house, Imagine We, to cultivate, train and produce African authors and storytelling. They produce Rwandan and African children and young adults’ books.

by Tauri Moton It’s safe to say that a lot of people were excited for Janelle Monáe’s release of the “Pynk” video after the success of “Make Me Feel”, which was a visually pleasant and catchy ode to the fluidity of sexuality. Janelle seems to really be coming into her own and is choosing to […]

Beyoncé and Parkwood Entertainment, her management company, are celebrating Women’s History Month and World Water Day through partnerships with a humanitarian organization and luxury brand to provide clean, safe water to people in the East African nation of Burundi. As Essence reported in an exclusive interview with Ivy McGregor, Parkwood’s director of philanthropy and corporate relations, […]