50 Search results for "reflections"

Juneteenth Reflections: Grief Work is Freedom Work
by Julia Mallory “…but in them days they wasn’t no time for mournin.’ ” —Mary Reynolds, Texas Slave Narratives Volume XVI Part III Juneteenth began as a day of celebration commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people in Galveston, Texas on June 19th, 1866. Since then, it has offered Black folks an opportunity to remember […]
Black people still can’t swim: Reflections on the McKinney, TX pool incident 3 summers later
Editor’s Note: A version of this piece was previously published on The Each Other Project I learned to swim well before I was 14 by taking classes at the local YMCA in East Cleveland. If that rec center was the only frame of reference, you’d think swimming was an exclusively Black phenomenon, the pool being […]
Reflections on my thirty-four years as a Black man with mental illness
By Kelvin Easiley, Jr July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. This is the time when a laser focus is trained on the various complexities people of color encounter while facing mental health stigma and a shoddy healthcare system.The same healthcare system many people of color approach with grave skepticism. There are many people […]
More Than a Token: Parting reflections on being Black at the University of Chicago
This article was originally published in the Chicago Maroon. “If I were you, I would just go to whatever state school you’ve already been accepted to. The University of Chicago is really a tough institution, and I’m not quite sure you’d do well there, if we’re being honest.” I felt my heart beating fast, my […]
Reflections on Prince, the Icon, the Artist, the Purple One Forever
On Saturday mornings, I would wake up to the smell of pancakes and the sounds of oldies playing on the radio. Like clockwork the station always played “Kiss” by the time I made it downstairs to the kitchen. There, I watched my mother bust her 80s dance moves before planting a kiss on my cheek. […]
Reflections on Ferguson and Beyond
Let’s call out the names of our fallen brothers and sisters: Michael Brown, John Crawford, Timothy Thomas, Troy Davis, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Johnathan Ferrell, Emmett Till, Oscar Grant, Sean Bell, Renisha McBride, Darius Simmons, Jordan Davis, Kimani Gray, Rekia Boyd, Kendrec McDade, Timothy Russell, Malissa Williams, Everette Howard, Amadou Diallo, Orlando Barlow, Arron Campbell, […]
Reflections from an original Freedom Rider
The following post originally appeared on The Root under the title of “An Original Freedom Rider Reflects on the Struggle.” It tells the story of Hank Thomas, a civil rights activist who shares his experiences with the 1961 Freedom Rides. By: Taryn Finley In 1961, 19-year-old Howard University student Hank Thomas embarked on a journey […]
Reflections on Martin Luther King Jr., and a Message to Black Youth
As we approach the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday this coming Monday, remember that one of the greatest gifts Dr. King gave to the world was hope; the courage to believe that better, brighter days lay ahead for the faithful and committed. Be inspired by his legacy, but don’t be afraid of the power you possess to change our world for the better.
WORLD AIDS DAY: Reflections and Memories
In honor of World AIDS Day 2009, I want to open up a conversation/discussion about sex. Sex makes me nervous! I get nervous both before and after sex. I am nervous because in my head I picture this spinning chart of numbers and statistics that makes me realize that sex is the ultimate Russian roulette. You pull the trigger you get a risk-free nut; you pull […]
Black Culture Is Not a Costume: K-Pop, Cultural Appropriation, and Racial Capitalism
by Charles Tremblay Black culture is everywhere, on runways, in music, even in the way people speak and move online. But the people who create it, especially Black women, are rarely protected when culture is copied, mocked, or commodified. This is especially apparent in K-pop, where Black aesthetics, from language to hairstyles, are often adopted […]
Print Never Left: Black Writers on Archiving and Self-Published Print Media
by Dr. Ravynn K. Stringfield Social media is currently flooded with messages from people encouraging others online to “get into print media” or “go analog,” while simultaneously bemoaning the loss of politically aware print media that centered marginalized voices—RIP Bitch Media—and a dearth of media that represent our experiences. However, for Black artists, writers and […]
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 […]