21 Search results for "self reliance"

America makes it hard for people of color to have role models. Our leaders not only face systematic murder, but surrender their legacy to our various oppressors. Speaking of my experience, I never learned about Fidel Castro or the Black Panthers in school. When they were briefly mentioned it was their particular stance on violence […]

Recently I had a series of discussions with people on Twitter and in real life about Marcus Garvey’s status as a Black leader. I was surprised to find that not everyone respected him or his ideas as much me. Why was I surprised? No idea. His ideas have long been misunderstood as simple back-to-Africa rhetoric […]

I come from folks who organized rent parties and bail funds, who put money away for rainy days or times when mamas needed to escape dysfunctional and abusive households. I come from folks who believe in direct giving and show it. Folks who give hugs and offer handshakes in order to exchange money discreetly. Folks who […]

Content Warning: Descriptions of medical violence against folks who are intersex and/or have been diagnosed with PCOS by Gillian Giles When I was 12, the anticipation and excitement of preparing to experience my first period was all consuming. Cultural messaging taught me that the event would be a gender defining moment. I hoped starting my […]

by Donnie Moreland  Literarily, the words Black and erotic are dissonent. A by product of what would become synonymous with talk about sex, in the public domain, for Black folk—sin, depravity, immorality, etc. Though canonically scattered, some Black folk do dabble in erotic fiction. A previous romantic partner of mine introduced me to Zane—the most […]

According to the Institue for Self-Reliance, a community located on the north side of Tulsa, Oklahoma is looking to push dollar stores (Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar) out of their community. At present, the stores have over 50 locations in North Tulsa alone, and while this predominantly Black portion of Tulsa goes on […]

Anyone who holds conversations via GIF, meme and/or emoji likely understands that evolving communication technologies and media platforms breed evolving requests for user inclusion. While many users celebrated the digital visuals of darker-skinned people and families with same-sex parents, people who live with disabilities have not yet seen their experiences readily reflected through emojis.

The office of Black Youth Project 100 is a few blocks from President Barack Obama’s private residence in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood. The organization’s national director, Charlene Carruthers, like Obama in his younger activist days, is a Chicago community organizer. The similarities may stop there. Indeed, Carruthers has been loudly calling for the resignation of […]

  The following piece is from Truth Out. It was written by Kay Whitlock. By: Kay Whitlock Smoke and Mirrors is a new series that dives into the details of “bipartisan prison reform” to reveal the right-wing, neoliberal carceral sleight of hand that’s really at work. It asks hard questions about the content and consequences of […]

G Unit has gotten back together with a new EP entitled The Beauty of Independence. With the album title in mind, it immediately harkened me back to a brief clip from former Roc-A-Fella records CEO Dame Dash discussing the “independent spirit.” The implications of what Dame discusses could change the Black and Latino community as […]

    By Lamont Lilly Once home to some of the most violent racists in the U.S., Jackson, Mississippi is now a key training ground for self-determination and organized “people power” throughout the U.S. South. From May 2 through May 4, 2014 activists, organizers and fellow revolutionaries from all over the world gathered at the […]

This story originally appeared in the New York Times. By: Andrea Elliot She wakes to the sound of breathing. The smaller children lie tangled beside her, their chests rising and falling under winter coats and wool blankets. A few feet away, their mother and father sleep near the mop bucket they use as a toilet. […]