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Remember When Ralph Tresvant Went Solo?
It was only a matter of time. After Bobby Brown was kicked out of New Edition in 1985 and then put out his first solo record, the road was set for the other members of the group to venture out with individual projects. Expectations were high after Don’t Be Cruel, Brown’s sophomore album, became a…
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We Have Never Celebrated Christmas, but I’m Starting to Wish We Did
I’ve been having this Christmas fantasy for a few years now. Tonight my husband and I, along with our two daughters, should be putting the finishing touches on our Christmas tree, wrapping last-minute gifts and watching The Grinch Who Stole Christmas in matching brand-new pajamas while sipping hot chocolate. I never had that experience growing…
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Remember When Showing Black Women on the Silver Screen Was Revolutionary?
Like Star Wars, some movie releases are bigger than the actual film. They are touchstones. They are communal experiences. They are I-remember-exactly-where-I-was moments. And the opening night of the film Waiting to Exhale was exactly that. I can vividly remember, 20 years ago this week, rounding up my friends to hit the theater early because…
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My Daughter Talks Back to Me—and I Encourage It
I was raised by two civil rights activists, one of whom was born in the ’30s in the Deep South, the other raised in Newark, N.J. It goes without saying that the very idea of “talking back” was unheard of in my household. We couldn’t even look back, much less talk back. So why does…
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The Time When The Color Purple Became an Iconic Black Film
In the canon of black films, The Color Purple—released Dec. 18, 1985—will always have a space in the top 10. Based on the novel by Alice Walker and directed by Steven Spielberg, the film—lusciously shot and performed with an aching realness by an all-star cast—was heralded immediately as one of the most nuanced portrayals of…
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I Never Tell My Daughter She’s Beautiful, and I Want Others to Stop Saying It, Too
First things first. This column is not about how beautiful my daughter Emmy is. This is not about oh-my-goodness-please-stop-noticing-my-daughter’s-model-like-breathtaking-beauty. Emmy’s cute. Like every other 8-year-old girl in her class—and beyond. My concern is this. Often, when we are out and we see my friends, neighbors or co-workers, and they meet Emmy for the first time,…
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Remember When T-Pain Made Auto-Tune a Thing?
Let’s get the album title out of the way first. T-Pain indeed started out as a rapper. His hip-hop cover of Akon’s hit single “Locked Up” led to a record deal. But T-Pain decided to transition to singing in lieu of rapping, hence the name of the album, which was released a decade ago on…
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My 8-Year-Old’s Tuition Is More Expensive Than a Year at Most Colleges. We Can’t Afford It. But We Still Pay It
I can’t bring myself to watch any show that features Suze Orman, the financial guru. Why? Orman often does a segment where people tell her about something they want to buy, and she asks questions about their finances and decides if they can afford it. So, for example, someone may call in and say they…
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My 8-Year-Old Knows Everything About Sex and Procreation. Is She Too Young for That Information?
Two years ago, when Emmy was 6, she spent the day with her aunt and cousin. When I came to pick her up, she had her nose deep in a book. Emmy has always loved to read, and I can’t count how many times she’s discovered a book at a friend’s house that she then…
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Remembering When ’90s Hip-Hop Beefs Turned Fatal
In 1994, Tupac Shakur was famously shot several times while entering New York City’s Quad Recording Studios. While he would survive that shooting and wouldn’t be killed until two years later, the Quad Studios shooting ratcheted up the so-called East Coast vs. West Coast rap wars of the ’90s. By the time Tupac had recovered,…
