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I'm Scared That My Hundreds Of Unanswered Emails, Facebook Messages, And Texts Will Come To Life One Day, Band Together, And Kill Me
The 100,000 word first draft of my book is due in September. (I’m currently a little over 60k.) Writing the book has caused my digital output to decrease quite a bit, but I’m still working; managing VSB, writing and editing pieces for VSB, and writing pieces for GQ, Slate, and The Root. I’m also a husband.…
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Root For LaVar Ball If You Want To, But Just Know You're Rooting For A Piece Of Shit
There’s so much to like about the idea of LaVar Ball that at times it feels like he was created in a Likable Nigga Generator. First, of course, is the fact that he’s the very involved Black dad of three star athletes, which contradicts both a stereotype about Black men and a stereotype about Black athletes.…
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Ok, I'll Admit It: I Kinda Sorta Want A Romper Now
After 18 months of fatherhood, I can pretty much say that it’s been what I expected it to be so far. The Feminist Octobus has been fun, funny, needy, autonomous, precocious, stinky, brilliant, and prone to frequent bouts of baby-ass shit, and the experience of watching her grow has been equal parts thrilling and fulfilling…
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The More Racist I Get, The More White People Love Me, And I Don't Know How I Feel About This!
While The Wife Person and I were sitting on our front stoop yesterday evening, a middle-aged White man on a scooter rode past, noticed me on the steps, stopped in the street, and screamed “Governor! It’s called a governor!” I replied. “Oh, ok. Thanks!” And then he rode away on his scooter. Clearly perplexed by…
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I'm Sorry To Disappoint Everyone, But Donald Trump Ain't Getting Impeached Or Going To Prison
The only redeeming stretch in Batman v Superman — a movie so aggressively shitty that The Wife Person and I watch it each time its on just to find new shit to hate about it — comes directly after the single worst scene in the movie. Batman is about to kill the shit out of…
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Money Isn't Everything … Unless You Don't Have It, And Then Yeah, It's Everything
In February of 2012, a month after I began working for EBONY.com, they asked if I wanted to go to Milwaukee to witness and write on the unveiling of a Black bikers exhibit at the Harley-Davidson museum. Although I had zero interest in motorcycles, I accepted. It was an all expense paid trip to a…
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Welcome To Pittsburgh, Where White People Open "90's Style Hip-Hop Fried Chicken" Spots In The Gentrified Hood
If this weren’t a real thing that was really actually happening, the concept of a 90’s style hip-hop fried chicken restaurant created by White people in the hood would make for a cute and clever Chappelle or Key & Peele skit. The owners would be the type of overzealous 90’s hip-hop fans who still rock…
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On Black Basketball Dads, And Not Knowing How To Feel About LaVar Ball
It took roughly a month at Sterrett Classical Academy for me to be known as the best basketball player there; an admittedly considerable feat for a 10-year-old sixth grader in a school with 14-year-old eighth graders. It was a status due to a combination of the reputation I already earned from playing with the Homewood…
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There’s No Such Thing as ‘Good Police’
In the reality-adjacent, Baltimore-centered ecosystem of The Wire, “good police” stood as the single highest honor a character could receive. It was reserved for those who possessed the inherent qualities making someone a naturally gifted police officer and who also performed those duties with integrity and verve. You had to be born “good police,” but…
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There's No Such Thing As "Good Police"
In the reality-adjacent Baltimore-centered ecosystem of The Wire, “good police” stood as the single highest honor a character could receive. It was reserved for those who possessed the inherent qualities making someone a naturally gifted police officer and also performed those duties with integrity and verve. You had to be born good police, but you also needed…
