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On Being a New Parent When News Like Tamir Rice Hits
Invariably, among the countless words and rants and tweets and think pieces and blogs and status messages and emails and texts generated whenever another news story breaks about a police-involved killing of a young black person, are the words from parents. Mothers and fathers of black babies, of black boys and girls, of black teenagers…
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Tamir Rice Was 12 Years Old
I was in the lobby of the Ace — a boutique hotel that opened its doors this month in East Liberty (the Pittsburgh neighborhood I grew up in) — meeting with activist and educator Liana Maneese. We were meeting to discuss her new project — Adopting Identity, which is described on its website as “a movement that…
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10 Stale, Tired and Tasteless Jokes About Kwanzaa so You Don’t Have to Create Your Own
It’s Dec. 23, which means we’re smack dab in the middle of the time of year when families across the country come together to celebrate Christmas. Or Hanukkah. Or Festivus. Or they have no religious affiliations but are grateful for the extra days off and the post-Christmas Nordstrom sales. It’s also the time of…
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Why Steve Harvey Crowning the Wrong Miss Universe Is the Best Thing to Happen to Miss Universe
So let’s get a couple things out of the way first: 1. Steve Harvey has too many jobs. Steve Harvey is the host of The Steve Harvey Morning Show. And Family Feud. And Steve Harvey the talk show. That’s three full-time jobs. Plus dozens of panels, talks and seminars. And, I’m assuming, a couple hundred…
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10 Things I’ve Learned After Being a Dad for 2 Weeks
1. Infants are what would happen to an adult if you made it super tiny and then gave it a liter of Jack Daniels. The tiny part I knew already, but the drunken part is something I’ve discovered in the last couple of weeks. Because you treat infants the same way you’d treat a friend…
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John Boyega's Response To White Tears Is The Blackest Thing I've Ever Heard This Week
Earlier this week, while discussing Star Wars: The Force Awakens with my dad, I halfheartedly mentioned that I never was a huge fan of the Star Wars series. I didn’t dislike them or anything. But I just never went gaga over them either. He paused, took off his glasses, and gave me a look that could…
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Someone Needs To Put The GOP Presidential Nominees In A Van. And Push That Van Off A Bridge
While I was in Target a couple weeks ago, getting Diaper Genie bags and seeing if the latest issue of EBONY Magazine was there yet, The Wife Person texted me, asking me to pick up some bananas. I usually don’t buy produce at Target; preferring to buy my fruits and meats and veggies at Giant Eagle…
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How 2015 Was Drenched in White Tears
Abigail Fisher is the average-est white woman in the history of average white women. Her averageness is so average, it’s aggressive. Enthusiastic. Transformative. It boldly goes where no average has gone before. She’s unambiguously average. Obnoxiously average. Disruptively average. If she were a character in Star Wars, her name would be Darth Average. She’s to “average…
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Six Reasons Why Serena's Sportsperson Of The Year Honor Is The Blackest Thing That Ever Happened This Week
1. Because Serena’s cover effectively turned Sports Illustrated into a late-90s King Magazine. My goodness. 2. Fortunately for men currently in relationships with women, Serena Williams also happens to be one of the few women it’s acceptable to, well, openly “appreciate.” (Basically, if you get caught liking an Instagram “model’s” picture, you might catch a sideeye. You…
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How Being Petty Won 2015
On July 21 at 11:46 p.m., Meek Mill, upset that Drake didn’t help him promote his recent album, took to Twitter to announce to his millions of followers that Drake doesn’t write his own rhymes. Then, 11 minutes later, he tweeted that he wouldn’t have even allowed Drake to be on his album if he…
