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  • I Have a Crush on Caftans, Thanks to Designer Junny Hibbert

    I Have a Crush on Caftans, Thanks to Designer Junny Hibbert

    So, I like clothes, right? Like, really like clothes. Like, probably like them too much, but whatever. It’s my vice. I’m into it—along with hair salons (that are on-time), alcohol, eating overly expensive dinners and getting my nails done every two weeks, which I tell myself is about “self-care” and not “self-indulgence.” (But it’s probably…

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  • Director Kenny Leon and Danielle Brooks Bring Blackness to Shakespeare in the Park

    Director Kenny Leon and Danielle Brooks Bring Blackness to Shakespeare in the Park

    As actor Danielle Brooks sings and shines as Beatrice in director Kenny Leon’s production of Much Ado About Nothing, the director can’t help but feel pride in his vision of staging an all-black production in the famed Shakespeare in the Park coming to fruition. Running through this final weekend on June 23 in New York City,…

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  • The Perils of Being ‘Office Oprah’

    Once upon a time in a newsroom as white as the newly fallen snow, I stood out as the only black person there—woman or otherwise. I was it. It was me. Trying to rep for millions of black folks while my newsroom’s black population was less than 1 percent. Back then, I was young. I…

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  • Jennifer Hudson Honors Aretha Franklin's Legacy at Pulitzer Prize Ceremony With 'Amazing Grace'

    Jennifer Hudson Honors Aretha Franklin's Legacy at Pulitzer Prize Ceremony With 'Amazing Grace'

    An icon. A legend. A superstar. Aretha Franklin racked up plenty of honors when she was still with us, throughout her many years in the entertainment industry. Even her homegoing—her funeral—was more a soulful, celebratory concert than a dour ceremony. And in the middle of that homegoing concert was Oscar-Award winning singer Jennifer Hudson. Hudson,…

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  • Being Bipolar Means Always Having to Say, ‘Um…What’s Your Name Again?’

    Charlie Sheen, who at one time was definitely a terrible person who also happens to struggle with mental illness and addiction, once said (and I paraphrase) that most people wouldn’t last very long in his head. While during the very manic time when he said these “tiger blood”-related things, Sheen was, again, a chaotic, awful…

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  • I Won an Award, but Who's the Real MVP?

    Last week, on Monday night, was the 19th annual Women’s eNews 21 Leaders for the 21st Century gala at Club 101 in Manhattan, N.Y. There was some revelry, but there was a lot more talk about how we can advance our cause as women, and ultimately, not just save ourselves, but save the world. As…

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  • Being ‘The Black Snob’ Was a Joke, Until the Day I Actually Became One

    “I don’t know how you ended up so bougie when we came out of the same family,” said my baby sister, one day over the phone. I was taken aback. Me? Bougie? And yet, I was. Painfully so. And had been, at this point, for several years. But I was still offended. At the time…

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  • Ridin' Solo: Cory Booker May Be 'Boo'd Up' But It's Not Too Late to Appeal to Us Single Folk

    Ridin' Solo: Cory Booker May Be 'Boo'd Up' But It's Not Too Late to Appeal to Us Single Folk

    When Cory Booker announced he was running for president, a lot of fodder was made about his status. His marital status. As in, he is single and America hasn’t had a bachelor president since Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th president, who married while in office. Booker, to his credit, has tried to appeal to…

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  • Locking Up Black People Is Big Business

    Last week, I got to participate in American Injustice: A BET Town Hall. It’s a series of live conversations with leaders from Cory Booker to Kamala Harris about how we got into this crisis of mass incarceration. It’ll air this Sunday. If there’s one thing I want people to take away from it, it’s that…

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  • On B. Smith, Husband Dan Gasby and the Backlash Over Moving on When a Spouse Has Alzheimer's

    Dan Gasby—the husband of style and fashion guru, restaurateur, and Alzheimer’s patient B. Smith—recently made a very public announcement: While he remains devoted to his wife, he is also in a deeply committed relationship with another woman, who happens to be white. Gasby’s admission ignited a virulent, often nasty, and I feel unreasoning backlash within…

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