-
The 10 Best ‘Brown Liquor’ Songs of All Time
I didn’t learn how to drink alcohol until I was 33. That is not to say that I did not partake of an adult beverage before then, but I was well into the third decade of my life before I learned to appreciate the nuanced flavor of different wines and spirits. I then began to…
-
10 Things to Help Black Students Prepare for Life at a PWI
I regret not attending an HBCU. If I could do things over, I would have accepted those offers from either Howard or Hampton University and had a college experience devoid of the constant assaults on my humanity by way of microagressions and covert racism. Attending a PWI (predominantly white institution), I was ever aware of…
-
Cersei Lannister Would Be an AKA: And the Other Black Greek Organizations These Game of Thrones Characters Would Pledge
In undergrad, there was a frat brother who would watch fictional movies and randomly announce which characters he thought would have tried to join black Greek organizations. Prince Akeem from Coming to America? He would have tried to be an Alpha. Jody from Baby Boy? He was Omega material. Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense?…
-
#NeverForget: 100 Years Ago, East St. Louis Was on Fire
On July 1, 1917, a car full of white men drove into East St. Louis, Ill., and opened fire, shooting into homes while black men, women and children slept in their beds. Troubled by this assault on their humanity, black citizens took up arms just in case these “joy riders” returned. Not long after, white,…
-
Bill Cosby Wants to Hold Town Halls on Sexual Assault and the Law. Bruh.
It appears as if Bill Cosby has lost his damn mind. You know the story. He was accused of sexually assaulting over 50 women; the stories of the women are all strikingly similar to such a degree that it leaves little room for doubt; and there was a mistrial declared because a jury was unable…
-
The Jheri Curl Turns 40: A Look at the Most Iconic, Insulted and Revered Hair Craze Ever
The last time I saw someone wear a Jheri curl with a straight face was in the summer of 2015. In June of that year, retired NBA point guard Baron Davis appeared on ESPN’s First Take sporting a high-and-tight take on the activator swirl. His was in the big-Luther tradition of being “not quite right”;…
-
I Never Cried Until My Son Was Born (Because Patriarchy), But Now I Cry At Every Damn Thing
Before my son was born, I did not cry much. For instance, I was able to successfully navigate the untimely demise of both Rickey and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas without so much as shedding a tear. This was partly because I was raised by single mother, so my uncles, afraid I might turn…
-
I’ve Seen Betty Shelby, the Killer Cop Who Was Found Not Guilty of Killing an Unarmed Black Man
I live in Oklahoma. I teach at a university less than an hour from Tulsa. Much of the trial happened during my finals week, so I made the trip to Tulsa so I could see Betty Shelby in person. I was able to get into the courthouse because I work in ministry in Oklahoma City,…
-
The Christian Way To Respond To The Murder Of Terence Crutcher Isn't Forgiveness. It's Fury.
Back in September, Terence Crutcher, an unarmed black man, was walking to his car with his hands up when he was shot by Tulsa police officer Betty Shelby. This incident was captured on video by both a police dash cam and an aerial video from a police helicopter wherein Shelby’s husband, a fellow officer who…
-
Whiteness Matters More Than Jesus To White Evangelicals
Two weeks into Donald Trump’s presidency, I had to turn off the news alerts on my phone. Each time I received a news alert, I would get anxious because I did not know what the hell 45 was going to do next. He had already tried to ban folks from coming into the country, and…
