On Memorial Day, we had four encounters with men. We: three women—my mother, my daughter and I—walking near Washington Circle Park, hungry after checking out of the hotel in Washington, D.C., where I’d booked a one-night stay. They: everywhere. The first man did not ask for money; the sign propped against him on the sidewalk…

When black films come out, Stacia L. Brown explains at The Prospect, the response of black audiences can be categorized in seven ways: “doubt, guilt, self-preservation, annoyance, anger, vulnerability and acceptance.” Brown discusses these reactions in the context of recent releases including 12 Years a Slave, Fruitvale Station, Lee Daniels’ The Butler and Django Unchained.…

Citing the case of autistic 14-year-old Avonte Oquendo of New York City, who disappeared two weeks ago, Stacia L. Brown, writing at Salon, explores how racial bias can hamper investigations of missing minorities. Bias, she says, could also prevent passersby from helping the disabled teen and keep the media from reporting the story. In the…

If you don’t know the answer to that question, Clutch magazine‘s Stacia L. Brown says that her quiz can shed light on your precise degree of black elitism. Bourgie. It’s a word with which the black community is fairly familiar. But depending on your attitude toward it, you may feel a little comfortable owning it…

“Blerds” were all over the news in 2012. Clutch magazine‘s Stacia L. Brown provides a step-by-step guide for how to have a relationship with one. Though the concept of segregating nerddom along racial lines is a bit suspect and certainly has its detractors, the newfound attention black nerds are attracting doesn’t seem to be abating ……

Clutch magazine‘s Stacia L. Brown says that U.S. hurdles champion Dawn Harper can’t compete with her Olympic teammate Lolo Jones when it comes to press, and wonders whether the African-American athlete’s complexion has something to do with the attention discrepancy. Is it possible that, because Harper (or her publicist) hasn’t found a way to market…

In a piece for Clutch magazine, Stacia L. Brown contemplates the ways in which black women can find themselves at a distinct advantage. And yet there are several circumstances that can potentially place us at higher stations in life than those around us. Certainly, some of those circumstances are familial and relational. Wives are often…

Clutch magazine‘s Stacia L. Brown says that the 13-year-old’s shooting death by an elderly neighbor is difficult to understand, but that shouldn’t stop us from talking about this most recent racially charged tragedy. If not enough has been said about slain Milwaukee 13-year-old Darius Simmons, it’s because so few know what to say anymore. Cases…

In a piece for Clutch magazine, Stacia L. Brown says that the story of a mom investigated for “roadschooling” raises serious concerns. “Roadschooling” is the practice of educating by way of extended road trip. The idea is to allow the child to learn about different regions and cultures and practices by seeing them firsthand. In…