-
To the ‘Unapologetically Black’ Beth Pearson of This Is Us, With Love
Editor’s note: Season 1 spoilers throughout! This Is Us has wrecked me. I hopped aboard the hype train later than most, but when I did … I bought a season (or series?) pass immediately. There’s an uncanny moment in life when you’re introduced to something that you never knew you needed until you experience it.…
-
Dayveon: A Visceral Peek Into the Lives of Black Boys in Rural America
Editor’s note: Disclaimer: Some spoilers. As the phrase “representation matters” seeps through our veins, there is a slight odor of hungry desperation in the air that stems from lack. Because we have become accustomed to not seeing ourselves on-screen, we stretch ourselves reaching for the scraps that befall us. As soon as I saw the…
-
7 Black Shows to Watch This Fall TV Season
The fall season is near, and I have to be honest: I don’t care about trees changing colors (I live in Los Angeles, where it’s green … everywhere), and pumpkin spice makes me as excited as a vegan lion. But what I am enthusiastic about is what autumn entertainment will bring. Whether it’s the return…
-
This Man Cooking On A File Cabinet Grill Is The Blackest Thing I've Ever Seen This Week
I love us. “Us” being Black folks. And there is no greater time than today to flaunt and celebrate it. We are swimming in the ocean of the Black TV Renaissance resurgence, we’re the driving force of social media, our music (as always) is the soundtrack to everyone’s lives, and well… the Carter twins are…
-
That Time I Decided To Move To Los Angeles To Chase My Dreams
It was December 2014. A highly emotional and stressful year was met with a last punch to my gut when a significant friendship ended. I felt worthless, burdensome, insufficient, and abandoned. And, frankly, I was tired. I was tired of crying every day and every night, sneaking away to bathrooms to delete my cache of…
-
I Came, I Saw, I Conquered Caribana
***Disclaimer: The official name for Caribana is The Scotiabank Toronto Caribbean Carnival. Scotiabank doesn’t even have the rights to the name, “Caribana,” but it’s one of those things that just stick. Kind of like how no one in Chicago calls The Willis Tower by its current name, we still say Sears Tower. So… yo mama…
-
Cheekie Does SXSW: Part 1
South By Southwest has always been on my bucket list. And since you’re never too young to start checking things off of the bucket list — and since I’m a filmmaker myself and shit — I decided to go this year. One of my friends suggested that I write about my experience and Damon one-upped…
-
On #BlackBrunch And Bottomless White Tears
Earlier this week, NYC protesters supporting the #BlackLivesMatter movement decided to take it up a notch and encroach upon “White spaces” in order to express their outrage over police brutality against Black folks. I thought it was a splendid idea. More often than not, creating awareness about an issue to facilitate change means making folks…
-
My Name Is Tonja. And I Think About Committing Suicide
“Ain’t too much sadder than…” I was a Robin Williams stan growing up. And, yes, most of that had to do with his voice work as “Genie” in Aladdin. But, when I saw that, I had to see it all. Mrs. Doubtfire. Hook. Good Will Hunting. Ferngully. Jumanji. The Birdcage. Even a little ‘Mork & Mindy.’ He was…
