parenting
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Join Us #AcrossTheFence: A Day Of Family Healing, In Connection To August Wilson's Fences
Today, the #AcrossTheFence interview series with my dad culminates with two segments — one where I explain how and why I began to think and write about race, and one where my dad shares a story about his Uncle Wilbur, the first Black fireman in New Castle, Pa (and the man my dad is named…
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More #AcrossTheFence (This Time, Damon's Parents Start A Race Riot)
Couple things about this video: 1. I’ve heard this story somewhere between 40 and 640 times, and it gets better every time I hear it. 2. I actually do incorporate it in my book. (My version of the story is much, um, different though.) 3. If this happened today — a Black couple and a Black…
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As A Dad, Queen Sugar Hit Me Right In The Feels
I love Queen Sugar. Let’s start there. I’d take Queen Sugar on a $200 date, juju on the beat with it, and cook greens, beans, tomatoes and potatoes just so it would have something to take home in case it got hungry. For those who aren’t familiar, the Ava DuVernay-helmed show is the story of a Louisiana agricultural family—the Bordelons—dealing with…
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Mom Eyed After Kicking Out Son Who Voted for Trump in Elementary School Election
A Houston mother is under investigation after posting a video showing her kicking out her young son because he voted for Donald Trump during a mock election at his elementary school, KHOU reports. The video went viral, with commenters criticizing the mother for her actions and saying she should be in jail. “I can’t believe…
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This Election Failed My Daughter
My daughter was born in January of 2009, a week after Barack Obama was sworn into the office of the Presidency. I couldn’t have been happier. Her original due date was January 18, but I wanted SO badly for her to be born after he was inaugurated so that she would be born into a…
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Yeah, I Voted For Hillary Clinton Today, But #ImWithHer Forever
In the 11 months since my daughter, The Feminist Octopus, decided to arrive on Earth, she’s served as my ultimate trump card. Any difficult decision I’ve wrestled with — career-based or socially; economically or spiritually — comes back to her and her future. How will it impact her life today, tomorrow, and (most importantly) 10 years…
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Male Birth Control Trials Halted Because Of Side Effects. Good.
So it looks like we’re getting closer to a marketplace available effective male-specific birth control method. The latest trials of a male contraceptive have proven to be 96 percent effective in trials. This could be revolutionary as, right now, women bare the lion’s share of the birth control responsibility from costs to having to take…
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On The Helplessness of Watching Your Parents Get Old
Gospel artist Damon Little has a song out right now called, “I Won’t Be Defeated.” It’s a great song. Do you know who heard that song and was like, “n-word, please?” Time. Time is undefeated. Time ain’t lost a ‘bout yet. In the never-before-mentioned last level of Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, after Tyson whips your…
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My Daughter Is In A Hip-Hop Dance Class. I Want Her Blackness To Make Her Better Than Everybody Else.
I’m a dance dad. While I’m not standing outside the studio yelling at my daughter to get in formation or tighten up those pirouettes, I do find myself at dance class at least once a week and, on special occasions, twice a week. See, my daughter has been taking dance lessons since, I believe, she…
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I Miss Not Being Able To Witness My Mom Witnessing The Things I've Experienced Since Her Death
I began writing this at 10:30am. Three years ago at this time, I was home, going through my morning ritual — which consists of some combination of working, showering, getting dressed, eating, and walking the dog — a bit slower than usual. A deliberate and intentional slowness because I knew that when my routine was…