racism
-
Yeah, Let's Chill With The "KKK Clashes With The Black Panthers" Headlines And Story Angles
(Quick thoughts about this weekend’s rallies in South Carolina to protest the removal of the Confederate flag) 1. I mean, I get it. The Ku Klux Klan was present at this rally. As were some Black pride groups, including those affiliated with the Black Panthers. And, I would assume that if a KKK member and a Black…
-
On Being Black And Southern (And From South Carolina) At Times Like This
I’ve been a proud Black man from South Carolina for a few weeks north of 36 years. And, in all honesty, my state has always confused me. If I were ever asked to play word association with it, I would begin by telling the poor fool who asked the question to “grab a chair” because this…
-
Don Lemon: The Troll Who Will Save America
It’s unfortunate that President Obama’s use of “nigger” became the biggest story from his recent interview with Marc Maron, because the reflexively (and grandstandingly) heated debate about that word has obscured a great point. “Societies don’t, overnight, completely erase everything that happened 200 to 300 years prior.” It feels counterintuitive, insulting even, to suggest that…
-
Fuck Your Confederate Flag, Cuh!
I hate that gotdamn flag. I always have. I’m a Southerner, which means that I’m super familiar with it. Not only that, I did my high schoolin’ in the great state of Alabama in the mid-90s. This means that there were high school year book quotes from Confederate generals and shouts of “The South Shall…
-
White Murderer Says Nigger? "It's Not About Race!" Black President Says Nigger? "Let's Talk About Race!"
To give you an idea of how bizarre America’s relationship with race is, consider the following: 1. The two most talked about stories in the country last week were about… A) A ridiculous White woman who seems to believe she’s Shirley Chisholm but is just the real-life Kirk Lazarus. B) A White man who went into a…
-
On The Dominican Republic And "Convenient Blackness"
Convenient Blackness is en vogue in America and the rest of the “Americas” as well. While we were caught up in the ridiculousness of “She who shall not be named” and the tragedy in Charleston, the Dominican Republic is deporting tens of thousands of Haitian-Dominicans to a country many of them have never lived in.…
-
Nowhere, No Safety, No Country For Black Americans
The privilege of being allowed to exist on Earth — and the experiences, the enlightenments, and the beauties associated with this privilege — comes with a couple unfavorable conditions. 1. We will die. 2. We will coexist with entities actively attempting to kill us. These are facts every human is conscious of. But this awareness…
-
Why I'd Give An Entire Kidney To Live In Key & Peele's "Negrotown"
Life with white folks ain’t been no luxurious affair. It’s had tragedies in it, And bullshit, And patience torn up, And times when you wanna snatch ‘em bald— Bare… —Excerpt from “I’se Still Shinin’,” by Alexander Hardy, 2015 Being a chocolate wonder amidst the armed Zimmerbitches and institutional hateration in the dancery is no easy…
-
An Uncomfortable Convo Between A Black Person And A White Coworker
Setting: Some office, somewhere, with office shit and shit everywhere. Background: After spending much of the previous evening watching and reading about Baltimore, random Black guy (“Deron”) goes to work. Since Deron is a Pittsburgher, all of his coworkers are White. While at work, Deron actually wants to…work. Or talk about work. Or perhaps talk…