Very Smart Brothas
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Motherhood, Art, And Police Brutality
“I’m here and your eyes lucky. I’m here and your future lucky.”* -poet Angel Nafis, “Gravity” Part I: Motherhood Changes Everything Our son, Maze, is a miracle, born to us on May 27 of last year. In 2012, I lost two pregnancies, back to back, one in early January and the other in early April.…
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VSB Call For Submissions And Shit
You may have noticed that VSB underwent some changes over the weekend. Some tweaks have been made to the layout, which should help the site be more responsive and cohesive. And, most importantly, we switched servers, which, well, HOLY SHIT IT IS PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO EXPRESS HOW HAPPY I AM ABOUT THIS! No…
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I Love Boobs And You Love Boobs…So Why Can't We Love Boobs Together?
You know what’s great? Boobs. Do you know how I know they’re great? Because nearly everybody loves them. Men love them. They make us happy. Women love them? They are orbs worthy of appreciation. Everybody can appreciate curves it seems. Even kids love them. They remind them of pillows. And who doesn’t love pillows? Have…
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Bad-Ass, Kick-Ass Black Female Lawyers Are Running 2015
Three thoughts going through my head while watching and reading about Maryland State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby’s press conference this morning: 1. Add me to the line of cynics genuinely surprised that the entire book seems to be getting thrown at these officers. Not only was one of them charged with murder — which, while (somewhat)…
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Living And Other Things We Can't Do While Black
After work yesterday, I was going to my friend Jason’s event down in Soho. He does this monthly conversation series called “Brothers and Sisters” in which brothers and sisters gather somewhere and over beer and wine have thoughtful discussion about a specific topic. Past topics have included conversations on beauty and dating. This month’s discussion…
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Damon, VSB Profiled In Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A profile of Damon (“Blogger left basketball behind to chronicle black experience in Pittsburgh“) ran in today’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Along with some details about Damon’s life, it includes some background on how VSB came to be… Through his personal blog, he connected with the Washington, D.C.-based Panama Jackson, who also was a prominent blogger. They…
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Baltimore.
You don’t live in Washington, DC, for as long as I have and not have an opinion on Baltimore. While it’s only about 40 miles north of DC, Baltimore and the federal city are worlds apart, at least in perception. Though I’ve been a resident of the urea for almost 14 years, my impression of…
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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…
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Respectability Politics Are No Solution; They Are A Surrender
At times like these, when the uncomfortable behavior of (mostly) Black people is broadcast to a (mostly) White audience and becomes a national discussion point, a particular type of Black person tends to emerge. Actually, “emerge” might not even be the best word, because it implies that this person rose from somewhere, when in reality…
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Baltimore Is Not Ferguson; Freddie Gray Is Not Michael Brown
It is not difficult to witness what’s happening in Baltimore, Maryland right now and immediately think of Ferguson, Missouri. Or New York City. Or Cleveland, Ohio. Or Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Or perhaps even Los Angeles in 1992. The parallels are obvious; heartbreakingly, evisceratingly, surreally obvious. So obvious are these similarities that it does not take much…