My Perfectly Flawed African American Mother

My mother died the day before my birthday in 2014. Not a great way to look forward to a birthday celebration, right?? My birthday is exactly one month from now and her death will be three years on the 24th of July. I am a poet, spoken word artist, and definitely a writer on many…

Mary McLeod Bethune: Bethune-Cookman University and her other Legacies

“The drums of Africa still beat in my heart. They will not let me rest while there is a single Negro boy or girl without a chance to prove his worth.” ― Mary McLeod Bethune   “I was born and reared in the South and no southerner has greater love for the land of his…

Audre Lorde: Revolution is not a One Time Event

My anger has meant pain to me but it has also meant survival, and before I give it up I’m going to be sure that there is something at least as powerful to replace it on the road to clarity. – Audre Lorde Audre Geraldine Lorde 1934 – 1992 Audre Lorde was born in New…

March-April 2017: African American Mentions, News, and Articles of Interest

  African Americans earned 340,946 degrees and certificates from four-year institutions in the 2014-15 academic year. They made up 10.5 percent of all individuals who were given degrees or certificates from four-year institutions. The Full report is here: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2016/2016112rev.pdf #BlackBoyJoy: A. Benjamin Spencer, Associate Dean and Professor of and Director, Frances Lewis Law Center:  An expert…

September/October 2016: African American Mentions, News, and Articles of Interest

  Jean Genet knew how to speak his heart without pity or condescension. Now, we have learned how not to mistake solidarity feelings for feelings of pity among the representatives of the ruling culture. Genet, he already knew how to distinguish them. In his Yale speech, on the Mayday Speech day, he even goes so far as to advocate the…

The First Black Trans Model Was on a Clairol Box in 1975

The First Black Trans Model Had Her Face on a Box of Clairol in 1975 No one knew her secret. Until they did. “She had that commercial look,” says Pat Cleveland, one of the biggest models of the day. “She looked like how the girl next door might wish to look.” Cleveland remembers Norman well…