Category Archives: best of
Redbone Afropuff is Moving – Thank You and Farewell

Dear Readers, I’ve been blogging at Redbone Afropuff & Black GRITS since 2009. It’s been a great run, but as…

Why the Time for Pleasure is Now

Like many people, I spent most of Saturday at my computer and on my phone reading and re-tweeting updates about…

A Letter to My Students on the Eve of their AP Exams (Essay 16 of 52)

I sent this letter via email to senior high school students I teach in Camden, NJ, earlier this month. If…

The Decade Before Consent

*Trigger warning* The week of August of 15, my news feed was filled with damning articles and opinions about Nate…

Being single shouldn’t feel like punishment, but for black church girls, it often does

How is a church like prison and being incarcerated like belonging to a church? Both have a way of asking,…

On my bicycle, at the intersection of blackness and womanhood, with feminism crossing diagonally

“If a woman says she was raped, I believe her, because for all she has to go through, why would…

A Black Family Memoir from A Different World

Since I see no reason to add to the thousands of think pieces EBONY magazine’s November cover story, “Cosby vs. Cliff,” undoubtedly…

A Piece of My ‘Good Girl’ Confession

For today’s Faith & Feminism Friday, I refer you to a conversation recorded over the summer when I was honored…

Recovering from Spiritual Perfectionism and Searching for Divine Guidance
Illustration: white boy on green chair, little brown dog sits next to him. Text reads: "My trouble was I had a mind. But I couldn't make it up."

In my last column for NCR, I wrote about my somewhat surprising desire to find a church home in my…

Not Alone: Why I Wrote for ‘Faithfully Feminist’

Around this time last year, I was parked in the lobby of a hotel in Tobago (the smaller island of…

Mad at Bill but Still Wishing for Cliff and Claire
Screenshot of a Cosby Show episode featuring Cliff and Claire snuggling on the sofa

“He is guilty of self-confessed crimes against women such that we should break his albums, burn his tapes and scratch…

Anger is Better

On the Sunday following the Charleston massacre hate crime, those who hadn’t reached the point where they could forgive the…

Things I Learned in Girlhood

“There are all boys at Stephanie’s (invented name) house, so you can’t turn up like you do here. You have…

A House Divided Against Itself: An Open Response to Louisville FOP 614

I’m willing to let this one go. Earlier this month, Louisville Metro Police Officer Nathan Blanford shot Deng Manyoun, a…

That time when God came to the read-in

Since January, I’ve been making an effort to accept my own challenge of re-envisioning God. I made a silent commitment…

Feminist Masquerade
Mardi Gras type of mask

  I envy Ann Bauer’s life. I began reading her piece for Salon, “‘Sponsored’ by my husband: Why it’s a…

I Know I’ve Been Changed

One of the reasons I stopped working on my memoir was because when an agent strongly suggested I adapt my…

A 1954 Case in Defense of Black Womanhood

Blogger’s note: This post was originally published in the Courier-Journal on Sept. 28, 2014 and edited by Pam Platt. For the…

No more apologies for being a woman

I hate when I think of a snappy comeback three weeks after a discussion ends. That’s happening right now, as…

Place, race and rooted research

Despite the photos I’m posting on Facebook and Twitter, this trip isn’t all, or even 10%, about the beach. It’s…

Her body, his seed, and patriarchal “rights”

I saw a lot of men up in arms on social media yesterday over a New Jersey Superior Court judge’s…

Living Saved, Single and Unhappy

While my parents were teaching me to be the best student I could be, my Christian faith taught me to…

Why Mrs. Carter Will Not Set You Free
Beyonce still from "mine"

I said I wouldn’t write about this because I knew I wouldn’t download the album until after Christmas and my…

The Jesus in Grandmama’s House
Italian Christ

In “The Comfort of a Sweet, Black, Dreadlocked Jesus,” I recalled the image of Jesus Christ as depicted in a painting…

What makes me a feminist?

What makes me a feminist? I’ve been thinking about this question since my feminism history class last night. We were…

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