So Black People Aren’t Sex-Crazed, Baby-Making Machines?

Much has already been discussed about single African Americans’ dating desires based on findings from a poll released earlier this month that showed how black people feel about various aspects of their lives. So enough about the romantic relationship numbers. Let’s look at another shocker: 69% percent of respondents have no children under 18, and this number accounts both for children living with them [...]
Is Segregated Literature a Good Thing?

***Update 6/11/2013: If writers of color need a space to gather, their books need a place to be sold, and their readers a space to discuss their work. That’s one of many reasons black bookstores are important, and the oldest one in the country is under threat of foreclosure. Sign the petition to keep them [...]
Am I a (Proud) Southerner?

Am I a “Southerner?” Yesterday’s Talk of the Nation made me want to say, “Yes!” I was in the car with my mom when the segment, “What Does It Mean to Be a Southerner?” aired, and nearly every time someone called in, they said something I had either just said to my mom or that [...]
Rules for Colorblind Casting

I swear, the things I find in weekend reading. I saw a headline in my daily e-blast from The Root about a high school doing a stage production of “The Wiz” with no African Americans in the cast. (Maybe some members of the cast are another “other?” School officials claim here that there’s diversity in [...]
Bringing Black Churches into Reproductive Justice

(For the first Faith & Feminism Friday of 2013, I’m a guest contributor on the “Feminism and Religion” blog. The post starts below and continues there.) I don’t expect to hear anything in church about the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade during the month of January, the month marking 40 years since the U.S. [...]
Why Race Should Matter to Pro-Choice Activists

As I progress with subsequent drafts of my book, I’ve been meeting with another writer for accountability and feedback. In a recent session, we talked—in hushed tones in a coffee shop—about my book being full of themes and situations black women don’t talk about within their own families. They may discuss these topics with [...]
Breaking Bread Barriers with ‘Soul Food Junkies’

As a child, my weekend breakfast menu was consistent: Aunt Jemimah buttermilk pancakes—with whole milk and margarine in the batter, and fried in more margarine—on Saturday; bacon and/or sausage patties, two buttermilk biscuits, and scrambled eggs with whole milk and lots of salt in the mix on Sunday. These days, if I eat pancakes at [...]
9 of the Most Memorable Moments for Black Women in 2012

On this last day of 2012, I’m sharing the moments from throughout the year that are most memorable to me when I think about black women in arts and entertainment, sports, politics, and life. Why aren’t there 10? Just because. In no particular order, here we go: 1. Whitney Houston Died I learned about [...]
Promoting Inner Black Beauty

I was going over a long list of possible topics to blog about when I jumped on Twitter to procrastinate and saw the above tweets in my timeline. Evidently, I was missing the latest installment of CNN’s Black in America series. I’m not too sorry about this, as I don’t remember anything profound coming [...]
The Storyteller Makes the Difference

I haven’t seen the new film, “Lincoln,” yet (and with what may be a pinched nerve making it hard to sit for long periods of time, who knows when I will). Though I know the performances are stellar and writer Tony Kushner’s fame is arguably deserved, this review by Kate Masur in the New York Times [...]








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