Why I Rise
Today I’m joining what I hope will be billions of women all over the world in celebrating “One Billion Rising,” a movement to end violence against women. According to the One Billion Rising website, “a billion women – one of every three women on the planet – will be raped or beaten in her lifetime.” [...]
Even When It’s Not on ‘The List’
I think Olivia Pope was wrong about herself on last night’s “Scandal.” I don’t think she wants painful love (which would also be oxymoronic love.) I think she just wants what she wants, even when it’s not on The List. You know, The List of All the Things That Indicate A Black Woman’s Life is [...]
3 Words for 2013
“Make your life an incredible masterpiece.” These were the words of wisdom I found on my “Lift Your Spirits” calendar as I flipped the page to February 1. I immediately started thinking, “What does an artist need to create incredible masterpieces?” Jokingly, I answered myself, “a commission.” Then I got serious and tried to see [...]
Sexy, Feminine, Sensual, Tough: Beyonce’s Perfect Blend
When I saw the tweets below last night from Dr. Kaila Story, an assistant professor at the University of Louisville and the Audre Lorde Chair in Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality Studies there, I had to agree. And then I had to figure out why. The sensual, sexy feminine part was obvious: It’s 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 [...]
An Open Letter to Shonda Rhimes: Bring April’s Sexy Back
Dear Ms. Rhimes: Most of the time, I love you and you make me regret not sticking it out in L.A. a little longer to become a screen- and television writer. But I need you to do something different with April Kepner. I met Dr. April Kepner on Grey’s Anatomy for the first [...]
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 [...]
There’s Something about Mary
I have a problem with obedience—not necessarily the action, but the idea of it. Obedience implies acts done with or without willingness, despite questions and absent protest. If you’re a fan of this blog, you know I question stuff all the time, sometimes just for the heck of it. That’s why something about Mary, the [...]
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Redbone Afropuff & Black GRITS by Mariam Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. ("Redbone Afropuff & Black GRITS" refers to all text and art work on RedboneAfropuff.com created by Mariam Williams.)
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