My first 5K was the NIKE Run Hit Wonder in Portland. I was not (am not) a runner but I joined the NIKE running club in the heat of a Portland summer to prep for this race. I didn’t have the right running shoes and my feet burned with each step but I ran from […]
Pain and trauma are prominently displayed in Black families like matching mid-century modern chairs with spindly legs upon which no one rests. The set are carried from house to house, woven into the fabric of the family. If company comes, make sure they don’t mess with those chairs. Friends and guests move to settle into […]
Forty is said to be the period of testing. The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years, Jesus was tested in the wilderness for 40 days, Noah and his family were cooped up in an ark for 40 days. Wait, let me stop there. Can you imagine being locked away with your family for […]
i cannot explain the emotional schizophrenia of anger, pride, and hope, as i watched “freedom summer” on amazon prime. listening to fannie lou hamer tell her story, one chapter in a library of injustices black citizens endured in the jim crow south, my eyes burned and salty tears rolled down my cheeks. when she was […]
my mind has been awash with ideas, concepts, thoughts, all jangling around in my head like so much loose change. i switch from thinking about the civil rights movement that reached its apex in the 60s to going back to the 40s and recalling ww2 and america’s delayed reaction until they were forced to join […]
“mama said there’d be days like this there’d be days like this mama said” today reminds me of the day after the ferguson decision. when white cops were once again absolved of murdering yet another unarmed black man. this is not a debate about the guilt or innocence of michael brown (accosted by police and […]
in prep for my trip to belize in celebration of HBD2ME, i decided, to hell with shaving, i’ll get myself a bikini wax. i asked a colleague for a recommendation and she shared her preferred studio. i had done some research and the menu was extensive. full brazillian, landing strip, butt strip, on and on. […]
lately the phrase, “no limits,” has been ringing in my head. i mentioned it to a friend and shortly thereafter i stumbled upon a message by the same title. in it pastor gordon banks said, there is no limit to what we can do in CHRIST. JESUS is the pin to our bank account and […]
this past february i reached out to a therapist. i did a google search, scrolled past a few faces and her smile, name, and afro spoke to me. i emailed her and told her i realized i need help and she told me that was a big first step and that i could call to […]
after watching bird box, an odd film on netflix, a male friend of mine messaged me and said, i can easily see you naming your kids boy and girl so as to not get too attached. radio silence. i was taken aback at his declaration of fact and fired back, when i am insulted i […]
Single.Black.Female 