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What Juneteenth and My Father Taught Me About 'Expectations'
I wouldnāt know Juneteenth without my father. Heās the Texan. He grew up celebrating the holiday that started on June 19, 1865, when slaves on Galveston Island, Texas, finally learned theyād been freed under the Emancipation Proclamation two years prior. Even though he now lived in St. Louis, heād always make the same jokey reference…
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How to Win Friends and Influence People in a Psychiatric Ward
They tried to make it nice. They festooned the rec room in plastic Christmas decorations and bought us all donuts. There was even a special mealādressing and gravy with a slice of turkey. But store-bought donuts and cafeteria holiday dinner didnāt change the fact that we allāpatients and nurses includedāwere spending Christmas in an L.A.…
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When Can I See You Again?
When I call my father on the weekends, we talk about a myriad of things. How the family is doing, politics, food, my mental health, andā¦of course, the halcyon past when his beloved, comical aunts were still cracking jokes, when his kind mother was still doling out hugs, when he and his brothers were young…
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Coronavirus Could Be an Introvertās Sweet Dream or an Agoraphobeās Beautiful Nightmare
I think weāre alone now. There doesnāt seem to be anyone around. Because weāre all isolated in our homes. An introvertās dream, and a recovering agoraphobeās nightmare, Iām very torn about social distancing by staying at home, as many have chosen to be in New York City. As we wait to see the ultimate outcome…
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Space Is the Place: Nona Hendryx Takes NYC Out of This World With the Disciples of Sun Ra
When I was a child watching reruns of Star Trek, one of the things I always wondered was ā¦ where did all the black people go? Sure, there was actress Nichelle Nicholsā Uhura and she was amazing. And later, on series like Star Trek: Next Generation there was Geordi La Forge and, even later, Benjamin…
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Christmas for One
Thereās a Christmas song by Jackson 5-era Michael Jackson that appears on the 1973 double albumāA Motown Christmasāthat has been beautifully destroying me since I was a child. Itās called āLittle Christmas Treeā and it is, by far, the most depressing holiday song in the Motown Christmas canon. The song tells the story of Christmas…
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Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
Some of the hardest conversations my sister and I have are about our mom. Iām aware that my relationship with our mother was very different from hers, even though we grew up together in the same house with the same parents. Mine was of a parent who protected me, fought for me, cried over me,…
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Washington, D.C.ās National Portrait Gallery Has Moved Beyond āOld, Dead White Menā
Thereās something special about a portrait of Earth, Wind & Fire, the masterminds behind hits like āSeptemberā and āSing a Song,ā hanging in the same gallery that holds portraits of the Founding Fathers. Mostly that it seems unexpected even though their status as icons in the music industry is well-solidified. They deserve to grace these…
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In For Colored Girlsā Revival, Thereās a Rising Star in Red Whoās Coming to The Batman
Jayme Lawson is only 22. Itās easy to forget this when watching the recent Juilliard grad strut across the stage with authority in the Public Theaterās new production of poet Ntozake Shangeās legendary 1975 choreopoem, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Was Enuf. The new production, returning to the Public more…
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Rev. Al Sharpton and I Are Both Libras and This Explains So Much
Libras are extra. A while back I wrote an entire column justifying my love of ānice shit.ā And that was such a Libra thing to do. Because while we are natural diplomats, crave balance and are creative types, we also love beauty and, most importantly, ourselves. (We definitely think we are quite beautiful. *stares in…
