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Black People Are Fighting Against Gentrification and for the Heart and Soul of Their Cities
Last week at the corner of 14 and U, a throng of mostly black people swayed in unison to the beat of a live go-go band. The drums and horns blasted as people walked from near and far to not only hear their indigenous music but also to join the resistance. The band and its…
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To Be Black And Beautiful And Queer at an HBCU… And After Graduation
“Nobody will love you the way an HBCU will love you,” my grandmother insisted as I was drowning in college applications during my senior year at the Alabama School of Fine Arts. Before that, I had only been thinking of applying to conservatories—acting programs deemed the best by reviewers and the like. To quell my…
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American Justice: Abuse Domineque Ray as a Boy, Discriminate Against Him as a Man, and on Death Row, Kill Him
Domineque Ray was born in a country that is proud of its stated principles, which supposedly include justice for all. For Ray, justice in America meant enduring sexual and other forms of physical abuse throughout his childhood, so much so that he was ashamed to even admit it to save his own life. Propublica summed…
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Republicans Oppose Proposed Law That Would Fight White Supremacy, Restore Democracy and Empower Black Voters
Democrats have proposed H.R. 1, a bill that would make our democracy more equitable, improved access for vulnerable groups to have a real say in how we are governed, and roll back voting restrictions that have disproportionately harmed people of color. That’s why it is the first bill of the new Democratic House majority—and likely…
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Will the GOP’s Lone Black Senator’s Wokeness Play Well With the White South Carolina Voters He Relies Upon?
It’s becoming a pattern: Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina speaking up more forcefully and clearly about race and racism, even challenging his white counterparts to be better. The latest example came courtesy of an opinion piece Scott wrote for the Washington Post titled, “Why are Republicans accused of racism? Because we’re silent on…
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Kevin Hart and The Oscars: Redemption Must Be Available, Even to Former 'Homophobes'
Kevin Hart messed up. He messed up several years ago when he decided to craft a series of homophobic tweets that still haunt him. He messed up by refusing to do what was easy and right. As others have noted, he should have simply apologized again for the old tweets because a new, larger audience…
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New Birth and Jamal Bryant: Time for the Black Church To Address Its Culture of Sexism, Misogyny and Homophobia
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted.” –Acts 3:19 Rev. Jamal Bryant, the former pastor of Empowerment Temple A.M.E. Church, has inherited the pulpit of the late Bishop Eddie Long. While the public has speculated about both Bryant’s and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church’s motivations for this move or whether Long’s son had applied for the…
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A Little Bit of Justice: GOP's Lone Black Senator Does the Right Thing, Opposes Controversial Trump Pick
I still don’t get why it took so long or why he seemed to struggle with what should have been a simple decision—if justice, not politics, was the goal—but Tim Scott, a U.S. senator from South Carolina, has announced he will oppose the nomination of Thomas Farr. That means the Scott I think I know—the…
