In a poignant essay about her own family, Clutch magazine‘s Janelle Harris encourages all of us to spend time with — and celebrate — our elders. I belong to that unfortunate fraternity of dismissed children whose fathers couldn’t be bothered to be daddies. I never laid eyes on that paternal mystery and, to my knowledge,…

On Jan. 7 at Clutch magazine, Janelle Harris paid tribute to Zora Neale Hurston on what would have been the writer’s 122nd birthday. We have the Lord to thank for giving us Ms. Zora, but the great Alice Walker to commend for bringing her work out of obscurity and back into widespread appreciation. This month…

In a blog post at Essence, Janelle Harris takes up the question of black authenticity in light of the “cornball brother” comments ESPN2’s Rob Parker made about popular Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III. She argues that Parker had a point, given that Griffin is reluctant to align himself with black pride and plays for…

Essence‘s Janelle Harris reflects on the latest instance of public-transportation violence.  Mental note to self: in addition to pregnant women, strippers, drag queens and homeless people, put bus drivers on the list of folks I will never, ever break tough or talk sassy to. They’re snapping out all over the country, kicking tail and bucking…

Janelle Harris, inspired by the season’s upcoming hibernation-inducing weather, makes a list of suggestions at Essence. It is by no means a comprehensive list. I don’t even think we could create one because somewhere, someone is writing a great book right at this very moment that will ultimately deserve a space on many of our…

Writing at Essence, Janelle Harris chronicles her childhood struggles and explains how being targeted by classmates provided her with a sense of empathy. I got it from all sides. I was chunky and wore glasses. In the fifth grade, some boys in my class got wind of how much I weighed and invested their creative…

Blogging at Clutch magazine, Janelle Harris tackles the perennial problem of women who try to win the affections of men by giving up themselves and their own money when they should be looking out for number one. My mother taught me a lot of things about guys that I suspect she had to learn firsthand.…

Raising a child, many mothers say that they give it their all. Still, Janelle Harris writes in Essence, perhaps black women should share more, especially how they became the person they are. That way, their daughters can learn from their mothers’ failures and successes to become the best they can be. Being a mom has…

Reflecting on an attempt to conduct roll call as a substitute teacher, Clutch magazine‘s Janelle Harris says she loves our people’s inventiveness, but she wonders whether it’s gone too far when it comes to naming kids. … Taking attendance seemed like it would be the easiest part of my day. But I glanced at the…

Clutch magazine‘s Janelle Harris admits that she never had any intention of going to a school that didn’t remind her of A Different World. Twenty-five years — that’s how long it’s been since the first episode of A Different World aired on NBC. The Internet’s been standardized, the skyscraper bang has been beaten into obscurity and stars…