Although “black aesthetics made it totally acceptable to have some extra padding on your package,” Essence‘s Janelle Harris says that she’s had enough of carrying unhealthy weight. Historically, I have never been a thin chick. Never. I George Jefferson-walked right out of the children’s department into a size 6 when I was in the fifth…

Essence‘s Janelle Harris argues that religion alone won’t cut it when it comes to African Americans and mental health. I’m a firm believer in the power of prayer. I’ve seen not only the joy of receiving God’s answer — even if it didn’t show up the way the person doing the praying thought it would…

Harry Belafonte was right: Today’s young people don’t have enough interest in the issues that affect our community, Janelle Harris writes at Essence. She cites the legacy of black civil rights heroines as an example of what is possible. Rosa’s gone. Coretta’s gone. Dorothy’s gone, too. Our civil rights heroines, the rebels who dedicated their…

Clutch magazine contributor Janelle Harris — who says “perpetual singleness” is rampant in her social circle — takes issue with some of the negative reactions to one friend’s interracial relationship. Of the eight of us, some have kicked around the idea of dating outside of our race. I am steadfastly in love with black men…

Clutch magazine‘s Janelle Harris says that compulsive man seekers sacrifice a lot for the sake of having a warm body in their beds or a new beau by their sides. Here’s how she suggests you determine whether a fear of being single is getting in your way. You’re always making excuses for him. I’ve known…

Insincere, politically correct apologies have to stop, Janelle Harris writes in a piece for Ebony. Let’s say, hypothetically, that you and I are sitting at adjacent tables in a nice restaurant in Philly or Charlotte or Dallas any city of your choosing … As I get up from my table to head to the ladies’…

Essence‘s Janelle Harris says that the list of musts for black women is a little different from the standard one that’s been circulating on the internet. Hers includes a favorite hair product and “peace about being different.” For Black women, I think the standard is different. Not that we don’t have expectations and goals and…

At Clutch magazine, Janelle Harris explains why it didn’t make sense for her to rush to see her father in the hospital. For one thing, she’d never met him. Last year, the father I’ve never met checked into the hospital for minor surgery. There’s no guarantee that whoever goes under the cloak of anesthesia will…

In a blog entry at Essence.com, Janelle Harris takes on the stereotyping of black mothers, especially those recently arising from the “Sh— people say” viral videos. She reflects on her own experience to point out that black mothers have a long history of commitment to family. Finally, the “stuff so-and-so says” says mania has died…

In a blog entry at Essence magazine, Janelle Harris writes that she has never bought into the whole down-low hype. She says blaming down-low men for the community’s skyrocketing HIV/AIDS infection rate allows blacks to turn a blind eye to the real problem: promiscuity and unsafe sex. … Weigh the number of times a man…