Opinion
Opinion
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And the Pulitzer Prize for Caucasity Goes to…
This weekend, as I watched COVID-19âs racial disparities blow a 104,600-point lead to extrajudicial police killings, I pondered the effectiveness of nonviolent protest versus âriots.â I imagined strategies that might deter police brutality. I even considered if chaos was a good thing. But, of all the things that crossed my mind, there was never even…
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To Black People Who Say Violence Isn't a Solution
Protest violence has surged in cities across America, fueled by the racist brutalization and attendant mental traumatization of black people in this country that has continued unabated even during a deadly pandemic. Racist white people, Republicans, and the racist white Republican president have predictably responded to the not-so-peaceful protests with feigned disgust at violenceâwhich they…
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'Open the Economy' Is the New 'White Lives Matter'
âGive me liberty or give me deathâ â A slaveowner text What is America? Is it a plot of dirt littered with the discarded bones of those who stood in the way of white manifest destiny or is it a Constitution? Is it an assemblage of huddled masses yearning to breathe free or is it…
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Coronavirus Has Exposed America's Sickness of Selfishness
When I was a little girl growing up in Jamaica, my schoolteachers frequently recited the phrase: âNo man is an island, no man stands alone.â The saying effectively transmitted to me and my peersâ childhood minds the message that weâre all in this together and that as humans, we need each other to survive, even…
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I Only Appreciated Kobe in His Totality After His Death
It has been two whole weeks since Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others perished in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles. I have spent the entire time trying to put my thoughts on his death together in a sensible way. So many of my friends and colleagues have said it much more…
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Kobe Bryant and the Perils of the 'Transcendent' Athlete
The premature, unbearable death of Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven other souls on board his helicopter last Sunday triggered an outpouring of grief rarely seen on this scale. Itâs been a week of mourning and tributes: From the Philippines to Philadelphia, makeshift vigils and elaborate murals have bloomed on sidewalks and storefronts…
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Terry Crews Is Ashy
There are, according to my research, three grades of ash; each uncomfortable in its own way, but one a bit deeper and, um, ashier than the rest. First, of course, is literal ash. This is what happens when your skin gets dry and an anti-sheen attacks it, leaving you looking and feeling like you just…
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On Processing My Messy Feelings About Kobe Bryantâs Myth, Life and Death
The first time I saw Kobe Bryant play live was at the McDonaldâs All-American Basketball Game in 1996. The game was played in Pittsburgh that year, and I went to the Civic Arena downtown to watch it. Iâd already had a relationship with the idea of him. He was the top high school basketball player…
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In the Age of Trump…the Future Is Cloudy
In the Age of Trump, you canât help be pessimistic about the future. Thereâs something nasty about this new age. A nastinessâeven when we kick that cheating bastard out of officeâthat will cling to us black folks like a sweaty, funky shirt. Trumpâs racism, xenophobia, and general stupidity are leaking into the genius of Blackness.…
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Kwanzaa Is Dame Dash to Jay-Zâs Christmas
There was a time back when Kwanzaa and Christmas were cruising on a yacht popping Cristal and truly Big Pimpinâ. Then there was a feud, something about Christmas cozying up with Lyor Cohen or Kwanzaa promoting Camâron to the president of Holiday Records, and Christmas bounced, went on to marry BeyoncĂ©Â and partnered with the NFL.…