Delicate women among palm trees. Overt locking eyes in Susho. Movin’ motorbikes to get across town. Irregular prices for tourists Nuisances selling anything palmed in hands. Instant gratification from a blazing sun. Corrupt government. Is this America too? Ain’t nobody focused on a brown foreigner. Never get used to cold showers. Radiant pride; flags waves…
Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Talents was as masterfully written as Parable of the Sower. Her ability to write a plausible heart-wrenching story about an unlivable not so distant future is a rare talent. To write a story, no two book series about, “Earthseed,” a religion pushed by Lauren, a black woman and the series’…
When I was seven years old my aunt said to me, “De berry don’ drop too far from de tree.” She saw my puzzled face over her makeshift Caribbean accent. She used that moment, us eating in her backyard, to give me a piece of family history. “You have African roots that go through the…
Dear Colin Kaepernick, Thank you for taking a stand against injustice that happens to black and brown folks across the United States of America. It is unfortunate that your peaceful action has been met with such villainous hate and malicious. On one hand the reaction from mainstream media up to the 45th President makes…
It always irked me that Granddad Charles who I lived with once my single parent Mom died advocated for my father. He often said, “Give Jamel a chance.” You know let him be involved in my life. Jamel was only around the corner of Breukelen projects between his mother, Grandma Arlene’s home and Glenwood Road.…
The National Museum of African American History and Culture lived up to the hype. Not only that but it lived up to the frustration getting my hands on tickets. The first time I woke up just before 6:30 AM to register for two timed release ones. Epic fail. Why? My only conclusion is whoever wanted…
On a road trip bumping an album is the gold stamp of approval. Between the beats and bass battling against the wind and “Oohing” and “Aahing” over lyrics. Then I’m rapping out loud while people stare through their car windows. That’s the power of Kendrick Lamar’s fourth studio album (not counting Untitled Unmastered) Damn. He…
1. I’ve now been without Mom for half my life. No day has gone by without her crossing my mind. 2. My skills don’t always translate – I’ve run 2 marathons but still struggle to wash the dishes every night before bed. 3. What’s important to me has changed with time – At 15 it…
I was curious how James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time compared to Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me. They both have similar agendas to speak to a younger generation not yet accustomed to being black in a white world. But their writing styles and insights take the reader on different journeys. Where James Baldwin…
The January Children by Safia Ehillo is a poetry collection that deals with the author’s woman, Muslim and Sudanese identity. Wait. It’s so much more than that. The title itself opens the reader to Sudanese history and culture. It represents her grandparents’ generation born in Sudan under British occupation, where children…
Rashaunjallen 