Native people are the most loving people in the world. And it makes sense—so many of us have seen this movie before. We got our own problems, right? Still, ever since the Michael Brown tragedy in Ferguson, Missouri, I’ve received hundreds of Facebook messages and emails—Native people understanding the connection between black folks’ interaction with… Continue reading In This Together: Police Brutality Against Black and Brown People
Month: February 2015
On the Cusp of Identity
Johny Pitts is a writer, photographer, and broadcast journalist interested in issues of Afro-European identity. He won a Decibel Penguin Prize for a short story included in the The Map of Me, a Penguin books anthology about mixed-race identity. He recently collaborated with author Caryl Phillips on a photographic essay for the BBC and Arts… Continue reading On the Cusp of Identity
Mental Means of Production
In a society where we witness the continuous, acute consolidation of power, be it economic, political, or through sheer military might, far too many souls have been locked in a circle of consumerism. Cities turn to mega-cities. Ample countrysides and vast open spaces, rich and fertile land stand waiting as if in defiance of our… Continue reading Mental Means of Production
OG: Jean Baptiste Point du Sable
OG commemorates pioneering men of color throughout history. Do we really need to explain the acronym? Jean Baptiste Point du Sable (1750-1818), was a Haitian-born trader and pioneer, most famous for being the first non-Native American to settle in what would letter be named Chicago, Illinois. Du Sable established his farm and trading post near the mouth of… Continue reading OG: Jean Baptiste Point du Sable
Lemon and Ice: The Rules of Blackpeoplegatherings
As a full-time Black Person, I have attended about 12 hundred dozen Blackpeoplegatherings in my lifetime. Crab boils. Welcome Home From The Clink parties. Fish fry-style wedding receptions. You’ll probably observe many of the same elements at most of these Blackpeoplegatherings. Drank. Music (with a high probability of the Electric Slide making an appearance). Bad… Continue reading Lemon and Ice: The Rules of Blackpeoplegatherings
Brothers, Do You Love Yourselves?
Fat faggot was what they called me from eighth through twelfth grades. It had been just plain faggot before then. And sissy and sweet thang and Oreo and mutt and sometimes halfbreed and once or twice even cracker. But it was fat faggot that stayed. It stayed after I had graduated high school and lost… Continue reading Brothers, Do You Love Yourselves?
Following the Drinking Gourd
Over the past three years, Erick Cedeño has traveled long distances by bicycle: from Vancouver to Tijuana, and from Saint Augustine to New York City. But in August of 2013, he embarked on a different kind of trip: one measured not only by miles but also by history. He rode from New Orleans to Niagara… Continue reading Following the Drinking Gourd
Making Black History: Aliko Dangote
Listed by Forbes as the richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote is worth an estimated $21.6 billion. Rumored to have gotten his start on the strength of a loan from his uncle, the native of Nigeria is founder and CEO of the Dangote Group, one of the most diverse business conglomerates in Africa, dealing in… Continue reading Making Black History: Aliko Dangote
My Fellow Black Americans: It’s Time to Get—and Use—That Passport
Brothers, if you don’t have one already, you need to get yourself a passport. If you do have one, it’s time to use it. As a 37-year-old black man from Florida, I can honestly say that now, more than ever in my lifetime, I am mortally afraid of inadvertently pissing off some over-eager, trigger-happy jackass… Continue reading My Fellow Black Americans: It’s Time to Get—and Use—That Passport
My President
Barack Hussein Obama. Let me start this off by an admission. The man is my hero. But, let me assure you that this has little to do with who he actually is. This isn’t about his foreign policy or about his commitment to his promises. It’s about how many of us see him as if… Continue reading My President