We recently published our 300th article, which feels surreal. There are far too many articles and contributors to highlight from the past twelve months, so I’ll simply direct you towards the archive. There’s a lot of great content we haven’t yet published as well. Interviews with leaders in tech and media, contributor profiles, tech spotlights,… Continue reading 2016: A Year in Review
Month: December 2016
Healing Through Poetry
Anyone can be a poet. Yes, you read that correctly. ANYONE can be a poet. In fact, poetry is something we were all born with. From the womb, our bodies were being created by poetry. Not with words but with sounds, vibrations, light—and lack thereof—binding energy, love, pain… everything that is needed for a great… Continue reading Healing Through Poetry
What I Learned Teaching Black Men at the Cook County Jail in Chicago
I teach a class called “Black Male Leadership” in Division 6 at the Cook County Jail in Chicago. With over 9,000 inmates, Cook County Jail is the largest jail in the United States. It’s located in the center of Chicago, a city that holds the unimpressive distinction of having the nation’s highest murder rate—with over… Continue reading What I Learned Teaching Black Men at the Cook County Jail in Chicago
Stilling the Waters: How Quitting Social Media Saved My Life
I still remember creating my Facebook account during my sophomore year of college. It was a timely and convenient way to make new friends and keep up with an increasingly distributed social circle. In the intervening years, Twitter became an indispensable way of keeping up with global news and trends, and Instagram served as a… Continue reading Stilling the Waters: How Quitting Social Media Saved My Life
4 Your Soul Conceptually: J.Cole’s Thesis On Millennial Black Consciousness
“And I looked into your eyes and knew that you were a queen. Black skin, black hair, the blackest of beauty I had ever seen. Your cries were as melody and the music pierced to the very core of my soul. Simply the thought of parting with this warm bundle of preciousness left the fringes… Continue reading 4 Your Soul Conceptually: J.Cole’s Thesis On Millennial Black Consciousness
Geniuses Need Love Too: Childish Gambino Album Review
“The potential of Black Genius lies within the interest, and inevitably the talents, we all have within us. The potential and capacity to achieve Black Genius grows when that interest is cultivated into skill. Black Genius is realized and achieved in those spectacular moments when we collectively utilize our talent and skill to disrupt and… Continue reading Geniuses Need Love Too: Childish Gambino Album Review
I Will Not Be Silenced
Earlier this week, I shared photos created by a student artist with the demeaning words of PEOTUS painted on women’s bodies. The photos had been shared widely via BuzzFeed and Huffington Post articles. I posted the photos on Facebook and learned that sharing photos of a woman’s body (including an image showing her nipple) did… Continue reading I Will Not Be Silenced
The Professional Politics of Natural Hair
Picture day at work can be an exciting time. Not only are you becoming an official part of the team and brand, it’s also another excuse to buy new clothes. The most exciting part, for me at least, is the chance to update my Linkedin profile. Unfortunately, picture day can also invoke a lot of… Continue reading The Professional Politics of Natural Hair
What Donald Trump Can Learn from Spike Lee
“I pledge that I will be the president for all Americans… Working together, we will begin the urgent task of rebuilding our nation.” —President-elect Donald Trump, November 9, 2016 This fall semester I am teaching a new course called HIST 289: Spike Lee’s America. The course uses Spike Lee’s filmography to engage students in discussion… Continue reading What Donald Trump Can Learn from Spike Lee
Vol 9: Digital Overload; Why Streaming Alone Will Kill Music
Peace. Art, more so than any other discipline, captures the emotion of what it means to be human. And of all the art disciplines, music is the most powerful. And of all the music genres, Hip Hop, with its soul stirring beats and rhymes, is second to none. But we’re now faced with a dilemma—especially… Continue reading Vol 9: Digital Overload; Why Streaming Alone Will Kill Music