“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
Turning Mistakes into Mastery
Expect to make some mistakes. Nothing important will be accomplished if you only make ‘safe’ decisions. — Warren G. Buffett The late Gen. Bernard Adolph Schriever, widely regarded as the father and architect of the Air Force space and ballistic missile programs, was a big proponent of failure. I’m not saying that he enjoyed failing—no… Continue reading Turning Mistakes into Mastery
The Cure for Ambivalence
As a child, Black History Month and the Civil Rights Movement failed to capture my interest or imagination beyond a few fleeting moments. They didn’t seem to play much of a role in my daily suburban life, nor did racism or the struggle for equality strike me as battles being actively fought. I felt like… Continue reading The Cure for Ambivalence
Tears and Black Masculinity
“Crying is cleansing. There’s a reason for tears, happiness or sadness.” —Dionne Warwick Get over it. Suck it up. I don’t want to hear it. Dry em up. What are you crying for? As an African American male I’ve heard all of these. Whether from my own family, friends, television or movies, it always struck… Continue reading Tears and Black Masculinity
My Foreigner
This is a personal short story that I wrote in 2007. It is about my partner at the time, who made an honest (and telling) comment to me, which contributed to me later breaking up with them. My reason for sharing this story is not related to the topic of dating. It is related to… Continue reading My Foreigner
Close-Up on the Background: A Conversation with Sergio Giral, The Father of Afro-Cuban Cinema
The concept of “Afro-Cuban” art has always garnered a great deal of attention from enthusiasts of the African Diaspora. Although it is ubiquitous and synonymous with most Cuban art on the island, drawing no particular distinction, this hyphenated genre among a more global audience is defined more by the subject of Black culture in Cuba… Continue reading Close-Up on the Background: A Conversation with Sergio Giral, The Father of Afro-Cuban Cinema
The Future of Work
Once upon a time, I made a living as an IT consultant for a company called Accenture. For most people, Accenture is the company that has huge, strange ads in airports across the nation. For their 375,000 employees, it’s a way of life. My life was interesting and fast-paced—I was on an airplane twice a… Continue reading The Future of Work
Earning the Black Vote
Realistically, the African American community contributes in the neighborhood of only ten million votes in a national election. It takes sixty million to win. The assumed novelty of the African American vote is that African Americans vote in a condensed group. This is what the Democratic party has been exploiting since the 1960s. Again, don’t… Continue reading Earning the Black Vote
madness and mindfulness
One of my favorite pastimes is walking Marcus Garvey Park, a twenty acre square in Harlem that forces Fifth Avenue traffic to slow down and behold its gated splendor. By day, the park plays host to pickup basketball games, boisterous children, and an endless parade of pooping dogs. By night, it’s largely deserted. Last week,… Continue reading madness and mindfulness