The part of Florida I’m from is remarkably more like Mobile than Miami. From Grandma’s house, it’s a short drive to the Alabama border, the gateway to the Heart of Dixie. Riding in the backseat as kid, with Mom driving, I was always amused by the fact that, as we crossed that border, at some… Continue reading A Necessary Start
Category: Social Justice
Sexuality, Race, & #MyGayPride
I’m not ashamed to admit that I was a homophobic and racist man: not because I’m proud of it, but because I understand that my mindset was a result of systemic marginalization and programming. From the aggressive inner city to the ultra-masculine military, I wasn’t given the best environments to cultivate my understanding of my… Continue reading Sexuality, Race, & #MyGayPride
Cold-Blooded Killer or Mentally Disturbed?
You often hear about mass shootings on the news, but when it happens in your hometown, a small part of you dies. A few nights ago, a small part of me died. It was killed by emotions of anger, sadness, disappointment, a lack of understanding, and unabated rage. As a white man walked into what… Continue reading Cold-Blooded Killer or Mentally Disturbed?
Rachel Dolezal and Defining Blackness
Outside of adoptions, “transracial” isn’t a thing, and race is not a social construct. Let me explain… By now, we’ve all heard of Rachel Dolezal. Yes, she is president of her local NAACP branch. Yes, she was recently outed by her white parents. Yes, she has been deceptive about her racial heritage. But transraciality doesn’t… Continue reading Rachel Dolezal and Defining Blackness
Take the Shot, LeBron
This past summer, when NBA superstar LeBron James announced that he was returning “home” to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers, he wrote an essay to express why he decided to return “home.” LeBron wrote, “I was a kid from Northeast Ohio. It’s where I walked. It’s where I ran. It’s where I cried. It’s where… Continue reading Take the Shot, LeBron
I Have a Nightmare
I am saddened to join with you today in what may go down in history as the most depleted cry for freedom in the history of our nation. Two score years ago, a great American stood in the shadow of another great American who, years before that, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. That decree that was… Continue reading I Have a Nightmare
State of Emergency
“Strictly spiritual, no thugs and criminals. Our voice gonna resound like old hymnals.” Many of you know me for being the outspoken protester that confronted Geraldo Rivera during the protests in Baltimore sparked by the death of Freddie Gray in police custody. At that moment, and for a week and a half before that, I… Continue reading State of Emergency
They See Us as Hulks
“They see us as Hulks, and paint us as so, not realizing or refusing to acknowledge that we are more so David Banners…brilliant minds, searching for answers and peace…while we continue to be attacked and prodded by the powers that be…in a world that doesn’t understand that our powers help to save it time after… Continue reading They See Us as Hulks
Spheres of Influence
Following the events in the U.S. cities of Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland, the Internet has caught fire with up-to-the-minute dispatches of the protests and engagements between U.S. citizens—more specifically African-Americans and allies against the particular stigmas that they face daily. Pictures and videos ranging from toppling and destruction of police vehicles and looting to… Continue reading Spheres of Influence
Love in the Time of Curfew
Being from and living in Baltimore, it has been hard to process exactly how the events following the arrest and death of Freddie Gray have appeared to the outside world. Our overwhelmed, Democratic mayor and our Republican governor let the city slip into a state of fear and confusion, embellished by most of the local… Continue reading Love in the Time of Curfew