Complex relationships are oftentimes the best relationships. Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack had a complex relationship. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel had a complex relationship. Lennon and McCartney had a complex relationship. But despite those complex relationships, all of them made beautiful music together. COMPLEX With Natives and black people, there were certainly many, many… Continue reading On Being Native and Black
Tag: Solidarity
Sentence—for James Baldwin
The sentence, you said, must be pared to the bare bone. This was years after you left New York for Paris, $40 in your pocket, with ragged duffel bag of few clothing and early novel manuscripts you would lose crossing the Atlantic. You had to leave, you said, after your best friend jumped from the… Continue reading Sentence—for James Baldwin
My Mumia
CAST: Me, Mumia Abu-Jamal Supporter, Mumia Abu-Jamal Supporters, Pedestrian, and Dutch Tourists One and Two (“Dutch Tourists”) MLK, Jr. weekend 2014. 11 am on Friday, January 17th. Philadelphia. A sunny winter day at 4th and Market Streets. On the southeast corner, MUMIA ABU-JAMAL SUPPORTERS hold up large signs as drivers and pedestrians pass by. On… Continue reading My Mumia
Debugging Diversity
The technology industry continues to struggle with its diversity problem. However, having delivered enterprise software for well over a decade, I think the root cause of—and the solution to—this problem is easy to understand. Anyone who has been tasked with debugging software can understand the solutions and begin immediately implementing them. I was reminded of this… Continue reading Debugging Diversity
Misogynoir and Me
On Thanksgiving night five years ago, my uncle, a guest in my parents’ home, insisted that we watch a two-hour Beyoncé special airing that night. I wanted to slap the shit out of him. “I don’t wanna see that black bitch.” I’m not proud of it, but that was my first thought. An offense punishable by… Continue reading Misogynoir and Me
You Only Got In Because You’re Latina
“Well, you’re Hispanic. That’s how you got in. You know that, right?” …twelve words that destroyed me that fall day freshman year. I had just started college at the University of Florida and I was attending my first class in the honors program. I’d qualified without a problem, or so I thought. Now, a fellow… Continue reading You Only Got In Because You’re Latina
The Buck Stops Here
“Why can’t we all just get along? I didn’t do anything personally to cause oppression, so why would you call me an oppressor? You’re just stoking more racial tension by discussing racism.” Every day, these same delusional questions and statements are posited by us white folks. Every day, after centuries of racism and genocide at… Continue reading The Buck Stops Here
An Open Letter to Asian-Americans
Dear Asian-Americans: You already know the drill. We live in a country where every time we turn on the TV, hardly anyone looks like us. No one in the movies has looked like us since we were kids. Onscreen, the ones who do look like us are either math nerds, asexual corporate drones, or prostitutes.… Continue reading An Open Letter to Asian-Americans
Black Men and “Distractions”
“Black women as a group have never been fools. We couldn’t afford to be.” –Barbara Smith Black women are facing a drought of allies during a time when black people in the United States are battling a turbulent racist climate. These moments illustrate that things are not so different from the past our parents and… Continue reading Black Men and “Distractions”
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