As I listen to the pundits, late-night comedians, and MAGA-verse mouthpieces like Kash Patel and Pam Blondie (I know but just can’t resist), I’m getting really clear on one thing—we are never going to see…
Category: Society
Black Joy – Chosen Few ’24
Getting ready for Chosen Few 2025! Post to come later… House Music! As soon as we hit the parking lot, we could hear it. The beat, uniquely Chicago, so familiar to my ears, so nostalgic…
Independence (Day)
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I used to be a flag-waving, fireworks-shooting, parade-attending, cookout-going patriot on the 4th. Proud African American. Two things changed that.Knocked that patriotism shit right out of me. The first happened pre-pandemic.(It’s funny how we’ve started…
Paddy Rollers & Slave Patrols
There are masked men rounding people up in America. Not in the dark corners of conspiracy, not in some dystopian sci-fi film—but in real time, right now. They’re staked out at schools, loitering near courthouses,…
Whytmanastan
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I first heard Karen Hunter use the term a while ago, and this morning, Lurie Daniel-Favors said it again on her show—Whytmanastan—to describe the vision behind Project 2025 and the fever dream of this administration.…
Before It Was Memorial Day
Before the barbecue. Before the beach trips and blowout sales. Before America made it about summer. We made it sacred. May 1, 1865, Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War had just ended. Freedom had just…
May 19th Belongs to the Fire Starters: Malcolm & Yuri
I’m not here to litigate who killed Malcolm.Not here to debate why the FBI feared him, or how America labeled him a threat while ignoring the threats it posed to him.And I’m not here to…
Desegregation vs. Integration — Part II
When Desegregation Disguises Itself as Integration Desegregation without real integration wasn’t just a missed opportunity. It was a wound — one that never properly healed. When the focus stayed on access but never touched belonging,…
Desegregation vs. Integration — Part I
Unlocking Doors vs. Building New Homes What is the difference between desegregation and integration? A question asked to a panel at a symposium on local Black history I was fortunate to attend at Northwestern University.The…
Black Bodies Built the Game
Before we were athletes, we were warriors, healers, scholars, and artists. We came from kingdoms and kinships that celebrated our bodies not for labor but for legacy. Then came the ships. Then came the chains.…