“We are not guys, gents, or fellas!”: Squashing and Smashing the Dominance of Male-Centered Language
The first time it happened, I’m sure I was a little girl. I do remember being slightly horrified and embarrassed. As children, we are often shocked and embarrassed by our parents, whether they are doing the right thing or not. We often feel a bit embarrassed by them. Maybe they look too old, too out-dated, […]
“Hell, No!”: The Color Purple’s Advice to Black Women and Girls
I have purple African violets in my house. They are delicate but powerful and resilient plants. I love when the seem to resurrect themselves and bloom throughout the year. I love the color puple. As Alice Walker writes in The Color Purple: “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple […]
Misogynoir: Carrying the weight and hate of black womanness
Misogynoir: Carrying the weight and hate of black womanness. Misogynoir: “the particular f***ery Black women face” Dr. Moya Bailey https://web.archive.org/ web/20141115094029/ http://www.thevisibilityproject.com /2014/05/27/ on-moya-bailey-misogynoir-and-why-both-are-important/ I’ve been reflecting on the word misogynoir as I have thought about my own experience as a Black woman and girl, and as I have thought about the suicide of Dr. […]
We are not ok. We are Black Women in America.
I am reminded of this book by Antija Allen and Justin Stewart. We’re Not OK: Black Faculty Experiences and Higher Education Strategies Dr. Antoinette “Bonnie” Candia-Bailey, Vice President for Student Affairs at Lincoln University, a beautiful, passionate, social justice activist, committed suicide this week. Lincoln University is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Jefferson […]
Dr. Claudine Gay: Let Us Not Allow Her To Be Erased
Today, President Claudine Gay resigned. This story is not on the home page of Harvard University. https://www.harvard.edu/ It is almost as if she has been erased. It is important that she is not erased. Her resignation reminded me of the resignation letter of Lesley Lokko, the former Dean of former Dean of Architecture, CUNY, who […]
Blackwildgirl’s New Year’s Resolution: I REFUSE
This year, in less than 100 days, my autobiography, Blackwildgirl: A Writer’s Journey to Take Back Her Superpower, will be released. (The book and companion journal are available now for pre-order on Amazon). Pre-order the book: https://a.co/d/amlVdi2; Pre-order the journal: https://a.co/d/hsHHDPh Almost 50 years after my first journal entry, at age 8, Blackwildgirl’s private journey […]
Decolonizing education: Senegal Study-Abroad Reflections
Song for Senegal Where European and African collide, the colonizer and the colonized; Where French and Wolof exist separately and together, like Muslims and Christians, mainly Muslims; Where American sports t-shirts walk along side African dresses and African robes; Where the blue-green ocean, with white capped waves, complements the reds, yellows, golds, whites, oranges, purples, […]
I AM A #SURVIVOR: Finding the Courage to Speak and Act against Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence
“Domestic and intimate partner violence always leaves its mark. Those of us, including me, who are lucky still have our lives. For some, the mark is a headstone.” Menah Pratt A photo of Tarana Burke reminds us of our responsibility to do something! Today is #HumanRightsDay. It is the last day of 16 days of […]
What is Your Renaissance?: Lessons from Beyoncé
The image for this post is drawn from the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art exhibit in Atlanta that just ended. The exhibit “Harmonia Rosales: Master Narrative” entwines West African religion and art techniques of the Renaissance period. Pictured here: Rosales’ work “The Birth of Oshun.” Learn more about the Afro-Cuban artist who reimagines Renaissance […]
Lessons Learned: Love, Loss, and Love Again
I just finishing watching “Love Again,” a movie that came out in 2023 with Celine Dion and Priyanka Chopra, on a flight from Portland to Minneapolis. I loved it. I’m a romantic at heart, a lover of Hallmark, Pretty Woman, and watching romances that end with kisses and kisses. The movie spoke to me in […]