Things I’ve Written Elsewhere

Writing I’ve published in other media outlets

Why are Black characters in fantasy stories such a controversial thing for white people?

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It really bothers (some) white people that Black people get cast in their favorite make-believe stories. Maybe we are infringing on their ability to make believe that we don’t exist. Whatever the case may be, it’s seriously time to get over it, like Whoopi said. 

When you can imagine dragons but not imagine Black people in fantasy stories, your racism is showing

Serena Williams is the greatest athlete of all time

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Have you ever watched Serena on the court? It is almost as if she has a choreographer who plots out her moves for her. She is aware of the ball and her body at all times. She moves around the court with a speed and gracefulness that almost makes it look easy. Almost. 

There are no qualifiers needed. Serena Williams is the greatest athlete of all time, and here are a few reasons why

Selective offense strikes again, this time with Chris Rock

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Comedian Chris Rock, who was infamously slapped by Will Smith while on stage at this year’s Oscars, recently made a very tasteless joke about Nicole Brown Simpson, who was murdered in 1994 along with her friend, Ron Goldman. 

The responses to Chris Rock’s tasteless joke about Nicole Brown Simpson vs. Jada say a lot about how America views Black women

The PWI vs HBCU debate is old and tired and needs to stop

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We live in a world where facts matter, and there are simple facts that could help people understand why a Black student may not choose to go to an HBCU—and they have absolutely nothing to do with wanting to be white.

Yes, David Banner, HBCUs are a treasure but not always an option for a lot of Black students

Amazon’s ‘A League of Their Own’ Tells Black stories loudly and proudly

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Although the new show is also a fictionalized retelling of the World War II-era All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), that’s where the similarities to the original ends.

‘A League of Their Own’ is based on the 1992 movie, but has an identity all its own

‘Down in the valley where the girlies get naked’

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Since season one, fans have been intrigued by the goings-on at the Pynk, the strip club owned and operated by Uncle Clifford (Annan) but commanded by the women who perform there, including Mercedes (Evans); Keyshawn, aka Mississippi (Thornton); and Autumn (Johnson). Every single scene of every single episode is jam-packed with action, drama, or both, and by the end of each episode, you are left wanting more of the characters and their brilliantly evolving stories. 

If you are not already watching ‘P-Valley,’ here is a list of reasons why you should

Terrell Owens is the latest Black man to experience a white woman’s weaponized tears

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Who was the first white woman to lie on a Black man? Who was the first white woman to use her tears to try and get a Black man in trouble, or worse—killed? Who was the first white woman who realized if she put out her best crocodile tears, it could gain her the results she was looking for?

Terrell Owens finds out the hard way that white women have perfected weaponizing their tears against Black men

Jay Ellis got cyber-bullied over his marriage, and that’s not OK

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As I watched this, I kept wondering why people felt the need to attack him. He had done nothing wrong. His bride had done nothing wrong. They were simply living their lives and sharing what is undoubtedly a very happy moment in their story. Why do people feel the need to ruin that (or at least try to) simply because they don’t want to see an interracial couple? 

Jay Ellis and his new wife are not harming you, so why the vicious social media attacks?

Conversations about racism should not be getting stuck on ‘not all white people’

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Anyway, the other subset of people were white people who generally agreed with what I said about Bodega Bro, but they were given pause because in my headline I said “Bodega Bro is the epitome of everything white people do wrong on a daily basis.” They all got stuck on the “white people” part, and they all wanted to lecture me about how I shouldn’t lump everyone together in one category. 

Selective offense and ‘not all white people’: We shouldn’t have to keep coddling y’all 

Why is Josh Hawley always being a goofy?

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At this point, he should have realized he was in over his head, but you know white people, they gonna keep pushing it. He didn’t even really have anything “good” to say back, so he just stammered, “Uh, so, uh your view is that the core of this right then is about what?”

Josh Hawley messed around and found out, or how to ‘professionally’ read someone who is playing in your face

Black people with guns is scary business, apparently

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Except as we all know, people’s attitudes about who should and shouldn’t be able to bear arms and carry them in public tend to shift greatly when it comes to Black people owning guns. And we all know this is due to the implicit bias buried deep in this country’s DNA that causes white people to view Black people as some sort of ongoing threat. 

Why is open carry only an issue when it comes to Black folks? 

I got to interview Prentice Penny and Sam Jay!

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If the first season was the test, then the second season was the fully actualized product. Jay pulled the curtain back on her own life, focusing an entire episode on her infidelity and its impact on her relationship with her fiancée, Yanise Monet, affectionately called “Ya.” 

‘PAUSE with Sam Jay’ is the weekly house party we didn’t know we needed

Dear white people: Please don’t be like Bodega Bro

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Obviously, white privilege and entitlement have made Green completely unaware that there is a such thing as food deserts, and the Bronx is clearly one of them. People in that neighborhood rely on bodegas, as eccentric as they may be because there are no other options. 

Bodega Bro is the epitome of everything white people do wrong on a daily basis

My name is Monique, and I am a Black woman who loves watermelon

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Now, I am fully aware of the stigma and the stereotype that is attached to Black people and watermelon. It was my mother who informed me that the stereotype and stigma were entirely manufactured by white people who were both threatened and envious of the success Black farmers were having with watermelon. 

I am unapologetically Black, and I will never be ashamed of eating watermelon

Some of our favorite songs have some really wild lyrics

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Because of my close relationship with music, I have had the opportunity to repeatedly listen to songs and analyze their lyrical content. I have to say, what passed for good music back in the day would really get the side-eye today—not because the music is bad, but because at times the subject matter or the lyrics raise some eyebrows and questions.

So-called ‘romantic’ songs with very questionable lyrics

Independent journalism is where it’s at

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When your newsroom is owned by a corporation—or worse yet, a private equity firm—you find that it is sometimes hard to do your job as you envision it. Corporations often answer to advertisers, and advertisers often don’t want hard-hitting journalism. They want content that won’t hurt people’s feelings or force them to face uncomfortable truths. 

Why I Love DAME Magazine

When will the truth about Uvalde come out?

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This is the problem when outlets simply report what the police are saying and use that as the narrative. The police don’t always get it right, and as stated earlier, sometimes they flat out lie. The narrative from law enforcement in Texas has shifted so many times, it’s almost as if they are making it up as they go along. 

What Really Happened in Uvalde?

This summer’s anthem is…

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Listen. If Kandi doesn’t do anything else, she is going to give you a catchy bop to sing along to. After all, this is the woman who penned “No Scrubs,” “Bills, Bills, Bills,” “Tardy for the Party,” “The Ring Didn’t Mean a Thing,” and who has writing credits on “Bug a Boo,” “There You Go,” and “U and Dat.” She knows her way around a hit.

‘Legs and hips and bawdeeeeee’: Kandi Burruss has given us our summer earworm

When I tell you O-T Fagbenle is a delight, please believe me

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“I’m a man whose greatest wealth and honor is my family. That’s number one. I’m a person who cares a lot about young people,” he says. “…I guess I’m an artist. I’m a person who is driven to contribute stories to people, and I think in some ways the job of the artist is to reflect the most intimate parts of themselves to others.”

O-T FAGBENLE IS SHOWING US A DIFFERENT SIDE OF BARACK OBAMA ON THE FIRST LADY

I have a new weekly column at DAME

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I’m not saying that journalism as a whole is completely fucked up, but it is trending in that direction. And this is scary because journalists are supposed to be the watchdogs of society. We have an obligation to be truthful and tell the people what is happening. That doesn’t always happen these days. 

U.S. Journalism is a Hellscape Right Now

America doesn’t care about Black women

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“About a third of our population is African American; African Americans have a higher incidence of maternal mortality. So, if you correct our population for race, we’re not as much of an outlier as it’d otherwise appear. Now, I say that not to minimize the issue but to focus the issue as to where it would be. For whatever reason, people of color have a higher incidence of maternal mortality.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy proves America doesn’t care about Black women

Why are Black women always expected to be the bigger person?

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Black women are always expected to turn the other cheek when it comes to the people who mistreat them. We are always expected to be the bigger person, to rise above it all and act like we are indifferent to the hateful speech, abusive behavior and gaslighting that goes on in situations like this. 

Black women don’t owe Kevin Samuels anything

For theGrio, I wrote about how Black women are being asked to show grace to Kevin Samuels in light of his death, despite the fact that he had none for Black women when he was living.

30 years later, policing in Los Angeles is still a problem

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“Both the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department have horrible reputations and track records when it comes to their interactions with the residents of the city. The sheriff’s department, in particular, is known to be filled with internal gangs that target the city’s residents of color. The county sheriff himself is currently embroiled in a scandal in which it is alleged he attempted to cover up a video of a deputy kneeling on a handcuffed inmate’s neck—a case reminiscent of the murder of George Floyd.”

30 years after the 1992 Los Angeles Rebellion, policing in the city hasn’t changed much

Today is the 30th anniversary of the Los Angeles Uprising

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“In April 29, 1992, the city of Los Angeles erupted into a state of civil unrest following the not guilty verdict in the trial of the Los Angeles police officers charged with the brutal beating of Rodney King. For six days, people angry about the trial’s outcome took to the streets, businesses were looted and the city burned. While the verdict was the final straw for many, the fuse for their anger was lit years before.”

30 years after the 1992 Los Angeles uprising, not enough has changed