Category Archives: black women
Review of Lee Daniels’ The United States vs. Billie Holiday
The whole time I watched Lee Daniels’ The United States vs. Billie Holiday I thought, “Ignorance is bliss,” an adage to which I used to wholeheartedly subscribe. And now I know that after so many years of breathing (an accomplishment) … Continue reading
Posted in Afro-Caribbean, black women, film, review
Tagged film review, Nina Simone, The United States vs. Billie Holiday
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And Still We Rise!: Amanda Gorman and the People’s Inauguration
Amanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate, read her “The Hill We Climb” at the inauguration of the 46th President of the United States, Dr. Joseph Biden, Wednesday, January 20, 2021 Now 22-years-old, West LA raised Gorman was named Youth Poet … Continue reading
I’m Calling It! Person of the Year: Ms. Stacey Abrams!!
We’ve had a heck of a year—the dying dinosaur continues to roar. But civilization, true civilization, forges ahead. And Black women are leading the way. Case in point: Ms. Stacey Abrams, a beacon of a civil democratic society in which … Continue reading
Posted in African-American, black women, culture, film, history
Tagged Ella Fitzgerald, Fair Fight, Georgia, Person of the Year, Stacey Abrams
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Nnedi Okorafor’s “Mother in Invention” and the Power of Woman
*Illustration by Shyama Golden I have recently found two short stories that brought back some hard memories. They were both cathartic, gifting me with the ability to remember and, with a renewed conviction, reject the stories that I was told … Continue reading
Posted in Africa, artwork, black women, culture, literature, posters, review, Speculative Fiction, Writer
Tagged Mother of Invention, Nnedi Okorafor, review, short story, Winds of Harmattan
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Celebrating the Remarkable Life of Esther “Essie” Nakajjigo
It strikes me as truly tragic when someone who is doing extraordinary things in the world only becomes widely known when something tragic happens. One such tragedy is that of Esther “Essie” Nakajjigo, a young, beautiful Ugandan woman. The youth … Continue reading
Posted in Africa, African-American, black women, culture
Tagged Esther "Essie" Nakajjigo, girl's activist, Uganda, women's activist
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We Are the Earth Body
While taking a walk in my favorite park a few days ago I listened to the ecophilosopher, activist, and Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy being interviewed by Tammy Simon on Sounds True podcast. Of the many gems that Macy dropped, one that … Continue reading
Iyore (I Return)
I mentioned a few weeks ago that I’ve been thinking a lot about Death lately (I capitalize the word to show him the respect and reverence that he deserves). Again, I haven’t been reflecting on Death in a macabre sense, … Continue reading
Posted in Africa, African-American, Afro-Caribbean, black women, culture, film, health, mission
Tagged artist, black woman, black woman artist, Imuetinyan Ugiagbe, poetry
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Young, Gifted, Black: Destinies Fulfilled
I don’t know about you, but with everything going on, especially these past few months, I’ve been thinking about death…a lot. Not really in a morbid sense, but rather, as a way of reflecting on the importance of living well … Continue reading
Posted in African-American, black women, film, literature, review, Writer
Tagged Chadwick Boseman, Lorraine Hansberry, Young Gifted and Black
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Black Woman Magic
Black girl magic is real. Black woman magic is real. It’s in Nina Simone singing “Blues for Mama” in the way that only she could. It’s in Harriet Tubman, who, though illiterate in the white man’s language (because he made … Continue reading
Posted in African-American, black women, culture, film, review, Speculative Fiction, Writer
Tagged Fast Color, film, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Lorraine Toussaint, Nina Simone, review, Saniyya Sidney
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Review of Ayobami Adebayo’s Stay With Me
Ayobami Adebayo’s Stay With Me (2017) has gotten lots of positive press. It was a New York Times Notable Book, The New York Times’ Critics’ Top Books of the Year, was named a Best Book of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle, National Public … Continue reading
Alligator Woods 