Celebrating Community
A Historic Election The historic election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris marks another hard-fought milestone in American history. President-Elect Joe Biden, is now the oldest elected president in US history, and more noteworthy, Kamala Harris, the first Black (Jamaican), South Asian (Indian), and female vice president of the United States of America. As the nation transitions from one presidential […]
In my teens, I remember going to the movie theatre to watch ATL, Rapper TI was at the time, nearing the height of his pop culture presence. I had a crush on Lauren London who played TI’s love interest, Nunu – a standard infatuation for many boys at the time, and now (as she is still fine). ATL was my […]
The Origins of Lovecraft Country Lovecraft Country is one of HBO’s newest series based on author Matt Ruff’s 2016 best-selling novel, Lovecraft Country. Both the series and novel reference the work of another famous author, HP Lovecraft (Howard Phillips Lovecraft) whose earlier works made use of themes that dehumanized people of color. However, the HBO series created by Horror […]
Displacement Is No Myth Across the country, gentrification continues to be a sexy political topic for those least vulnerable to its effects, booming in and echoing out of consciousness. Regarding gentrification and the Black church in NYC, displacement is top of mind. For those most negatively affected by gentrification; lower-income, and long time residents, mostly people of color, gentrification […]
More than a month after the killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery, worldwide protests against police violence continue. New and old cases of police killings of civilians are gaining and regaining national attention. In the effort to deconstruct systemic police violence, New York seems to be making some strides with relatively aggressive actions. On June 12, 2020, […]
In a word, fatigue may be the most accurate response to 2020 thus far. Pandemic aside, viral content of Black people being racially profiled and murdered by either vigilantes or police is sadly routine. On March 13, 26-year-old EMT Breonna Taylor, was killed by a spray of bullets from officers shooting under a ‘no-knock’ warrant – it appears the officers […]
Hollywood’s Counterfeit Culture The theft of intellectual property and appropriation are common practices in the entertainment industry. Hollywood Svengalis wielding power over wide-eyed dreamers is a well-established part of entertainment culture and tolerated by many insiders. According to activist and film director Micheal Rice, HBOmax and its show producers have continued the practice with their alleged theft and consequent cover-up […]
Every day we share ourselves, our thoughts, our preferences knowingly and unknowingly across the web and elsewhere, leaving our digital footprints behind. But why should we care? The first decade of the 2000s saw the birth of several current-day digital marquees: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Google. In 2006, I remember uploading pictures and posting status updates on Myspace, the most popular […]
Human trafficking is the criminal practice of buying and selling coerced or kidnapped individuals for the purpose of sexual slavery, involuntary labor, child soldiery, or another form of exploitation. Audrey Moore, CEO of Lift Up the Vulnerable (LUV), is committed to fighting against human trafficking. Moore’s discovery of the human trafficking market began in the early 2000s as a recent […]
In 2018, Andrew Gillum was the handsome, 38-year-old runner-up in Florida’s gubernatorial race. Gillum, the state’s first Black nominee for governor, lost by fewer than 35,000 votes. Despite his loss, Gillum’s political capital was rising on the national stage. Rumors of a vice-presidential nomination spread. In March 2020, on Friday the 13th, Gillum, now 40, was found in a heavily […]