La vie est belle. The English translation is the title of one of my favorite foreign films, Life Is Beautiful. It was for years my signature scent and a mantra written across my clay coaster of many years. …

A stranger in my own body. 43 years of building became a battle royale of seemingly endless stages of repair. My speech and what I’d known as language, compromised, sounds were so pronounced that I could barely stand any sudden or sharp noises, walking was a struggle only matched by…

#WeGotJoy

November is synonymous with elections and the 2018 midterms fared much better for Democrats in statewide and congressional seat gains. Democrats won back a third of seats previously vacated in the 2010 tea party wave of congressional representatives that the media dubbed “the young guns.” The 2018 midterms were an…

One Year Later…Summer 2020 I would like a word with a few people and communities that ascribe to the calming of hostile acts towards Black women on a daily basis. Mind you I am speaking as a Black woman but not for all Black women because as a group and…

The Hate You Gave I have tattoos. I have been cutting and growing my dreadlocks for 17 years. I listen to rap and trap music. I love bass and speed. I shout ‘ayyyee when I dance and see my people. I rep the South. I have physically fought. …

My late maternal grandmother was a pioneer. With a family and husband, she completed her college degree and set the tone for our family during the 1950’s. And I am ever proud of her and the countless family members who’ve matriculated through the halls of higher education. But what gives…

LOVE wayment… DISTRACTIONS Don’t Live Here Anymore If there was ever a moment to leave the comforts and joys of the sandbox, we have entered that epoch. Having come of age in the era of watching Eyes on the Prize faithfully beginning in middle school for Black History month, books on the Civil Rights Movement were dutiful…

Black Women Are More Than A #Hashtag In the United States, the month of November is synonymous with elections and giving thanks. The historic 2018 House victory seven months ago well-positioned Democrats in statewide and congressional races. Democrats won back a third of seats previously vacated in the 2010 tea…