Janice R Littlejohn

Pinned

Well, Hello Leo Grande!

A woman paying for sex? Why not! Before I knew anything about it, I added Good Luck to You, Leo Grande to my Hulu queue when the newly featured title popped up on my page with a picture of Emma Thompson. (Because, Emma Thompson!) I didn’t need any reviews to…

Movies

7 min read

Published in Momentum

·Pinned

“I Wrote the Book that I Needed”: A conversation on depression and faith with Monica Coleman

Not since Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings has an autobiography chronicled an African American woman’s journey from trauma to joyousness as boldly and vividly as Monica A. Coleman’s Bipolar Faith, which drops in paperback February 8th. When I first read Bipolar Faith some years ago, I…

Faith

11 min read

Published in Momentum

·Jul 26

What Reparations Look Like for Black Californians

From Bruce’s Beach to Leimert Park, a movement is underway. Here’s how you can be part of the progress. — During this morning’s post-meditation scroll through my Instagram feed, I learned that a few of my local business owner friends, Tony Jolly of HOT and COOL CAFE and Ade Neff of Ride On Bike Shop Co-Op — along with another Leimert Park shop owner — are looking to buy the…

Black

5 min read

Jul 9

Glute Amnesia: It’s a Thing…

…and why we all should remember to pay more attention to our derrières! Nearly every Saturday for the past four months, I’ve been working out at home with a trainer to get my body back in shape after a lower spinal injury last summer. After 12 weeks of physical therapy…

Body

6 min read

Jul 5

What To Me Now is the 4th of July…

A short meditation on Frederick Douglass’ 1852 speech for today’s democracy. I‘ve read many citations leading up to today from Frederick Douglass, in his July 5, 1852 keynote address at an Independence Day celebration, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?, …

History

2 min read

Jun 26

100+ Followers…and Counting!

It’s a pleasure to know you’re reading my work. So, I thought I’d (re)introduce myself. It’s been six months since I decided to experiment with Medium — having been a I have been a full-time journalist for more than 30 years, writing on a platform for free felt unorthodox (oh…

100 Followers

4 min read

Published in Momentum

·Updated Jun 27

‘Don’t Forget the (Black) Cowboys’

Black cowboys, ranchers and historians are revealing a vivid chapter of the American story. — After being corralled for two years, Black ropers and riders of the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo are saddling up once again for the summer — and their first live tour since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, with showcases scheduled in Los Angeles, Oakland, Atlanta, and the Washington, D.C., area…

Black

10 min read

Published in Momentum

·Jun 13

How White People Can Celebrate Juneteenth

While Black folks are celebrating our Freedom Day, white folks need to be working on reparations. — Not long after I wrote about the whole “Juneteenth” ice cream nonsense at Walmart, and the attempted trademark by the Balchem corporation CEO Ted Harris, there was the debacle at the Children’s Museum of…

Juneteenth

8 min read

Jun 3

It Really is Good to Be Nominated

LMU Magazine’s “Crowning Achievement” nod adds a feather in my cap — and continues the dialogue on a much-needed cultural shift in beauty standards. Last week I got word that I have been selected as a finalist in the 64th SoCal Journalism Awards Contest by the Los Angeles Press Club…

Black Women

3 min read

Published in Momentum

·May 27

Your “Juneteenth” is Not Welcome

Dear Ted Harris: Black folks don’t want your culturally-appropriated ice cream. If you want to promote real emancipation, there’s something else you can do. — Social media was swift in expressing its outrage over the cultural appropriation of a “Juneteenth” ice cream popping up in WalMart (blech!) stores this week — its red velvet and cheesecake swirled flavors billed as a celebration of “African American culture, emancipation and enduring hope.”

Cultural Appropriation

6 min read