Yolanda wrapped her favorite throw around her arms and got cozy on her patio. She took in the night air, the stillness. She felt happy and content. Her life felt whole in a way it hadn’t in a long time. Whole didn’t mean perfect, of course. Whole didn’t even mean…

Yolanda appreciated the silence of lovemaking. The every so often release of a breath, a grunt, a moan, a sensitive spot giggle, was all she needed in her lovemaking space. Rich made love to lovemaking music. Dru Hill. Boyz II Men. Luther. Barry White. When Rich pulled away from her…

A match. Yolanda wondered what that meant beyond the simplicity of a swipe. These apps aren’t run by psychologists or sociologists. Some tech nerd created something that has decided fates and futures. Yolanda stared at the phone, at her photo looped into a circle with Rich’s photo. Like wedding bands……

Yolanda Mitchell wasn’t into social scenes. Though she owned a popular art gallery, she rarely made appearances at the receptions for new shows. She was a loner. Not by choice. A series of unfortunate circumstances led her here. An expensive year in therapy helped her finally understand her ex-husband’s actions…

Kissing. The act of kissing. The art of kissing. This simple, arousing, sometimes messy act of intimacy is my most favorite connection to another person. Unlike the baby cheek kisses from my parents, pressing my lips to someone else stirs deep, unexpected emotion. My relationship with this person is suddenly…

Race is at the forefront of almost every conversation these days. At times I want race to remain as hot a topic as it is, and other times I’m exhausted by any mention of it. But, race — and race relations — as it pertains to our children, is a…

The events of 2020 have been unprecedented, to say the least. In the midst of our urgent adjustment to life under quarantine, a renaissance of the Black Lives Matter movement exploded around the murder of George Floyd. A global consciousness is focused on the plight of Black lives. This focus…

Let’s get past idealism and find the comedy in our own flaws — Since #blackAF premiered on Netflix, Kenya Barris’ name has been under the internet’s microscope. With his $100 million Netflix development deal, I assumed Barris would push the envelope and create content that didn’t need network approval, and I anticipated he’d be able to do whatever the hell he wanted. …