It’s bigger than drow elves and trolls. The cult classic board game’s recent shakeup evokes how oppressors retain the status quo. — When I was around 10 years old, on an otherwise unremarkable Saturday afternoon at the Main Library in Downtown Columbus, Ohio, I had my life changed. I was walking through the children’s area when I saw a large group of kids seated around two tables that had been pushed together…

Don’t blame it on the A-a-a-a-a-auto-Tune… — I don’t consciously seek out T-Pain’s music, but I don’t smash a radio when his songs come on either. It’s music that, with a few exceptions, isn’t for me. When I encounter it, I recognize that I’ve probably walked into the wrong room. So my first reaction to listening to…

Toppling White supremacy has never been more within reach, but its defenders are too sensitive and ungrateful to allow for meaningful progress — It has never been easier for White America to stop racism in its tracks, and yet here we are in the summer of 2021, debating over things like Juneteenth and Black history in classrooms and, still, the matter of Black lives. Apparently the melting pot of America is more like…

They just don’t want students to engage with the concept of racism — I was probably never more militant than I was in the years when Afrocentricity was the new hotness. The early 1990s were a great time to come into one’s Black intellectualism. …

America made the end of slavery a federal holiday and all I got was this lousy T-shirt — In the midst of worldwide protests last year, Juneteenth had its great coming-out party. As much of White America scrambled to not be the bad guy, the holiday commemorating the last vestiges of legalized slavery came right on time. At the height of protest season, here was an opportunity that…

The controversy surrounding ‘Kim’s Convenience’ highlights a sad truth about diversity — When the Canadian television series Kim’s Convenience arrived on Netflix in the summer of 2018, I was instantly smitten. It wasn’t the funniest show I’d ever seen, or slickly produced in any way, but it had loads of charm. …

The new Netflix series ‘High On The Hog’ gives soul food its proper praise and exploration — Several years ago, my mother crafted handmade family cookbooks for each of her sons as Christmas presents. The base of the gift was a red Campbell’s recipe book built like a photo album. …

There’s a difference between being practical and killing dreams — Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com. My father gave me two pieces of advice when I was very young. First, never dig a pile of dirt from the middle. (Shovel at the bottom, so the dirt falls…

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to validate your existence — Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com. Dear So-Called Good Cop, I write this to you in the spirit of a shrug. Not a dismissive, Kanye-West-snatching-Taylor-Swift’s-moment shrug, but a shrug of resignation. It is an if-we-must shrug. You…