What’s it like to be Black in America? Part 1 — In January 2020, a friend asked, “What’s it like to be Black? To be Black in America?” This friend is a member of the royal clan in the Tooro Kingdom located in western Uganda. By American social and political standards, he would be classified as Black. Africans primarily identify by…

Originally published by the Houston Chronicle on July 31, 2020 From 2015 to 2017, I worked for a high-profile startup in Marina del Rey, Calif., that prided itself on its social justice credentials. During those two years, Freddie Gray was killed by police in Baltimore. Alton Sterling was killed in…

This article was originally published in SEEMA. What can I tell you that you don’t already know? What can I say that Hasan Minhaj and Deepa Iyer haven’t already said? #BLACKLIVESMATTER is the buzzword of the moment. My guess is that if you’re reading this, you want to make sure…

harbinger of possibility — “When you suppress or ignore your irrational thoughts, it leads to imbalance, anxiety and war.” — André Breton Laurence Jeffrey Monier is a visual artist that embraces this philosophy like surrealists, André Breton and Salvador Dali before him. Monier was named after his father but decided to carve his own…

My alarm was set for 1:30 AM East African Time to catch Jilly from Philly and E. Badu as they broadcast live on Instagram at 7 PM Eastern Standard Time, Sunday, May 9th, 2020. I was not disappointed. True to my previous experiences, having seen both legends at D.A.R. Constitution…

There’s a great deal of information floating around the internet about how to work from home but very little geared toward creatives. We’re a special breed. We tap into spiritual and ancestral realms. Artists conjure the past to bring forth relevancy into the future. We don’t just pound away at…

The world is in a tizzy and rightfully so. COVID-19 infection rates and death tolls ring alarm from our televisions and cellular devices. Conspiracy theories of 5G, global Chinese takeover, implications of Bill Gates and Henry Kissinger population control have invaded our sanctity. You’re doing your best to remain calm…

“People, like water, seek their own level.” — Ann Landers I love a Black man with swag. His walk, that smooth talk, the way he tilts his head, how his shoulders slope slightly forward always gets my attention. Swag can be defined as style, personality, an edge. In this case…

Eroticism is not something you become. It is part of who you are.