Black Girl Times

Our blog offers Black creatives a platform to discuss their experiences and those of southern Black girls and young women (in particular but not exclusively) on The Lighthouse’s website. Through this project, creatives use writing, photography and other mediums to underscore the organization’s mission, further elevating those voices on matters ranging from reproductive justice to music, economic justice to pop culture.

Editorial Team

Natalie A. Collier

Editor in chief

Mabel Neal

Deputy Editor

Joecephus Martin

Creative Director

Rose Parkman Marshall

Copy Editor

Jelisa Harvey

Editorial Assistant

Margaree Jackson

Social Media Specialist

Ashlee Kelly

Contributor

Perdita Patrice

Contributor

November 24, 2020

The Fight in Georgia Isn’t Over!

While the rest of the nation is either exploding or breathing a sigh of relief at the results of the November election, the state of Georgia is gearing up for another round of political battle. Voters in that state had best get ready. “I don’t think a lot of people realize what’s coming yet,” said...
Read More
,
November 20, 2020

COVID Economy Targets Black Mothers

Nina Taylor, 30, was a small business owner until March of this year. Her company, Gemstone Bakery – The Cake Bar, was a mobile cottage foods vendor supplying vegan and paleo options and catering to customers with certain food allergies. Before COVID-19 ruthlessly shut her down and cleaned out her bank account, Colorado Springs customers...
Read More
, ,
November 9, 2020

Get Your Hammers; Time to Repair the Court

In the days leading up to the November election, President Donald Trump admitted he hoped U.S. courts—recently remade in his image after “packing” them with right-wing judges—would halt states from counting legally submitted mail-in ballots after November 3. “Hopefully the few states remaining that want to take a lot of time after November 3rd to...
Read More
October 30, 2020

The Importance of Ethical Considerations when Recruiting Participants of Color

There is a plethora of research being conducted in communities of color this year due to the outbreak of COVID-19 as well as it being an election year. It is crucial to consider ethics when working with and conducting research in communities of color. There are a few reasons that’s the case. I’m sure many...
Read More
,
October 26, 2020

New President and Senate Could Mean Big Changes

  Polling for current President Donald Trump is dismal. Numbers show his Democratic opponent Joe Biden ahead nationally by double digits and ahead in most battleground states. Biden is even putting up a good fight in states like Georgia and Texas, which normally vote solidly Republican. The polls look so obvious that pollster Frank Luntz told...
Read More
,
October 19, 2020

Despite Hardship, Black Georgia Voters Determined to Come Out Early to Vote

Georgia closed 214 polling places after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, but that’s apparently not stopping African-Americans from voting early this year. “It’s my custom to vote early … but Georgia doesn’t have a good reputation where voter rights are concerned,” said Lumbe Davis, a resident of Tucker, Georgia. “Polling locations were...
Read More
,
October 10, 2020

Jim Crow Filibuster Could Die in Democratic Senate Next Year

The word “filibuster” rolls off the tongue kind of weird—kind of like it’s coming back up again. That’s the larger sentiment behind the word for many frustrated senators, as well. The filibuster is a legislative maneuver that originally let senators debate indefinitely on legislation in order to prevent a vote. The Senate has gotten lazier...
Read More
,
October 9, 2020

President Defends Killing Racial Sensitivity Training

Audiences sat home aghast at the September presidential debate between incumbent President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Not just because the president tried to steamroll his opponent and showed no respect for time limits or decorum or even because the president stood on a stage and refused to reject white nationalists before millions...
Read More
, ,
September 26, 2020

Early Voting Meets Resistance and Support Across the Country

  The electorate is on ready and voting early this month, with lines queuing up outside many districts that allow voting before Election Day. A record 54 percent of voters  told federal officials they would be voting early this year, which is an increase from the 40 percent of voters who said they planned to...
Read More
,
September 4, 2020

Sneaky ‘Trigger Event’ Could Boot Mississippi Voters

Whenever commissioners or the secretary of state sends out a piece of mail to a voter’s household, that mail runs the risk of returning, for whatever reason. That return could spell trouble for a legitimate voter ... This amounts to more than one triggering event, and multiple events can put a voter on inactive status...
Read More
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August 26, 2020

Record Number Black and Brown Women Again Take to the Campaign Trail in 2020

Black and brown women have found considerable inspiration in the age of President Donald Trump; they’ve been inspired to run for office. According to the Center for American Women and Politics, 266 women of color are major-party candidates for the U.S. Congress in 2020. This record is a repeat of the record achieved during the...
Read More
August 19, 2020

Time to Protect Mississippi Voters from the Pandemic, Says Mississippi Center for Justice and ACLU

The state of Mississippi wants you to stand in line with a bunch of coughing strangers to vote this November, even amid a pandemic that is on track to kill 200,000 Americans by Halloween. Mississippi leaders currently only allow state residents to vote absentee if they are over the age of 65, permanently disabled, temporarily...
Read More
August 8, 2020

To School and Home Again: Learning in a World of Covid

Local school districts throughout the south are determined to pull kids back into schools this fall amid a national pandemic, and some parents and teachers are understandably nervous. They have good reason to be anxious. Schools that tentatively pushed their doors open and welcomed students back in late July were already getting hit with Covid...
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,
August 4, 2020

Roho/Ocasio Argument Was No Argument: It Was a Man’s Powerplay, Say Critics

In early July, reporters caught an exchange between Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, and Rep. Ted Roho, R-Florida, that shined an ugly light on male behavior and U.S. history, according to critics. According to a Hill reporter, Ocasio-Cortez was walking up the east front steps of the Capitol to cast a vote Monday afternoon when both Yoho...
Read More
July 19, 2020

White House Proposes Rule Change Making it Easier to Pollute Black Neighborhoods

Critics blasted the Trump administration this week for cutting the feet out from under Black residents looking to protect their neighborhoods from poison and environmental damage. President Donald Trump announced his plan to  stymie elements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which requires government agencies to conduct reviews and accept public input on the...
Read More
July 1, 2020

Power and Liberation in Creativity

What if we gave ourselves permission to be creative? To dream big and find innovative ways to deliver on those dreams in support of young Black women and girls in the Deep South?In an effort to provide time and space to young Black women and girls in ways that empower them to grow into their...
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,
June 23, 2020

DC Statehood Finally Looking More Likely, Creating up to 300,000 New Black Voters

After untold years of stalling, the Democratically-controlled House of Representatives has finally set a vote for the District of Columbia to have statehood. The move sets the stage for at least 320,000 African-Americans to have democratic representation. “Statehood is the only thing that will put the 700,000 residents of the district of Columbia on equal...
Read More
,
June 18, 2020

Georgia Democracy Buckles, but Likely Stronger Than Ever 

Democracy was underway in the few states that held primaries this month. In one state, however, it nearly sputtered to a halt.   “We are deeply disturbed by widespread reports of malfunctioning machines, long lines, polling sites that opened late and insufficient numbers of back up paper ballots in Georgia,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director...
Read More
,
June 17, 2020

COVID-19’s Impact on Young Black College-Age Women in the Americas

No one imagined this year we would be experiencing a global pandemic. No one guessed the toll COVID-19 would take on Black girls and women. No one imagined that colleges would be virtual for the rest of the semester and graduations would be celebrated virtually. Yet, it happened. There are many stories about how COVID-19...
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,
June 15, 2020

Something Like Celebration

Goodie Mob, a group with whom I’ve consciously uncoupled because … reasons, sang at the end of the interlude “Free” in 1995, “But I won’t accept this is how it’s gone be / ’Cause I wanna be free, completely free / Lord won’t you please come and save me / I wanna be free totally...
Read More
November 24, 2020

The Fight in Georgia Isn’t Over!

While the rest of the nation is either exploding or breathing a sigh of relief at the results of the November election, the state of Georgia is gearing up for another round of political battle. Voters in that state had best get ready. “I don’t think a lot of people realize what’s coming yet,” said...
Read More
,
November 23, 2020

Financial Independence and a Village to Boot

I have never been financially independent. Every bit of what you see has been given to me or provided by someone else. More specifically, there is nothing I have a man has not given to me. I ooze privilege. White. Blonde curls (that I straighten). Designer clothes. New car. Bouncy disposition. I am the women...
Read More
, ,
November 20, 2020

COVID Economy Targets Black Mothers

Nina Taylor, 30, was a small business owner until March of this year. Her company, Gemstone Bakery – The Cake Bar, was a mobile cottage foods vendor supplying vegan and paleo options and catering to customers with certain food allergies. Before COVID-19 ruthlessly shut her down and cleaned out her bank account, Colorado Springs customers...
Read More
, ,
November 16, 2020

What “Harriet” Taught Us | Affirmations for Black Girls

  Black women are inherently inspirational. There is a reason the world revisits our life stories for motivation. So many of us inspire simply by being ourselves, and we don’t do it wearing a shiny red cape. We do it in our everyday lives, wearing red lipstick and protective hairstyles. And when we need to,...
Read More
October 26, 2020

New President and Senate Could Mean Big Changes

  Polling for current President Donald Trump is dismal. Numbers show his Democratic opponent Joe Biden ahead nationally by double digits and ahead in most battleground states. Biden is even putting up a good fight in states like Georgia and Texas, which normally vote solidly Republican. The polls look so obvious that pollster Frank Luntz told...
Read More
,
October 19, 2020

Despite Hardship, Black Georgia Voters Determined to Come Out Early to Vote

Georgia closed 214 polling places after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, but that’s apparently not stopping African-Americans from voting early this year. “It’s my custom to vote early … but Georgia doesn’t have a good reputation where voter rights are concerned,” said Lumbe Davis, a resident of Tucker, Georgia. “Polling locations were...
Read More
,
October 10, 2020

Jim Crow Filibuster Could Die in Democratic Senate Next Year

The word “filibuster” rolls off the tongue kind of weird—kind of like it’s coming back up again. That’s the larger sentiment behind the word for many frustrated senators, as well. The filibuster is a legislative maneuver that originally let senators debate indefinitely on legislation in order to prevent a vote. The Senate has gotten lazier...
Read More
,
October 9, 2020

President Defends Killing Racial Sensitivity Training

Audiences sat home aghast at the September presidential debate between incumbent President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Not just because the president tried to steamroll his opponent and showed no respect for time limits or decorum or even because the president stood on a stage and refused to reject white nationalists before millions...
Read More
, ,
September 26, 2020

Early Voting Meets Resistance and Support Across the Country

  The electorate is on ready and voting early this month, with lines queuing up outside many districts that allow voting before Election Day. A record 54 percent of voters  told federal officials they would be voting early this year, which is an increase from the 40 percent of voters who said they planned to...
Read More
,
September 22, 2020

Immigrant Women, Forced Sterilization | Same Song?

A nurse at a private immigration detention center in Georgia blew the whistle on something that sounds right out of a nightmare. Whistleblower Dawn Wooten claims the Irwin County Detention Center she worked at performed an unethical number of hysterectomies on immigrant women in custody. Her claims confirm accounts by detained immigrants at the facility...
Read More
, ,
September 18, 2020

‘Winner Take All’ Takes Away Democracy and Hurts the Black Vote

American politics has proven time and again that a presidential candidate has to win more than just the most votes in order to be president. Hillary Clinton lost the presidency in 2016, despite getting more votes than GOP candidate Donald Trump; she beat Trump by nearly 3 million votes that year, winning 48 percent to...
Read More
,
September 18, 2020

Experiencing the Pandemic Away from Home

for a Spanish translation of this story, see below A few months ago, the whole world practically stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While this pandemic has caused an economic slowdown and generated negative effects all around the world—GDP fall, massive layoffs, rising unemployment rate, drop in consumption, public health crisis, and so on—people have...
Read More
, ,
September 9, 2020

Traitors in Ranks: I Am Vanessa Guillén Too

On April 22, 20-year-old Army Spec. Vanessa Guillén disappeared from the Fort Hood Army base, in Killeen, Texas, where she’d been assigned. Photos of Guillén accompanied the news reports, as her mother pleaded for information leading to her daughter’s return. As pictures of Guillén’s last movements were discovered, it was revealed she reported the sexual...
Read More
September 7, 2020

Bondage … in Black

Deep in the heart of the Mississippi Delta rests a historical milieu slicing through the lurid white canvas of King Cotton that stretches on for miles. At Little Rock Missionary Baptist Church in Greenwood, two enormous pecan trees guard the grave of blues legend Robert Johnson. Reputed southern folklore claims Johnson once sold his soul...
Read More
September 5, 2020

#SayHerName and Hers and Hers

According to the Washington Post, which began tracking police shootings in 2015, the cops have killed more than 5,600 people nationwide. Of those, 24 percent were Black Americans (about 1,300) and 247 were women.  Forty-eight of those were Black women. This may sound small, but consider what Marissa Iati, Jennifer Jenkins and Sommer Brugal write...
Read More
, ,
November 24, 2020

The Fight in Georgia Isn’t Over!

While the rest of the nation is either exploding or breathing a sigh of relief at the results of the November election, the state of Georgia is gearing up for another round of political battle. Voters in that state had best get ready. “I don’t think a lot of people realize what’s coming yet,” said...
Read More
,
November 23, 2020

Financial Independence and a Village to Boot

I have never been financially independent. Every bit of what you see has been given to me or provided by someone else. More specifically, there is nothing I have a man has not given to me. I ooze privilege. White. Blonde curls (that I straighten). Designer clothes. New car. Bouncy disposition. I am the women...
Read More
, ,
November 20, 2020

COVID Economy Targets Black Mothers

Nina Taylor, 30, was a small business owner until March of this year. Her company, Gemstone Bakery – The Cake Bar, was a mobile cottage foods vendor supplying vegan and paleo options and catering to customers with certain food allergies. Before COVID-19 ruthlessly shut her down and cleaned out her bank account, Colorado Springs customers...
Read More
, ,
November 16, 2020

What “Harriet” Taught Us | Affirmations for Black Girls

  Black women are inherently inspirational. There is a reason the world revisits our life stories for motivation. So many of us inspire simply by being ourselves, and we don’t do it wearing a shiny red cape. We do it in our everyday lives, wearing red lipstick and protective hairstyles. And when we need to,...
Read More
October 26, 2020

New President and Senate Could Mean Big Changes

  Polling for current President Donald Trump is dismal. Numbers show his Democratic opponent Joe Biden ahead nationally by double digits and ahead in most battleground states. Biden is even putting up a good fight in states like Georgia and Texas, which normally vote solidly Republican. The polls look so obvious that pollster Frank Luntz told...
Read More
,
October 19, 2020

Despite Hardship, Black Georgia Voters Determined to Come Out Early to Vote

Georgia closed 214 polling places after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, but that’s apparently not stopping African-Americans from voting early this year. “It’s my custom to vote early … but Georgia doesn’t have a good reputation where voter rights are concerned,” said Lumbe Davis, a resident of Tucker, Georgia. “Polling locations were...
Read More
,
October 10, 2020

Jim Crow Filibuster Could Die in Democratic Senate Next Year

The word “filibuster” rolls off the tongue kind of weird—kind of like it’s coming back up again. That’s the larger sentiment behind the word for many frustrated senators, as well. The filibuster is a legislative maneuver that originally let senators debate indefinitely on legislation in order to prevent a vote. The Senate has gotten lazier...
Read More
,
October 9, 2020

President Defends Killing Racial Sensitivity Training

Audiences sat home aghast at the September presidential debate between incumbent President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Not just because the president tried to steamroll his opponent and showed no respect for time limits or decorum or even because the president stood on a stage and refused to reject white nationalists before millions...
Read More
, ,
September 26, 2020

Early Voting Meets Resistance and Support Across the Country

  The electorate is on ready and voting early this month, with lines queuing up outside many districts that allow voting before Election Day. A record 54 percent of voters  told federal officials they would be voting early this year, which is an increase from the 40 percent of voters who said they planned to...
Read More
,
September 22, 2020

Immigrant Women, Forced Sterilization | Same Song?

A nurse at a private immigration detention center in Georgia blew the whistle on something that sounds right out of a nightmare. Whistleblower Dawn Wooten claims the Irwin County Detention Center she worked at performed an unethical number of hysterectomies on immigrant women in custody. Her claims confirm accounts by detained immigrants at the facility...
Read More
, ,
September 18, 2020

‘Winner Take All’ Takes Away Democracy and Hurts the Black Vote

American politics has proven time and again that a presidential candidate has to win more than just the most votes in order to be president. Hillary Clinton lost the presidency in 2016, despite getting more votes than GOP candidate Donald Trump; she beat Trump by nearly 3 million votes that year, winning 48 percent to...
Read More
,
September 18, 2020

Experiencing the Pandemic Away from Home

for a Spanish translation of this story, see below A few months ago, the whole world practically stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While this pandemic has caused an economic slowdown and generated negative effects all around the world—GDP fall, massive layoffs, rising unemployment rate, drop in consumption, public health crisis, and so on—people have...
Read More
, ,
September 9, 2020

Traitors in Ranks: I Am Vanessa Guillén Too

On April 22, 20-year-old Army Spec. Vanessa Guillén disappeared from the Fort Hood Army base, in Killeen, Texas, where she’d been assigned. Photos of Guillén accompanied the news reports, as her mother pleaded for information leading to her daughter’s return. As pictures of Guillén’s last movements were discovered, it was revealed she reported the sexual...
Read More
September 7, 2020

Bondage … in Black

Deep in the heart of the Mississippi Delta rests a historical milieu slicing through the lurid white canvas of King Cotton that stretches on for miles. At Little Rock Missionary Baptist Church in Greenwood, two enormous pecan trees guard the grave of blues legend Robert Johnson. Reputed southern folklore claims Johnson once sold his soul...
Read More
September 5, 2020

#SayHerName and Hers and Hers

According to the Washington Post, which began tracking police shootings in 2015, the cops have killed more than 5,600 people nationwide. Of those, 24 percent were Black Americans (about 1,300) and 247 were women.  Forty-eight of those were Black women. This may sound small, but consider what Marissa Iati, Jennifer Jenkins and Sommer Brugal write...
Read More
, ,
November 24, 2020

The Fight in Georgia Isn’t Over!

While the rest of the nation is either exploding or breathing a sigh of relief at the results of the November election, the state of Georgia is gearing up for another round of political battle. Voters in that state had best get ready. “I don’t think a lot of people realize what’s coming yet,” said...
Read More
,
November 23, 2020

Financial Independence and a Village to Boot

I have never been financially independent. Every bit of what you see has been given to me or provided by someone else. More specifically, there is nothing I have a man has not given to me. I ooze privilege. White. Blonde curls (that I straighten). Designer clothes. New car. Bouncy disposition. I am the women...
Read More
, ,
November 20, 2020

COVID Economy Targets Black Mothers

Nina Taylor, 30, was a small business owner until March of this year. Her company, Gemstone Bakery – The Cake Bar, was a mobile cottage foods vendor supplying vegan and paleo options and catering to customers with certain food allergies. Before COVID-19 ruthlessly shut her down and cleaned out her bank account, Colorado Springs customers...
Read More
, ,
November 16, 2020

What “Harriet” Taught Us | Affirmations for Black Girls

  Black women are inherently inspirational. There is a reason the world revisits our life stories for motivation. So many of us inspire simply by being ourselves, and we don’t do it wearing a shiny red cape. We do it in our everyday lives, wearing red lipstick and protective hairstyles. And when we need to,...
Read More
October 26, 2020

New President and Senate Could Mean Big Changes

  Polling for current President Donald Trump is dismal. Numbers show his Democratic opponent Joe Biden ahead nationally by double digits and ahead in most battleground states. Biden is even putting up a good fight in states like Georgia and Texas, which normally vote solidly Republican. The polls look so obvious that pollster Frank Luntz told...
Read More
,
October 19, 2020

Despite Hardship, Black Georgia Voters Determined to Come Out Early to Vote

Georgia closed 214 polling places after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, but that’s apparently not stopping African-Americans from voting early this year. “It’s my custom to vote early … but Georgia doesn’t have a good reputation where voter rights are concerned,” said Lumbe Davis, a resident of Tucker, Georgia. “Polling locations were...
Read More
,
October 10, 2020

Jim Crow Filibuster Could Die in Democratic Senate Next Year

The word “filibuster” rolls off the tongue kind of weird—kind of like it’s coming back up again. That’s the larger sentiment behind the word for many frustrated senators, as well. The filibuster is a legislative maneuver that originally let senators debate indefinitely on legislation in order to prevent a vote. The Senate has gotten lazier...
Read More
,
October 9, 2020

President Defends Killing Racial Sensitivity Training

Audiences sat home aghast at the September presidential debate between incumbent President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Not just because the president tried to steamroll his opponent and showed no respect for time limits or decorum or even because the president stood on a stage and refused to reject white nationalists before millions...
Read More
, ,
September 26, 2020

Early Voting Meets Resistance and Support Across the Country

  The electorate is on ready and voting early this month, with lines queuing up outside many districts that allow voting before Election Day. A record 54 percent of voters  told federal officials they would be voting early this year, which is an increase from the 40 percent of voters who said they planned to...
Read More
,
September 22, 2020

Immigrant Women, Forced Sterilization | Same Song?

A nurse at a private immigration detention center in Georgia blew the whistle on something that sounds right out of a nightmare. Whistleblower Dawn Wooten claims the Irwin County Detention Center she worked at performed an unethical number of hysterectomies on immigrant women in custody. Her claims confirm accounts by detained immigrants at the facility...
Read More
, ,
September 18, 2020

‘Winner Take All’ Takes Away Democracy and Hurts the Black Vote

American politics has proven time and again that a presidential candidate has to win more than just the most votes in order to be president. Hillary Clinton lost the presidency in 2016, despite getting more votes than GOP candidate Donald Trump; she beat Trump by nearly 3 million votes that year, winning 48 percent to...
Read More
,
September 18, 2020

Experiencing the Pandemic Away from Home

for a Spanish translation of this story, see below A few months ago, the whole world practically stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While this pandemic has caused an economic slowdown and generated negative effects all around the world—GDP fall, massive layoffs, rising unemployment rate, drop in consumption, public health crisis, and so on—people have...
Read More
, ,
September 9, 2020

Traitors in Ranks: I Am Vanessa Guillén Too

On April 22, 20-year-old Army Spec. Vanessa Guillén disappeared from the Fort Hood Army base, in Killeen, Texas, where she’d been assigned. Photos of Guillén accompanied the news reports, as her mother pleaded for information leading to her daughter’s return. As pictures of Guillén’s last movements were discovered, it was revealed she reported the sexual...
Read More
September 7, 2020

Bondage … in Black

Deep in the heart of the Mississippi Delta rests a historical milieu slicing through the lurid white canvas of King Cotton that stretches on for miles. At Little Rock Missionary Baptist Church in Greenwood, two enormous pecan trees guard the grave of blues legend Robert Johnson. Reputed southern folklore claims Johnson once sold his soul...
Read More
September 5, 2020

#SayHerName and Hers and Hers

According to the Washington Post, which began tracking police shootings in 2015, the cops have killed more than 5,600 people nationwide. Of those, 24 percent were Black Americans (about 1,300) and 247 were women.  Forty-eight of those were Black women. This may sound small, but consider what Marissa Iati, Jennifer Jenkins and Sommer Brugal write...
Read More
, ,
November 24, 2020

The Fight in Georgia Isn’t Over!

While the rest of the nation is either exploding or breathing a sigh of relief at the results of the November election, the state of Georgia is gearing up for another round of political battle. Voters in that state had best get ready. “I don’t think a lot of people realize what’s coming yet,” said...
Read More
,
November 23, 2020

Financial Independence and a Village to Boot

I have never been financially independent. Every bit of what you see has been given to me or provided by someone else. More specifically, there is nothing I have a man has not given to me. I ooze privilege. White. Blonde curls (that I straighten). Designer clothes. New car. Bouncy disposition. I am the women...
Read More
, ,
November 20, 2020

COVID Economy Targets Black Mothers

Nina Taylor, 30, was a small business owner until March of this year. Her company, Gemstone Bakery – The Cake Bar, was a mobile cottage foods vendor supplying vegan and paleo options and catering to customers with certain food allergies. Before COVID-19 ruthlessly shut her down and cleaned out her bank account, Colorado Springs customers...
Read More
, ,
November 16, 2020

What “Harriet” Taught Us | Affirmations for Black Girls

  Black women are inherently inspirational. There is a reason the world revisits our life stories for motivation. So many of us inspire simply by being ourselves, and we don’t do it wearing a shiny red cape. We do it in our everyday lives, wearing red lipstick and protective hairstyles. And when we need to,...
Read More
October 26, 2020

New President and Senate Could Mean Big Changes

  Polling for current President Donald Trump is dismal. Numbers show his Democratic opponent Joe Biden ahead nationally by double digits and ahead in most battleground states. Biden is even putting up a good fight in states like Georgia and Texas, which normally vote solidly Republican. The polls look so obvious that pollster Frank Luntz told...
Read More
,
October 19, 2020

Despite Hardship, Black Georgia Voters Determined to Come Out Early to Vote

Georgia closed 214 polling places after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, but that’s apparently not stopping African-Americans from voting early this year. “It’s my custom to vote early … but Georgia doesn’t have a good reputation where voter rights are concerned,” said Lumbe Davis, a resident of Tucker, Georgia. “Polling locations were...
Read More
,
October 10, 2020

Jim Crow Filibuster Could Die in Democratic Senate Next Year

The word “filibuster” rolls off the tongue kind of weird—kind of like it’s coming back up again. That’s the larger sentiment behind the word for many frustrated senators, as well. The filibuster is a legislative maneuver that originally let senators debate indefinitely on legislation in order to prevent a vote. The Senate has gotten lazier...
Read More
,
October 9, 2020

President Defends Killing Racial Sensitivity Training

Audiences sat home aghast at the September presidential debate between incumbent President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Not just because the president tried to steamroll his opponent and showed no respect for time limits or decorum or even because the president stood on a stage and refused to reject white nationalists before millions...
Read More
, ,
September 26, 2020

Early Voting Meets Resistance and Support Across the Country

  The electorate is on ready and voting early this month, with lines queuing up outside many districts that allow voting before Election Day. A record 54 percent of voters  told federal officials they would be voting early this year, which is an increase from the 40 percent of voters who said they planned to...
Read More
,
September 22, 2020

Immigrant Women, Forced Sterilization | Same Song?

A nurse at a private immigration detention center in Georgia blew the whistle on something that sounds right out of a nightmare. Whistleblower Dawn Wooten claims the Irwin County Detention Center she worked at performed an unethical number of hysterectomies on immigrant women in custody. Her claims confirm accounts by detained immigrants at the facility...
Read More
, ,
September 18, 2020

‘Winner Take All’ Takes Away Democracy and Hurts the Black Vote

American politics has proven time and again that a presidential candidate has to win more than just the most votes in order to be president. Hillary Clinton lost the presidency in 2016, despite getting more votes than GOP candidate Donald Trump; she beat Trump by nearly 3 million votes that year, winning 48 percent to...
Read More
,
September 18, 2020

Experiencing the Pandemic Away from Home

for a Spanish translation of this story, see below A few months ago, the whole world practically stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While this pandemic has caused an economic slowdown and generated negative effects all around the world—GDP fall, massive layoffs, rising unemployment rate, drop in consumption, public health crisis, and so on—people have...
Read More
, ,
September 9, 2020

Traitors in Ranks: I Am Vanessa Guillén Too

On April 22, 20-year-old Army Spec. Vanessa Guillén disappeared from the Fort Hood Army base, in Killeen, Texas, where she’d been assigned. Photos of Guillén accompanied the news reports, as her mother pleaded for information leading to her daughter’s return. As pictures of Guillén’s last movements were discovered, it was revealed she reported the sexual...
Read More
September 7, 2020

Bondage … in Black

Deep in the heart of the Mississippi Delta rests a historical milieu slicing through the lurid white canvas of King Cotton that stretches on for miles. At Little Rock Missionary Baptist Church in Greenwood, two enormous pecan trees guard the grave of blues legend Robert Johnson. Reputed southern folklore claims Johnson once sold his soul...
Read More
September 5, 2020

#SayHerName and Hers and Hers

According to the Washington Post, which began tracking police shootings in 2015, the cops have killed more than 5,600 people nationwide. Of those, 24 percent were Black Americans (about 1,300) and 247 were women.  Forty-eight of those were Black women. This may sound small, but consider what Marissa Iati, Jennifer Jenkins and Sommer Brugal write...
Read More
, ,
November 24, 2020

The Fight in Georgia Isn’t Over!

While the rest of the nation is either exploding or breathing a sigh of relief at the results of the November election, the state of Georgia is gearing up for another round of political battle. Voters in that state had best get ready. “I don’t think a lot of people realize what’s coming yet,” said...
Read More
,
November 23, 2020

Financial Independence and a Village to Boot

I have never been financially independent. Every bit of what you see has been given to me or provided by someone else. More specifically, there is nothing I have a man has not given to me. I ooze privilege. White. Blonde curls (that I straighten). Designer clothes. New car. Bouncy disposition. I am the women...
Read More
, ,
November 20, 2020

COVID Economy Targets Black Mothers

Nina Taylor, 30, was a small business owner until March of this year. Her company, Gemstone Bakery – The Cake Bar, was a mobile cottage foods vendor supplying vegan and paleo options and catering to customers with certain food allergies. Before COVID-19 ruthlessly shut her down and cleaned out her bank account, Colorado Springs customers...
Read More
, ,
November 16, 2020

What “Harriet” Taught Us | Affirmations for Black Girls

  Black women are inherently inspirational. There is a reason the world revisits our life stories for motivation. So many of us inspire simply by being ourselves, and we don’t do it wearing a shiny red cape. We do it in our everyday lives, wearing red lipstick and protective hairstyles. And when we need to,...
Read More
October 26, 2020

New President and Senate Could Mean Big Changes

  Polling for current President Donald Trump is dismal. Numbers show his Democratic opponent Joe Biden ahead nationally by double digits and ahead in most battleground states. Biden is even putting up a good fight in states like Georgia and Texas, which normally vote solidly Republican. The polls look so obvious that pollster Frank Luntz told...
Read More
,
October 19, 2020

Despite Hardship, Black Georgia Voters Determined to Come Out Early to Vote

Georgia closed 214 polling places after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, but that’s apparently not stopping African-Americans from voting early this year. “It’s my custom to vote early … but Georgia doesn’t have a good reputation where voter rights are concerned,” said Lumbe Davis, a resident of Tucker, Georgia. “Polling locations were...
Read More
,
October 10, 2020

Jim Crow Filibuster Could Die in Democratic Senate Next Year

The word “filibuster” rolls off the tongue kind of weird—kind of like it’s coming back up again. That’s the larger sentiment behind the word for many frustrated senators, as well. The filibuster is a legislative maneuver that originally let senators debate indefinitely on legislation in order to prevent a vote. The Senate has gotten lazier...
Read More
,
October 9, 2020

President Defends Killing Racial Sensitivity Training

Audiences sat home aghast at the September presidential debate between incumbent President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Not just because the president tried to steamroll his opponent and showed no respect for time limits or decorum or even because the president stood on a stage and refused to reject white nationalists before millions...
Read More
, ,
September 26, 2020

Early Voting Meets Resistance and Support Across the Country

  The electorate is on ready and voting early this month, with lines queuing up outside many districts that allow voting before Election Day. A record 54 percent of voters  told federal officials they would be voting early this year, which is an increase from the 40 percent of voters who said they planned to...
Read More
,
September 22, 2020

Immigrant Women, Forced Sterilization | Same Song?

A nurse at a private immigration detention center in Georgia blew the whistle on something that sounds right out of a nightmare. Whistleblower Dawn Wooten claims the Irwin County Detention Center she worked at performed an unethical number of hysterectomies on immigrant women in custody. Her claims confirm accounts by detained immigrants at the facility...
Read More
, ,
September 18, 2020

‘Winner Take All’ Takes Away Democracy and Hurts the Black Vote

American politics has proven time and again that a presidential candidate has to win more than just the most votes in order to be president. Hillary Clinton lost the presidency in 2016, despite getting more votes than GOP candidate Donald Trump; she beat Trump by nearly 3 million votes that year, winning 48 percent to...
Read More
,
September 18, 2020

Experiencing the Pandemic Away from Home

for a Spanish translation of this story, see below A few months ago, the whole world practically stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While this pandemic has caused an economic slowdown and generated negative effects all around the world—GDP fall, massive layoffs, rising unemployment rate, drop in consumption, public health crisis, and so on—people have...
Read More
, ,
September 9, 2020

Traitors in Ranks: I Am Vanessa Guillén Too

On April 22, 20-year-old Army Spec. Vanessa Guillén disappeared from the Fort Hood Army base, in Killeen, Texas, where she’d been assigned. Photos of Guillén accompanied the news reports, as her mother pleaded for information leading to her daughter’s return. As pictures of Guillén’s last movements were discovered, it was revealed she reported the sexual...
Read More
September 7, 2020

Bondage … in Black

Deep in the heart of the Mississippi Delta rests a historical milieu slicing through the lurid white canvas of King Cotton that stretches on for miles. At Little Rock Missionary Baptist Church in Greenwood, two enormous pecan trees guard the grave of blues legend Robert Johnson. Reputed southern folklore claims Johnson once sold his soul...
Read More
September 5, 2020

#SayHerName and Hers and Hers

According to the Washington Post, which began tracking police shootings in 2015, the cops have killed more than 5,600 people nationwide. Of those, 24 percent were Black Americans (about 1,300) and 247 were women.  Forty-eight of those were Black women. This may sound small, but consider what Marissa Iati, Jennifer Jenkins and Sommer Brugal write...
Read More
, ,
November 24, 2020

The Fight in Georgia Isn’t Over!

While the rest of the nation is either exploding or breathing a sigh of relief at the results of the November election, the state of Georgia is gearing up for another round of political battle. Voters in that state had best get ready. “I don’t think a lot of people realize what’s coming yet,” said...
Read More
,
November 23, 2020

Financial Independence and a Village to Boot

I have never been financially independent. Every bit of what you see has been given to me or provided by someone else. More specifically, there is nothing I have a man has not given to me. I ooze privilege. White. Blonde curls (that I straighten). Designer clothes. New car. Bouncy disposition. I am the women...
Read More
, ,
November 20, 2020

COVID Economy Targets Black Mothers

Nina Taylor, 30, was a small business owner until March of this year. Her company, Gemstone Bakery – The Cake Bar, was a mobile cottage foods vendor supplying vegan and paleo options and catering to customers with certain food allergies. Before COVID-19 ruthlessly shut her down and cleaned out her bank account, Colorado Springs customers...
Read More
, ,
November 16, 2020

What “Harriet” Taught Us | Affirmations for Black Girls

  Black women are inherently inspirational. There is a reason the world revisits our life stories for motivation. So many of us inspire simply by being ourselves, and we don’t do it wearing a shiny red cape. We do it in our everyday lives, wearing red lipstick and protective hairstyles. And when we need to,...
Read More
October 26, 2020

New President and Senate Could Mean Big Changes

  Polling for current President Donald Trump is dismal. Numbers show his Democratic opponent Joe Biden ahead nationally by double digits and ahead in most battleground states. Biden is even putting up a good fight in states like Georgia and Texas, which normally vote solidly Republican. The polls look so obvious that pollster Frank Luntz told...
Read More
,
October 19, 2020

Despite Hardship, Black Georgia Voters Determined to Come Out Early to Vote

Georgia closed 214 polling places after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, but that’s apparently not stopping African-Americans from voting early this year. “It’s my custom to vote early … but Georgia doesn’t have a good reputation where voter rights are concerned,” said Lumbe Davis, a resident of Tucker, Georgia. “Polling locations were...
Read More
,
October 10, 2020

Jim Crow Filibuster Could Die in Democratic Senate Next Year

The word “filibuster” rolls off the tongue kind of weird—kind of like it’s coming back up again. That’s the larger sentiment behind the word for many frustrated senators, as well. The filibuster is a legislative maneuver that originally let senators debate indefinitely on legislation in order to prevent a vote. The Senate has gotten lazier...
Read More
,
October 9, 2020

President Defends Killing Racial Sensitivity Training

Audiences sat home aghast at the September presidential debate between incumbent President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Not just because the president tried to steamroll his opponent and showed no respect for time limits or decorum or even because the president stood on a stage and refused to reject white nationalists before millions...
Read More
, ,
September 26, 2020

Early Voting Meets Resistance and Support Across the Country

  The electorate is on ready and voting early this month, with lines queuing up outside many districts that allow voting before Election Day. A record 54 percent of voters  told federal officials they would be voting early this year, which is an increase from the 40 percent of voters who said they planned to...
Read More
,
September 22, 2020

Immigrant Women, Forced Sterilization | Same Song?

A nurse at a private immigration detention center in Georgia blew the whistle on something that sounds right out of a nightmare. Whistleblower Dawn Wooten claims the Irwin County Detention Center she worked at performed an unethical number of hysterectomies on immigrant women in custody. Her claims confirm accounts by detained immigrants at the facility...
Read More
, ,
September 18, 2020

‘Winner Take All’ Takes Away Democracy and Hurts the Black Vote

American politics has proven time and again that a presidential candidate has to win more than just the most votes in order to be president. Hillary Clinton lost the presidency in 2016, despite getting more votes than GOP candidate Donald Trump; she beat Trump by nearly 3 million votes that year, winning 48 percent to...
Read More
,
September 18, 2020

Experiencing the Pandemic Away from Home

for a Spanish translation of this story, see below A few months ago, the whole world practically stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While this pandemic has caused an economic slowdown and generated negative effects all around the world—GDP fall, massive layoffs, rising unemployment rate, drop in consumption, public health crisis, and so on—people have...
Read More
, ,
September 9, 2020

Traitors in Ranks: I Am Vanessa Guillén Too

On April 22, 20-year-old Army Spec. Vanessa Guillén disappeared from the Fort Hood Army base, in Killeen, Texas, where she’d been assigned. Photos of Guillén accompanied the news reports, as her mother pleaded for information leading to her daughter’s return. As pictures of Guillén’s last movements were discovered, it was revealed she reported the sexual...
Read More
September 7, 2020

Bondage … in Black

Deep in the heart of the Mississippi Delta rests a historical milieu slicing through the lurid white canvas of King Cotton that stretches on for miles. At Little Rock Missionary Baptist Church in Greenwood, two enormous pecan trees guard the grave of blues legend Robert Johnson. Reputed southern folklore claims Johnson once sold his soul...
Read More
September 5, 2020

#SayHerName and Hers and Hers

According to the Washington Post, which began tracking police shootings in 2015, the cops have killed more than 5,600 people nationwide. Of those, 24 percent were Black Americans (about 1,300) and 247 were women.  Forty-eight of those were Black women. This may sound small, but consider what Marissa Iati, Jennifer Jenkins and Sommer Brugal write...
Read More
, ,
November 24, 2020

The Fight in Georgia Isn’t Over!

While the rest of the nation is either exploding or breathing a sigh of relief at the results of the November election, the state of Georgia is gearing up for another round of political battle. Voters in that state had best get ready. “I don’t think a lot of people realize what’s coming yet,” said...
Read More
,
November 23, 2020

Financial Independence and a Village to Boot

I have never been financially independent. Every bit of what you see has been given to me or provided by someone else. More specifically, there is nothing I have a man has not given to me. I ooze privilege. White. Blonde curls (that I straighten). Designer clothes. New car. Bouncy disposition. I am the women...
Read More
, ,
November 20, 2020

COVID Economy Targets Black Mothers

Nina Taylor, 30, was a small business owner until March of this year. Her company, Gemstone Bakery – The Cake Bar, was a mobile cottage foods vendor supplying vegan and paleo options and catering to customers with certain food allergies. Before COVID-19 ruthlessly shut her down and cleaned out her bank account, Colorado Springs customers...
Read More
, ,
November 16, 2020

What “Harriet” Taught Us | Affirmations for Black Girls

  Black women are inherently inspirational. There is a reason the world revisits our life stories for motivation. So many of us inspire simply by being ourselves, and we don’t do it wearing a shiny red cape. We do it in our everyday lives, wearing red lipstick and protective hairstyles. And when we need to,...
Read More
October 26, 2020

New President and Senate Could Mean Big Changes

  Polling for current President Donald Trump is dismal. Numbers show his Democratic opponent Joe Biden ahead nationally by double digits and ahead in most battleground states. Biden is even putting up a good fight in states like Georgia and Texas, which normally vote solidly Republican. The polls look so obvious that pollster Frank Luntz told...
Read More
,
October 19, 2020

Despite Hardship, Black Georgia Voters Determined to Come Out Early to Vote

Georgia closed 214 polling places after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, but that’s apparently not stopping African-Americans from voting early this year. “It’s my custom to vote early … but Georgia doesn’t have a good reputation where voter rights are concerned,” said Lumbe Davis, a resident of Tucker, Georgia. “Polling locations were...
Read More
,
October 10, 2020

Jim Crow Filibuster Could Die in Democratic Senate Next Year

The word “filibuster” rolls off the tongue kind of weird—kind of like it’s coming back up again. That’s the larger sentiment behind the word for many frustrated senators, as well. The filibuster is a legislative maneuver that originally let senators debate indefinitely on legislation in order to prevent a vote. The Senate has gotten lazier...
Read More
,
October 9, 2020

President Defends Killing Racial Sensitivity Training

Audiences sat home aghast at the September presidential debate between incumbent President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Not just because the president tried to steamroll his opponent and showed no respect for time limits or decorum or even because the president stood on a stage and refused to reject white nationalists before millions...
Read More
, ,
September 26, 2020

Early Voting Meets Resistance and Support Across the Country

  The electorate is on ready and voting early this month, with lines queuing up outside many districts that allow voting before Election Day. A record 54 percent of voters  told federal officials they would be voting early this year, which is an increase from the 40 percent of voters who said they planned to...
Read More
,
September 22, 2020

Immigrant Women, Forced Sterilization | Same Song?

A nurse at a private immigration detention center in Georgia blew the whistle on something that sounds right out of a nightmare. Whistleblower Dawn Wooten claims the Irwin County Detention Center she worked at performed an unethical number of hysterectomies on immigrant women in custody. Her claims confirm accounts by detained immigrants at the facility...
Read More
, ,
September 18, 2020

‘Winner Take All’ Takes Away Democracy and Hurts the Black Vote

American politics has proven time and again that a presidential candidate has to win more than just the most votes in order to be president. Hillary Clinton lost the presidency in 2016, despite getting more votes than GOP candidate Donald Trump; she beat Trump by nearly 3 million votes that year, winning 48 percent to...
Read More
,
September 18, 2020

Experiencing the Pandemic Away from Home

for a Spanish translation of this story, see below A few months ago, the whole world practically stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While this pandemic has caused an economic slowdown and generated negative effects all around the world—GDP fall, massive layoffs, rising unemployment rate, drop in consumption, public health crisis, and so on—people have...
Read More
, ,
September 9, 2020

Traitors in Ranks: I Am Vanessa Guillén Too

On April 22, 20-year-old Army Spec. Vanessa Guillén disappeared from the Fort Hood Army base, in Killeen, Texas, where she’d been assigned. Photos of Guillén accompanied the news reports, as her mother pleaded for information leading to her daughter’s return. As pictures of Guillén’s last movements were discovered, it was revealed she reported the sexual...
Read More
September 7, 2020

Bondage … in Black

Deep in the heart of the Mississippi Delta rests a historical milieu slicing through the lurid white canvas of King Cotton that stretches on for miles. At Little Rock Missionary Baptist Church in Greenwood, two enormous pecan trees guard the grave of blues legend Robert Johnson. Reputed southern folklore claims Johnson once sold his soul...
Read More
September 5, 2020

#SayHerName and Hers and Hers

According to the Washington Post, which began tracking police shootings in 2015, the cops have killed more than 5,600 people nationwide. Of those, 24 percent were Black Americans (about 1,300) and 247 were women.  Forty-eight of those were Black women. This may sound small, but consider what Marissa Iati, Jennifer Jenkins and Sommer Brugal write...
Read More
, ,
November 24, 2020

The Fight in Georgia Isn’t Over!

While the rest of the nation is either exploding or breathing a sigh of relief at the results of the November election, the state of Georgia is gearing up for another round of political battle. Voters in that state had best get ready. “I don’t think a lot of people realize what’s coming yet,” said...
Read More
,
November 23, 2020

Financial Independence and a Village to Boot

I have never been financially independent. Every bit of what you see has been given to me or provided by someone else. More specifically, there is nothing I have a man has not given to me. I ooze privilege. White. Blonde curls (that I straighten). Designer clothes. New car. Bouncy disposition. I am the women...
Read More
, ,
November 20, 2020

COVID Economy Targets Black Mothers

Nina Taylor, 30, was a small business owner until March of this year. Her company, Gemstone Bakery – The Cake Bar, was a mobile cottage foods vendor supplying vegan and paleo options and catering to customers with certain food allergies. Before COVID-19 ruthlessly shut her down and cleaned out her bank account, Colorado Springs customers...
Read More
, ,
November 16, 2020

What “Harriet” Taught Us | Affirmations for Black Girls

  Black women are inherently inspirational. There is a reason the world revisits our life stories for motivation. So many of us inspire simply by being ourselves, and we don’t do it wearing a shiny red cape. We do it in our everyday lives, wearing red lipstick and protective hairstyles. And when we need to,...
Read More
October 26, 2020

New President and Senate Could Mean Big Changes

  Polling for current President Donald Trump is dismal. Numbers show his Democratic opponent Joe Biden ahead nationally by double digits and ahead in most battleground states. Biden is even putting up a good fight in states like Georgia and Texas, which normally vote solidly Republican. The polls look so obvious that pollster Frank Luntz told...
Read More
,
October 19, 2020

Despite Hardship, Black Georgia Voters Determined to Come Out Early to Vote

Georgia closed 214 polling places after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, but that’s apparently not stopping African-Americans from voting early this year. “It’s my custom to vote early … but Georgia doesn’t have a good reputation where voter rights are concerned,” said Lumbe Davis, a resident of Tucker, Georgia. “Polling locations were...
Read More
,
October 10, 2020

Jim Crow Filibuster Could Die in Democratic Senate Next Year

The word “filibuster” rolls off the tongue kind of weird—kind of like it’s coming back up again. That’s the larger sentiment behind the word for many frustrated senators, as well. The filibuster is a legislative maneuver that originally let senators debate indefinitely on legislation in order to prevent a vote. The Senate has gotten lazier...
Read More
,
October 9, 2020

President Defends Killing Racial Sensitivity Training

Audiences sat home aghast at the September presidential debate between incumbent President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Not just because the president tried to steamroll his opponent and showed no respect for time limits or decorum or even because the president stood on a stage and refused to reject white nationalists before millions...
Read More
, ,
September 26, 2020

Early Voting Meets Resistance and Support Across the Country

  The electorate is on ready and voting early this month, with lines queuing up outside many districts that allow voting before Election Day. A record 54 percent of voters  told federal officials they would be voting early this year, which is an increase from the 40 percent of voters who said they planned to...
Read More
,
September 22, 2020

Immigrant Women, Forced Sterilization | Same Song?

A nurse at a private immigration detention center in Georgia blew the whistle on something that sounds right out of a nightmare. Whistleblower Dawn Wooten claims the Irwin County Detention Center she worked at performed an unethical number of hysterectomies on immigrant women in custody. Her claims confirm accounts by detained immigrants at the facility...
Read More
, ,
September 18, 2020

‘Winner Take All’ Takes Away Democracy and Hurts the Black Vote

American politics has proven time and again that a presidential candidate has to win more than just the most votes in order to be president. Hillary Clinton lost the presidency in 2016, despite getting more votes than GOP candidate Donald Trump; she beat Trump by nearly 3 million votes that year, winning 48 percent to...
Read More
,
September 18, 2020

Experiencing the Pandemic Away from Home

for a Spanish translation of this story, see below A few months ago, the whole world practically stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While this pandemic has caused an economic slowdown and generated negative effects all around the world—GDP fall, massive layoffs, rising unemployment rate, drop in consumption, public health crisis, and so on—people have...
Read More
, ,
September 9, 2020

Traitors in Ranks: I Am Vanessa Guillén Too

On April 22, 20-year-old Army Spec. Vanessa Guillén disappeared from the Fort Hood Army base, in Killeen, Texas, where she’d been assigned. Photos of Guillén accompanied the news reports, as her mother pleaded for information leading to her daughter’s return. As pictures of Guillén’s last movements were discovered, it was revealed she reported the sexual...
Read More
September 7, 2020

Bondage … in Black

Deep in the heart of the Mississippi Delta rests a historical milieu slicing through the lurid white canvas of King Cotton that stretches on for miles. At Little Rock Missionary Baptist Church in Greenwood, two enormous pecan trees guard the grave of blues legend Robert Johnson. Reputed southern folklore claims Johnson once sold his soul...
Read More
September 5, 2020

#SayHerName and Hers and Hers

According to the Washington Post, which began tracking police shootings in 2015, the cops have killed more than 5,600 people nationwide. Of those, 24 percent were Black Americans (about 1,300) and 247 were women.  Forty-eight of those were Black women. This may sound small, but consider what Marissa Iati, Jennifer Jenkins and Sommer Brugal write...
Read More
, ,
November 24, 2020

The Fight in Georgia Isn’t Over!

While the rest of the nation is either exploding or breathing a sigh of relief at the results of the November election, the state of Georgia is gearing up for another round of political battle. Voters in that state had best get ready. “I don’t think a lot of people realize what’s coming yet,” said...
Read More
,
November 23, 2020

Financial Independence and a Village to Boot

I have never been financially independent. Every bit of what you see has been given to me or provided by someone else. More specifically, there is nothing I have a man has not given to me. I ooze privilege. White. Blonde curls (that I straighten). Designer clothes. New car. Bouncy disposition. I am the women...
Read More
, ,
November 20, 2020

COVID Economy Targets Black Mothers

Nina Taylor, 30, was a small business owner until March of this year. Her company, Gemstone Bakery – The Cake Bar, was a mobile cottage foods vendor supplying vegan and paleo options and catering to customers with certain food allergies. Before COVID-19 ruthlessly shut her down and cleaned out her bank account, Colorado Springs customers...
Read More
, ,
November 16, 2020

What “Harriet” Taught Us | Affirmations for Black Girls

  Black women are inherently inspirational. There is a reason the world revisits our life stories for motivation. So many of us inspire simply by being ourselves, and we don’t do it wearing a shiny red cape. We do it in our everyday lives, wearing red lipstick and protective hairstyles. And when we need to,...
Read More
October 26, 2020

New President and Senate Could Mean Big Changes

  Polling for current President Donald Trump is dismal. Numbers show his Democratic opponent Joe Biden ahead nationally by double digits and ahead in most battleground states. Biden is even putting up a good fight in states like Georgia and Texas, which normally vote solidly Republican. The polls look so obvious that pollster Frank Luntz told...
Read More
,
October 19, 2020

Despite Hardship, Black Georgia Voters Determined to Come Out Early to Vote

Georgia closed 214 polling places after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, but that’s apparently not stopping African-Americans from voting early this year. “It’s my custom to vote early … but Georgia doesn’t have a good reputation where voter rights are concerned,” said Lumbe Davis, a resident of Tucker, Georgia. “Polling locations were...
Read More
,
October 10, 2020

Jim Crow Filibuster Could Die in Democratic Senate Next Year

The word “filibuster” rolls off the tongue kind of weird—kind of like it’s coming back up again. That’s the larger sentiment behind the word for many frustrated senators, as well. The filibuster is a legislative maneuver that originally let senators debate indefinitely on legislation in order to prevent a vote. The Senate has gotten lazier...
Read More
,
October 9, 2020

President Defends Killing Racial Sensitivity Training

Audiences sat home aghast at the September presidential debate between incumbent President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Not just because the president tried to steamroll his opponent and showed no respect for time limits or decorum or even because the president stood on a stage and refused to reject white nationalists before millions...
Read More
, ,
September 26, 2020

Early Voting Meets Resistance and Support Across the Country

  The electorate is on ready and voting early this month, with lines queuing up outside many districts that allow voting before Election Day. A record 54 percent of voters  told federal officials they would be voting early this year, which is an increase from the 40 percent of voters who said they planned to...
Read More
,
September 22, 2020

Immigrant Women, Forced Sterilization | Same Song?

A nurse at a private immigration detention center in Georgia blew the whistle on something that sounds right out of a nightmare. Whistleblower Dawn Wooten claims the Irwin County Detention Center she worked at performed an unethical number of hysterectomies on immigrant women in custody. Her claims confirm accounts by detained immigrants at the facility...
Read More
, ,
September 18, 2020

‘Winner Take All’ Takes Away Democracy and Hurts the Black Vote

American politics has proven time and again that a presidential candidate has to win more than just the most votes in order to be president. Hillary Clinton lost the presidency in 2016, despite getting more votes than GOP candidate Donald Trump; she beat Trump by nearly 3 million votes that year, winning 48 percent to...
Read More
,
September 18, 2020

Experiencing the Pandemic Away from Home

for a Spanish translation of this story, see below A few months ago, the whole world practically stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While this pandemic has caused an economic slowdown and generated negative effects all around the world—GDP fall, massive layoffs, rising unemployment rate, drop in consumption, public health crisis, and so on—people have...
Read More
, ,
September 9, 2020

Traitors in Ranks: I Am Vanessa Guillén Too

On April 22, 20-year-old Army Spec. Vanessa Guillén disappeared from the Fort Hood Army base, in Killeen, Texas, where she’d been assigned. Photos of Guillén accompanied the news reports, as her mother pleaded for information leading to her daughter’s return. As pictures of Guillén’s last movements were discovered, it was revealed she reported the sexual...
Read More
September 7, 2020

Bondage … in Black

Deep in the heart of the Mississippi Delta rests a historical milieu slicing through the lurid white canvas of King Cotton that stretches on for miles. At Little Rock Missionary Baptist Church in Greenwood, two enormous pecan trees guard the grave of blues legend Robert Johnson. Reputed southern folklore claims Johnson once sold his soul...
Read More
September 5, 2020

#SayHerName and Hers and Hers

According to the Washington Post, which began tracking police shootings in 2015, the cops have killed more than 5,600 people nationwide. Of those, 24 percent were Black Americans (about 1,300) and 247 were women.  Forty-eight of those were Black women. This may sound small, but consider what Marissa Iati, Jennifer Jenkins and Sommer Brugal write...
Read More
, ,
November 24, 2020

The Fight in Georgia Isn’t Over!

While the rest of the nation is either exploding or breathing a sigh of relief at the results of the November election, the state of Georgia is gearing up for another round of political battle. Voters in that state had best get ready. “I don’t think a lot of people realize what’s coming yet,” said...
Read More
,
November 23, 2020

Financial Independence and a Village to Boot

I have never been financially independent. Every bit of what you see has been given to me or provided by someone else. More specifically, there is nothing I have a man has not given to me. I ooze privilege. White. Blonde curls (that I straighten). Designer clothes. New car. Bouncy disposition. I am the women...
Read More
, ,
November 20, 2020

COVID Economy Targets Black Mothers

Nina Taylor, 30, was a small business owner until March of this year. Her company, Gemstone Bakery – The Cake Bar, was a mobile cottage foods vendor supplying vegan and paleo options and catering to customers with certain food allergies. Before COVID-19 ruthlessly shut her down and cleaned out her bank account, Colorado Springs customers...
Read More
, ,
November 16, 2020

What “Harriet” Taught Us | Affirmations for Black Girls

  Black women are inherently inspirational. There is a reason the world revisits our life stories for motivation. So many of us inspire simply by being ourselves, and we don’t do it wearing a shiny red cape. We do it in our everyday lives, wearing red lipstick and protective hairstyles. And when we need to,...
Read More
October 26, 2020

New President and Senate Could Mean Big Changes

  Polling for current President Donald Trump is dismal. Numbers show his Democratic opponent Joe Biden ahead nationally by double digits and ahead in most battleground states. Biden is even putting up a good fight in states like Georgia and Texas, which normally vote solidly Republican. The polls look so obvious that pollster Frank Luntz told...
Read More
,
October 19, 2020

Despite Hardship, Black Georgia Voters Determined to Come Out Early to Vote

Georgia closed 214 polling places after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, but that’s apparently not stopping African-Americans from voting early this year. “It’s my custom to vote early … but Georgia doesn’t have a good reputation where voter rights are concerned,” said Lumbe Davis, a resident of Tucker, Georgia. “Polling locations were...
Read More
,
October 10, 2020

Jim Crow Filibuster Could Die in Democratic Senate Next Year

The word “filibuster” rolls off the tongue kind of weird—kind of like it’s coming back up again. That’s the larger sentiment behind the word for many frustrated senators, as well. The filibuster is a legislative maneuver that originally let senators debate indefinitely on legislation in order to prevent a vote. The Senate has gotten lazier...
Read More
,
October 9, 2020

President Defends Killing Racial Sensitivity Training

Audiences sat home aghast at the September presidential debate between incumbent President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Not just because the president tried to steamroll his opponent and showed no respect for time limits or decorum or even because the president stood on a stage and refused to reject white nationalists before millions...
Read More
, ,
September 26, 2020

Early Voting Meets Resistance and Support Across the Country

  The electorate is on ready and voting early this month, with lines queuing up outside many districts that allow voting before Election Day. A record 54 percent of voters  told federal officials they would be voting early this year, which is an increase from the 40 percent of voters who said they planned to...
Read More
,
September 22, 2020

Immigrant Women, Forced Sterilization | Same Song?

A nurse at a private immigration detention center in Georgia blew the whistle on something that sounds right out of a nightmare. Whistleblower Dawn Wooten claims the Irwin County Detention Center she worked at performed an unethical number of hysterectomies on immigrant women in custody. Her claims confirm accounts by detained immigrants at the facility...
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September 18, 2020

‘Winner Take All’ Takes Away Democracy and Hurts the Black Vote

American politics has proven time and again that a presidential candidate has to win more than just the most votes in order to be president. Hillary Clinton lost the presidency in 2016, despite getting more votes than GOP candidate Donald Trump; she beat Trump by nearly 3 million votes that year, winning 48 percent to...
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September 18, 2020

Experiencing the Pandemic Away from Home

for a Spanish translation of this story, see below A few months ago, the whole world practically stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While this pandemic has caused an economic slowdown and generated negative effects all around the world—GDP fall, massive layoffs, rising unemployment rate, drop in consumption, public health crisis, and so on—people have...
Read More
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September 9, 2020

Traitors in Ranks: I Am Vanessa Guillén Too

On April 22, 20-year-old Army Spec. Vanessa Guillén disappeared from the Fort Hood Army base, in Killeen, Texas, where she’d been assigned. Photos of Guillén accompanied the news reports, as her mother pleaded for information leading to her daughter’s return. As pictures of Guillén’s last movements were discovered, it was revealed she reported the sexual...
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September 7, 2020

Bondage … in Black

Deep in the heart of the Mississippi Delta rests a historical milieu slicing through the lurid white canvas of King Cotton that stretches on for miles. At Little Rock Missionary Baptist Church in Greenwood, two enormous pecan trees guard the grave of blues legend Robert Johnson. Reputed southern folklore claims Johnson once sold his soul...
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September 5, 2020

#SayHerName and Hers and Hers

According to the Washington Post, which began tracking police shootings in 2015, the cops have killed more than 5,600 people nationwide. Of those, 24 percent were Black Americans (about 1,300) and 247 were women.  Forty-eight of those were Black women. This may sound small, but consider what Marissa Iati, Jennifer Jenkins and Sommer Brugal write...
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November 24, 2020

The Fight in Georgia Isn’t Over!

While the rest of the nation is either exploding or breathing a sigh of relief at the results of the November election, the state of Georgia is gearing up for another round of political battle. Voters in that state had best get ready. “I don’t think a lot of people realize what’s coming yet,” said...
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November 23, 2020

Financial Independence and a Village to Boot

I have never been financially independent. Every bit of what you see has been given to me or provided by someone else. More specifically, there is nothing I have a man has not given to me. I ooze privilege. White. Blonde curls (that I straighten). Designer clothes. New car. Bouncy disposition. I am the women...
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November 20, 2020

COVID Economy Targets Black Mothers

Nina Taylor, 30, was a small business owner until March of this year. Her company, Gemstone Bakery – The Cake Bar, was a mobile cottage foods vendor supplying vegan and paleo options and catering to customers with certain food allergies. Before COVID-19 ruthlessly shut her down and cleaned out her bank account, Colorado Springs customers...
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November 16, 2020

What “Harriet” Taught Us | Affirmations for Black Girls

  Black women are inherently inspirational. There is a reason the world revisits our life stories for motivation. So many of us inspire simply by being ourselves, and we don’t do it wearing a shiny red cape. We do it in our everyday lives, wearing red lipstick and protective hairstyles. And when we need to,...
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October 26, 2020

New President and Senate Could Mean Big Changes

  Polling for current President Donald Trump is dismal. Numbers show his Democratic opponent Joe Biden ahead nationally by double digits and ahead in most battleground states. Biden is even putting up a good fight in states like Georgia and Texas, which normally vote solidly Republican. The polls look so obvious that pollster Frank Luntz told...
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October 19, 2020

Despite Hardship, Black Georgia Voters Determined to Come Out Early to Vote

Georgia closed 214 polling places after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, but that’s apparently not stopping African-Americans from voting early this year. “It’s my custom to vote early … but Georgia doesn’t have a good reputation where voter rights are concerned,” said Lumbe Davis, a resident of Tucker, Georgia. “Polling locations were...
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October 10, 2020

Jim Crow Filibuster Could Die in Democratic Senate Next Year

The word “filibuster” rolls off the tongue kind of weird—kind of like it’s coming back up again. That’s the larger sentiment behind the word for many frustrated senators, as well. The filibuster is a legislative maneuver that originally let senators debate indefinitely on legislation in order to prevent a vote. The Senate has gotten lazier...
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October 9, 2020

President Defends Killing Racial Sensitivity Training

Audiences sat home aghast at the September presidential debate between incumbent President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Not just because the president tried to steamroll his opponent and showed no respect for time limits or decorum or even because the president stood on a stage and refused to reject white nationalists before millions...
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September 26, 2020

Early Voting Meets Resistance and Support Across the Country

  The electorate is on ready and voting early this month, with lines queuing up outside many districts that allow voting before Election Day. A record 54 percent of voters  told federal officials they would be voting early this year, which is an increase from the 40 percent of voters who said they planned to...
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September 22, 2020

Immigrant Women, Forced Sterilization | Same Song?

A nurse at a private immigration detention center in Georgia blew the whistle on something that sounds right out of a nightmare. Whistleblower Dawn Wooten claims the Irwin County Detention Center she worked at performed an unethical number of hysterectomies on immigrant women in custody. Her claims confirm accounts by detained immigrants at the facility...
Read More
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September 18, 2020

‘Winner Take All’ Takes Away Democracy and Hurts the Black Vote

American politics has proven time and again that a presidential candidate has to win more than just the most votes in order to be president. Hillary Clinton lost the presidency in 2016, despite getting more votes than GOP candidate Donald Trump; she beat Trump by nearly 3 million votes that year, winning 48 percent to...
Read More
,
September 18, 2020

Experiencing the Pandemic Away from Home

for a Spanish translation of this story, see below A few months ago, the whole world practically stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While this pandemic has caused an economic slowdown and generated negative effects all around the world—GDP fall, massive layoffs, rising unemployment rate, drop in consumption, public health crisis, and so on—people have...
Read More
, ,
September 9, 2020

Traitors in Ranks: I Am Vanessa Guillén Too

On April 22, 20-year-old Army Spec. Vanessa Guillén disappeared from the Fort Hood Army base, in Killeen, Texas, where she’d been assigned. Photos of Guillén accompanied the news reports, as her mother pleaded for information leading to her daughter’s return. As pictures of Guillén’s last movements were discovered, it was revealed she reported the sexual...
Read More
September 7, 2020

Bondage … in Black

Deep in the heart of the Mississippi Delta rests a historical milieu slicing through the lurid white canvas of King Cotton that stretches on for miles. At Little Rock Missionary Baptist Church in Greenwood, two enormous pecan trees guard the grave of blues legend Robert Johnson. Reputed southern folklore claims Johnson once sold his soul...
Read More
September 5, 2020

#SayHerName and Hers and Hers

According to the Washington Post, which began tracking police shootings in 2015, the cops have killed more than 5,600 people nationwide. Of those, 24 percent were Black Americans (about 1,300) and 247 were women.  Forty-eight of those were Black women. This may sound small, but consider what Marissa Iati, Jennifer Jenkins and Sommer Brugal write...
Read More
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