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.

March 31, 2020

Arlan Is Here

For Women’s History Month, I am immensely grateful to the women whose past contributions are still beneficial, and I would like to introduce you to Arlan Hamilton. Hamilton is the founder and managing partner of Backstage Capital, my mentor and godmother, although, it is highly unlikely she is aware of the latter. Backstage Capital is...
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March 31, 2020

Food is Love: A Q&A with Sade Meeks, Founder of G.R.I.T.S

I’m not a foodie, but I do love good food. Growing up, the smells from the kitchens or grills of the women and men in my family made my tummy jump and face smile. Those smells were usually a signal to me that I could take a break from sports and games with my brothers...
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March 25, 2020

Ida B. Wells: A Lasting Legacy

I don’t know when I first learned about Ida B. Wells. I wonder if, being a Mississippian, she has always existed in my consciousness or if there was a moment at which I was specifically educated about her. No matter, when I think about influences, inspiration and admiration, it is Ida B. Wells who, after...
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March 23, 2020

Learning Lessons to Teach Our Kids

From the invite alone, I was apprehensive. My children have a pretty set schedule: Bedtime, 8:30 p.m. It may get to 9, maybe 9:30 p.m. on a weekend or if they take a late nap. However, 8:30 p.m. is prime sleeping hours for everyone. My bedtime has been 8:30 for so long, that even at...
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March 20, 2020

Celebrating Unita Blackwell

Our office was abuzz Monday, February 17. You may have been at home, catching up on sleep, a little cleaning, watching “The Price is Right.” It was President’s Day, but the staff here worked. It’s a holiday I don’t value enough to not be productive. I would imagine, though, on March 20, you may be...
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March 10, 2020

Good Questions and Questionable Behavior

The legislative session is underway in neighboring Alabama and the mostly white legislature is already looking to impose itself upon the majority Black city of Montgomery. Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed, whose term began this year, is accusing state politicians of legislative overreach as they work to pass a bill that would undermine the city’s attempt...
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March 10, 2020

Body Autonomy Under Attack in Florida

After nearly four hours of debate, the Florida legislature passed a bill making parental consent mandatory for girls under 18 who are seeking an abortion. Senate Bill 404, introduced by Republican senators and passed by Republicans in a party-line vote, demands underage women have written permission from their parents or a legal guardian before the...
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March 5, 2020

Mississippi Legislature Misfires on TANF Fraud. Again.

What do you do when you uncover a years-long scheme by wealthy contractors to defraud poor Mississippi families of millions of dollars? Well, if you’re a Mississippi politician, you quickly pass bills scrutinizing impoverished beneficiaries, rather than contractors. That’s the state of things in the Mississippi legislature this session, as GOP members dropped two bills...
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February 28, 2020

Title IX Works … Just Like They Planned

On December 16, 2019, USA Today published an investigative report on Texas football star, Tristen Wallace. It was revealed Wallace had been accused of, and found responsible for, two sexual assaults while attending the University of Oregon. He was, subsequently, expelled from the university, transferred to a Texas community college, and then transferred again to...
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February 25, 2020

Consuming Painful Black Art, Responsibly

The last few years have brought a revival of Black art and ramped up a proliferation of Black creatives receiving their flowers while they can smell them, especially at the box office. Is it getting to be too much, though? Director and filmmaker Ava DuVernay undertook the massive duty of recreating a pivotal legal case...
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February 25, 2020

Big Talents and Dark Clouds

When my mother turned 16 in 1985, her mind was focused on two things: escaping Tylertown, Mississippi, a place she had grown to love and hate since moving there from Chicago, and choosing the college that would provide her the space to fulfill her dreams. At school, she walked under the shadows of multicolored walls...
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February 17, 2020

Recent Arrests Make the Case for Block Grants

The Mississippi State Auditor recently busted a slew of bigwigs stealing millions of dollars of welfare money and people are understandably furious. They are also missing the point. Auditor Shad White announced the arrest of six people involved in an alleged embezzlement scheme including a Mississippi business owner and talk show guest, and the former...
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February 17, 2020

Gunn and Allies Sink Retired Teachers this Month

The Lighthouse has previously covered House Speaker Phillip Gunn’s war on teachers and schools. Gunn recently imposed a rule that cuts retired state employees, educators and coaches from legislative office by whacking their retirement benefits. Up until this year, retired public employees could draw their state pensions while serving in the Mississippi Legislature, thanks to...
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February 5, 2020

Even More Statues and Stupid

University of Mississippi leaders have been struggling over whether or not to keep a monument to vicious slavery and barbarity on school grounds. The university’s student senate, faculty senate, staff lawyers and high officials passed a measure last year to move one of their confederate monuments to a confederate graveyard where it could molder with...
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February 4, 2020

From a Reader: What More Should Kobe Bryant Have Done?

In our work, we adamantly believe survivors and support those who have been victimized by sexual violence. After basketball megastar Kobe Bryant’s unfortunate passing, the commentary worldwide was split. We received a (long) question from one of our regular readers: Should Bryant be forgiven for his transgressions or will his legacy always be overshadowed by...
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