life
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Decentering is not Self-Erasure
What do Mariah Carey, Jagged Edge, Bow Wow, Criss Cross, Da Brat, Xscape, and Anthony Hamilton have in common? Jermaine Dupree. From Criss Cross “Jump” to Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” and Usher’s “Nice and Slow,” this man has had 11 #1 Billboard Hot 100 records. And I am going to tell you why… Continue reading
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Slow Down: Why You Don’t Need to Rush the End of the Year
This is the time of year when many of us are inundated with a call to “finish the year strong.” A time when we will be pressured by businesses, organizations, and entrepreneurial gurus to race to the finish line. Social media posts will bombard us with how many days of the year are left, year-end… Continue reading
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An Artist’s Duty
I was sitting here thinking about how I got to this place of advocating for the restoration of Black history. If it were solely up to me, I would have chosen a less taxing, less unrewarding cause to advocate for. However, in the words of Nina Simone, “I have no choice in the matter. An… Continue reading
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Breaking From Tradition Can Be a Good Thing
Some families keep their history alive around picnic tables, their roots watered each summer by laughter, shared meals, and stories that stretch back generations. Mine did not. On my mother’s side, there were no great migrations back home for a weekend, no sea of matching shirts declaring our kinship, no annual roll call of who… Continue reading
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Community Can Be Healing
I spent the weekend before last wrapped in the embrace of family down in Shreveport and Keithville, Louisiana, and it felt like medicine. We rode horses, walked barefoot through the grass, played with dogs, danced like children to country songs (which was hilarious…them country songs a lil freaky, lol) chased chickens, and kissed the soft… Continue reading
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Rest is Revolutionary
“Do revolutionaries rest?” I laughed at Kathy’s question as we boarded the elevator to find something to wrap up my locs before I got in the water. It was a line from Spike Lee’s film Malcolm X (or something to that effect). I was enjoying some much-needed time away at Kathy’s pool party in Florida.… Continue reading
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