I was out last night with some friends and their friends. One of these friend’s friends, we’ll call her Amy, is white. Walking down the street, the conversation turned to Amy and her recent trip to a sunny locale and how she got tanned and subsequently sunburned. At the end of this riveting tale, Amy puts her hand on the shoulder of Black friend #1 and says, “But you wouldn’t know anything about that,” in a very nonchalant afterthought kind of way. This isn’t that remarkable if you know Amy …

Author/Historian Elaine Tyler May is writing a book about the history and impact of the birth control pill. To that end, she is requesting stories from both men and women about their experiences with The Pill. I found the query interesting and figured I’d respond and include an excerpt of my reply here in this space. I encourage you all to submit your own answers to the questions. Hey, if she uses your response, you get a discount when the book comes out!
The Pill is often considered one of the …

I’m 26 and I have garbage knees. 

Why? In middle school, high school and college, I had 3 injuries to my knees: 1 partially torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) on one knee and a sprained ACL and MCL (medial collateral ligament) on the other. I got these injuries 1) while in dance class, executing choreography; 2) while playing volleyball, coming down from a spike; 3) running up some stairs in my dorm. 
See, The ACL is a small, rubber-band-like fiber, no bigger than a little finger, that attaches to the femur (thigh bone) in the upper leg …

It’s a fact: Everything good in this world causes cancer.
Today, my boy told me that soy milk is a carcinogen. My response: “everything is a carcinogen.” Still, it pissed me off a little because I hate real milk. Hell, I had some vanilla soy milk in my chai tea last night and it was yummsters! I have to look further into this soy milk – cancer link. For now, let me share with you two more things which will have you signing up for cancer walk-a-thons this year.

I came across this article and found it interesting. I had heard about this before in college, only briefly. This kind of thing is what I point to when people say racism is no longer an issue. Race enters into the equation where people least expect it. We need to be more vigilant in scoping out how racism emerges since we are no longer dealing with the in-your-face, cross-burning, Jim Crow racism of yesteryear. This is the new racism and, as you can see, it is costing us. 

Race and the white …