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 …

Peace to Thembi for reminding me about these St. Ides Commercials.
I remember when St. Ides first came out. I was a young girl growing up too fast in NY. St. Ides seemed like that hotness because all the rappers were talking about it. It was like a jazzier forty-ounce for young folks. Those “Special Brews” seemed especially inviting because of the different flavors. Basically, I’ve had a couple. That was oh so many years ago. I hate malt liquor now. Mostly I’m just principally set against it because of the …

Once again, the New York Police Department has gotten itself involved in some racial bullshit of the typical kind: messing over innocent Black folk. What the NYPD didn’t account for, however, was that on May 2, the negro they were messing with was the highest ranking (uniformed) Black officer in the city. AKA… the HNIC.
The details of the story have not yet been flushed out but the gist of things is that Cheif Douglas Ziegler was sitting in his department issued SUV when two white officers approached the car and …

If you don’t already know, I ♥ reality television. It’s an addiction and I guess a respite from the mind-numbing work I do in law school. So, while this isn’t really a new reality show, it has all the elements of one: Stupid/Offensive premise, angry Black man (yeah DeMorge!), in your face corporate sponsor and a tension filled elimination ceremony. Tune in to My Black Friend, homeboy!!

No, I do not mean New York of Flavor of Love fame. I mean New York City, and more specifically, the New York Police Department. 
While it’s not very shocking or surprising (we tend to have severely low expectations of the NYPD), it is disgusting and saddening to hear stories like that of Ramona Moore. What’s also unsurprising is the lack of media coverage surrounding this issue. Had it not been for my regular blog-trolling, I certainly wouldn’t have gotten this information from my local (big city) news or even CNN. …

Recently, there were a bunch of stories, commentary and television appearances concerning the transgendered man (Thomas Beatie) who became pregnant. 
Many times we hear of transexuals who are born men but choose to live as women. Until recently, I feel like the other side of transgendered life, biological females living as males, hasn’t been explored. The Beatie story has brought some of the discussion to light. People are still confused, uncomfortable and freaked out by the whole thing. Not just Beatie being with child, but the idea that a person of …

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 …

I’m not going to say much on this subject because it is playing out in the media and in blogs all over the place. I am sure you have already made up your mind about it, one way or another.
From the gut, the verdict is appalling and shockingly unfair. Just based on common sense alone, it is baffling to me how one could justify shooting an unarmed man 50 times. Even if one was in fear of their own life, it is beyond excessive to shoot that much and reload …