National Action for Black Descendants of Slaves Black history month should be more active than passive so, I want to challenge people to reassess the meaning of this time of year that we call Black History Month. Learning is a passive activity, there’s a lot more that we can offer ourselves as a community if we […]
The day that the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAACHC) finally opened to the public September 24, 2016 I vowed to go there as soon as possible. I’d never been to a museum that celebrated African American History and I was also gripped by it’s opening during the historic moment of […]
With February’s end, I fear the end of our pursuit of the knowledge, characters and milestones within our culture. During February we embrace the opportunity to bask in our history, posting the stories of our leaders and sharing the legacies of our ancestors across countless platforms. Whether that be through social media like twitter tributes […]
Why go to an HBCU? During the time that I’ve been researching and writing for the Black History Month series I’ve started to think more seriously about graduate school. After receiving my bachelors degree from the University of Washington I thought about graduate school but opted to focus on my salon to allow me the […]
For the past few days of the Black History Month series I’ve focused on the lives of my grandparents. Beginning with my father’s mother, Johnnie Lou Gaudy Carithers, who was the first African American hired in the state capital as a secretary and my mother’s father Eugene “Sweets” Wilson, who established his own hair salon […]
On this last week of the Black History Month series, I’ve been focusing on the accomplishments of those in my family tree. Yesterday I reflected on the life and legacy of my father’s mother. The experience was enlightening, learning about her accomplishments gave me a unique sense of pride. I never met my father’s mother, […]
This last week of Black History I wanted to focus on my family, and the accomplishments of those who came before me in my direct lineage. Sometimes we fail to recognize the amazing history we have in our own family tree. While searching for the amazing achievements within Black history we become blind to the […]
My father kept this picture of Malcolm X framed on the wall, all while I was growing up I stared into his eyes on my way to the dining room. It was as if he was imparting wisdom into me everyday, “Think Amani, learn my story and know your truth.” Today is the day of Malcolm […]
Presidents’ Day is an odd holiday for me, its strange that it’s in the middle of Black History Month, when the majority of our presidents have done nothing to advance the place of Blacks in American society. However there are many, including our vice president Mike Pence, who will argue that presidents like Abraham Lincoln fought […]
For the past few weeks I’ve been watching How to Get Away with Murder, another one of my favorite legal dramas is Scandal, for the simple fact that I love seeing Black women in power. The fact that I studied law in college makes the plots all the more interesting, aside from the fact that […]