Yesterday the Apple Promenade building was torn down, when I initially saw the video clip on Shelf Life’s Instagram page @shelf_life_stories, my heart dropped. Although I knew that the day was coming and that this was the day that the project had been preparing for initially inspiring activists to collect stories. Even then I couldn’t […]
FebruaryBlack History Month Series Why Do this This is my second year of Sawari’s Black History Month series. The series includes daily articles, poetry and other forms of writing recognizing important figures and themes surrounding Black history. I like to take advantage of these few weeks of the year as a time for education and […]
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 […]
Black Ownership in Music and Entertainment Music runs through my veins, from my father’s side of the family. Every individual can do more than carry a tune, raised in the Gordy Memorial church of God and Christ, every member of the family, including my father, attended early morning church services, sang in the choir and […]
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 […]