Crafting Out A Place for Recognition In 1909 the United States recognized the last day of February as National Women’s day. This day was established as a result of women workers’ protesting working conditions in the garment industry with a strike in New York. From that year forward women in regions around the world began […]
Throat burning, stomach churning I lose the place in my mind As I hear the sounds Wee-woo, wee-woo Constantly reminds Me I’m not free, I’m jail bound. Looking straight ahead As my heart pounds I contemplate, “When can I relinquish this case?” Every time I feel that desperate belly ache An ache that […]
I wrote about the influential work of Katherine G. Johnson and the whitewashed history of her life experiences sparking interest of Black female contribution to science last year. #BlackGirlMagic isn’t limited to athletics and fashion. We’ve made revolutionary discoveries in technological advancements that changed the way that society functions entirely and Katherine wasn’t the only […]
Hey…Princess Shuri? “Have you seen the Black Panther Movie?” my coworker asked me as I passed him on the stairwell. I responded the way I had been since opening weekend a few days before, “Not yet” “Oh” he said with disappointment, “Well you look like the princess in the movie” I was flattered but since […]
With the reigniting of the Black Panther moment as a result of the Black panther movie I can’t help but think about the history of the Black Panther Party. The Black Panther Party was founded in 1966 in Oakland, CA the same city where Ryan Coogler, young black director of the Black Panther movie, was […]
My people built this land After your stripped it Of all it had known With a genocidal attack On native people’s homes This land is not “the land of immigrants” Because a passport is not A bill of sale Yet you continue to enforce That misleading tale From this land you extracted The original people […]
In grade school I remember standing in assembly to sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” shoulder to shoulder with my peers. One lucky student would drum the rhythm walking up the center aisle of the chapel, once he reached the stage the principal queued everyone to begin, “Lift every voice and sing, till’ earth and […]
Bass Reeves would become the first black U.S. Deputy Marshall, born to slave parents in Arkansas in 1838. Owned by William Reeves, he took on his owners last name and worked alongside his parents beginning as a water boy before he was old enough to work in the field. Reeves’ height and statue set him […]
Hattie McDaniel was the first black person to win an Oscar in 1940 for her role as Mammy in Gone with the Wind, she accepted the award in tears as ‘a credit to her race’ during the segregation era. Although she was an Oscar award winner segregation laws forced her to sit away from her […]
Making President’s Day Relevant to Black History Month This presidents’ day I’d like to take the time to reflect on Black presidential candidates in American history. Only recently has it been possible to see a Black man in the oval office, prior to Barack Obama the face of the president has always been white, but […]