This consolidation of music is an invitation to find fuel with me. In 2017, my most refueling hobby while living in the Pacific Northwest was writing music, during that time I picked up my guitar and wrote the prelude to an neo-soul album I didn’t even know existed, a project destined for release March 2023. […]
Its sad to say but I’ve had people suggest to me in conversation that Black people haven’t done much during our time in the country. Though some may recognize the effect that slavery, segregation, Jim Crow laws and mass incarceration has had on African Americans ability to develop economically in this country; others surprisingly do […]
Harriet Tubman was not the only runaway who journeyed back to the slave perilous South to free more enslaved Africans. For many free Blacks, the spirit of revolution and ubuntu continued to course through their veins as freedom did not feel whole without the others. The Underground Railroad was a product of ubuntu revolution, a […]
Throughout history we’ve seen how technological advancements made by African Americans were highjacked and monetized by whites. During the slave era, inventions produced by Blacks to lighten their work load were never promoted as products of their creation. As property, even the product of their thoughts were owned by their masters. For example the cotton […]
On April 3, 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. gave his last speech, pleading with Black America to shift their wealth into Black owned institutions the night before his assassination. It is by no coincidence that his death came shortly after the world renowned speaker gave this radical advice to the millions who had been following […]
Being forced to go in an unfavorable direction because all other paths are blocked is the worst feeling. Sadly, this has become the lifestyle for Blacks in America. Throughout our collective time spent in this country our plate has always been served with whatever society has left over. We understood after suffering through the oppressive […]
During my last visit back home as spring struggled to show itself through the snowfall and ice covered roads I saw a new store that I couldn’t help but find myself inside of. I wasn’t sure based off of the name whether it was a restaurant or some type of boutique but with a name […]
This weekend the Black Arts Love Mixer and Market had even more vendors than I remembered, a lot of new faces and a lot of returning ones that gave me a chance to re-stock on my favorite brands. As I walked through the door my attention was drawn to the painting section where children were […]
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 […]
Ujima means Collective Work and Responsibility In thinking about Unity and Self-Determination an important aspect in order for both of these to function are collective work and responsibility. Collective work and responsibility spread the burden of obligation over multiple parties instead of them all falling onto an individual. Ujima is popularly described as, “To build […]