Egypt has been all over the news lately, as Egyptians have lifted their voices in condemnation of despotic president, Hosni Mubarak. There are some key things to keep in mind as the events unfold: 1. Don’t get it twisted: this is a revolution. It has been called chaos, upheaval, civil unrest, an uprising, a challenge, […]
Month: January 2011
RE: Kanye West is Not a Feminist, but…
Crunktastic’s article is crossposted from our friends over at The Feminist Wire. I find myself both intrigued and troubled by Ron Neal’s recent TFW post, “Kanye West Is Not a Feminist, But…” Neal is absolutely spot on that Kanye displays a level of emotional vulnerability and complexity that is rare for Black male hip hop […]
Don’t Push Me Cuz I’m Close to the Edge: For Kelly Williams-Bolar
Kelly Williams-Bolar, a single mother of two daughters, ages 16 and 12, is serving day 9 of a 10-day suspended sentence in an Akron, OH jail for –wait for it – “records falsification” after modifying documents so that her daughters could attend school in a better school district than the ones near the subsidized housing […]
The Zen of Young Money: Being Present to the Genius of Black Youth
Guest post by Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs, friend of CFC, Wonder Twin of me 🙂 I fly with the stars in the skies, I am no longer trying to survive, I believe that life is a prize, But to live doesn’t mean you’re alive. Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living with Fearlessness and […]
Does this make me look Latina?
I was recently asked to give a presentation about women in the workforce to a group of Latina undergraduate students. After the panic about speaking in public wore off, I started asking myself, what could I possibly teach them? I started thinking about my experiences (as a student and professional) and how they have been […]
Why I Am Watching “The Game”
“It’s so crazy how these fans are so embedded and … attached to these story lines,” Tia Mowry said. “They actually think Melanie and Derwin are real.” I was one of the 7.7 million viewers who tuned in to watch The Game’s resurrection on BET last Tuesday. And I will also be in the number, […]
Meeting My Sister
Yesterday, I met my sister on Facebook. My mother’s only child, I have always wanted an older sister, someone wiser and cooler who could hip me to the ways of the world. I had replied to a cousin’s status update, an action that has become as commonplace as eating my morning bowl of cereal. When […]
Feeling Good Means Healing Good
So it’s January and the weight loss advertisements are literally flooding in. Like two days into the new year Bobby Flay was in a warm up suit talking healthy eating when October-December he and all his foodie buddies on the Food Network and the new Cooking channel were all about indulgence. But the ad that […]
Watch What You Say: On The Accountability of Words
In a communication course last year my students and I reached an impasse when they insisted that words have no power. When I challenged their overuse of popular, yet problematic, slang that is potentially offensive and harmful (i.e., saying something is “gay” or “retarded”) they claimed that words don’t mean anything, they are “just words.” […]
Does This Make Me Look Fat?
I own the movie Phat Girlz and I’m not ashamed. Starring a pre-Oscar Mo’Nique, Phat Girlz is part Cinderella-story, part conventional rom-com about a big girl searching for some love. It’s not remarkable in terms of budget, plot, or acting. In fact, a fair bit of it is cringe-worthy. (What immediately springs to mind is […]