So, I was on Facebook (granted, I know that was my very first mistake) and I came across a homophobic comment posted by my youngest brother. Back story: my little brother and I have the same dad but different moms. I don’t use the word “half-brother” because to me if feels like it somehow delegitimatizes […]
Unleash Your Inner Wench
One of the things I love about the Hip Hop Generation is our ingenuity, our willingness to reinvent ourselves, and to think anew about the traditions we’ve been handed. When you mix that ingenuity with the kind of conscientious political critique that comes from Black and Brown feminisms, something remarkable happens. With appropriate intention, mundane, […]
Beat to Quarters*: An argument to register
Guest Post by Pat Hussain The 2012 elections will culminate with President Obama being reelected or replaced as President. Some people have decided to vote in this election; others not to vote. Whatever your decision I urge everyone who is eligible to register to vote by the October 9th deadline. Every citizenship right we have […]
Shade, Smirks, & Zingers
I’m too through. I should have watched some old episodes of Parks & Recreation rather than trying to watch this hot mess of a debate. To quote my fellow CF, watching this debate was like watching Jim Lehrer try to herd cats. Bless his heart; he needs to go have several seats and throw in […]
On Anger…
This post does not contain images because I don’t want to animate the stereotype, but in Google image searches for “Sapphire” and “Angry Black Woman,” Michelle Obama was prominently featured. In a brilliantly provocative paper at ASALH this year, Dr. Gwendolyn Pough invited us to rethink the black woman stereotype of Sapphire, the emasculating black […]
Lady Gaga, Beauty, Ugliness and the Call for a Real Body Revolution
Earlier this week, Lady Gaga launched a campaign, via her website, called Body Revolution 2013. An attempt to reclaim the conversation from the folks in the media who were writing about Gaga’s body as seen in a few recent photos, wherein she looks a little larger than she usually does. (I’m not linking to those […]
Throwback Thursday Remix: How to Say No…And When to Say Yes!
(This entry combines a previous entry, dated March 14, 2011, with a new reflection). Saying No It took me years to unlearn the habit of saying yes automatically when someone asked me for (or to do) something. So often had that single syllable fallen from my tongue that I would often agree to things before […]
Striking Teachers are Also Parents
After a civil and frank discussion, the House of Delegates voted NOT to suspend the strike, but to allow two more days for delegates to take the information back to the picket lines and hold discussions with the union’s more than 26,000 members throughout Chicago. Teachers and school staff will return to the picket lines […]
Cake! Cake! Cake! Cake!: Let’s Take 2Chainz to School
At the Crunk Feminist Collective, there are educators among us who teach in unsafe classrooms, around uncomfortable kitchen tables, in crumbling youth centers, and between warring crowds on police-barricaded streets. We teach because we believe that offering a lens and the language to critically engage the world are fundamental to changing the world. It seems […]
Starting With A Guide: New models of collaborative scholarship
Back in July, I attended nerd camp, THATCamp CHNM. I learned about the visualization tool Viewshare, created by the Library of Congress. I’m happy to announce the launch of Dr. Stephanie Evans’ “SWAG Diplomacy,” a project I helped her build in Viewshare. SWAG Diplomacy, as described by Dr. Evans, “maps locations of 200 African American autobiographers […]