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Racism: The Infection in the Wound of Police Brutality
Police brutality is a savage wound to everything a democracy stands for. Ultimately, a democracy requires that its people feel safe in non-violently opposing its government, and police brutality is but...
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A Lifetime on Parole – Blackness in America
I am one of the good ones. This could never happen to me. This is the lie I tell myself. I’ve been on parole my whole life for a crime I committed at birth: being black. Growing up in a mixed-race...
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Surprised by racism? You shouldn’t be.
The scene is all-too-familiar; I am united with friends around some game or movie or conversation of ultimately trivial import when a lull creeps in. The energy drops, and everybody leans back, silent...
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A Boston Tea Party for Black America
Wherever black Americans congregate to protest racism, from Ferguson to New York to Baltimore, one series of criticisms crops up again and again: There is no need for protests to turn “violent”. The...
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Unapologetically Black – Kanye West as Philosopher, Prophet, and God of...
Kanye West “ain’t even supposed to be here”, and he knows it, even if it was Jay-Z who said it. Like most successful black Americans, his story begins in adversity. One of his early hits, “Through The...
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The Unseen Trauma of Racism
It’s been a long couple of days. Once again, a white man with a history of racist comments took up a weapon leaving behind bloody black bodies. Once again the black community finds their sense of...
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Out with the Old, in with the New
Normally, I write about the troubling: the regressive, the oppressive, and the status quo. But in the last week, another force has prevailed: progress. On the one hand, in South Carolina, the...
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The Soul-Crushing Nature of Systemic Racism
In the news that we’ve seen as of late, you could stand there, surrender to the cops, and still be killed. Those are the chilling words of Sandra Bland. Upon her death, many leaped to defend her legacy...
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All This Has Happened Before, And All This Will Happen Again
As featured on Medium On August 9th 2014, Michael Brown was shot by a police officer, sparking a national conflagration which has been burning brightly since, casting light on the anti-black violence...
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You Can’t Break What Ain’t Fixed
As featured on Medium To liberal white Americans, Bernie Sanders represents the salvation of the American Dream. In a time of staggering inequality, the only independent Senator in America — and quite...
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Failure to Comply
As featured on Medium. On July 10th, Sandra Bland was pulled over by an officer for failure to signal a lane change. By the end of the hour, she would be arrested. By the end of the day, she would be...
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The Force Awakens in all of us, even the “nobodies”
As featured on Medium I’m a Star Wars geek, and I have been for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories is of watching Star Wars with my first grade class, writing reports on what it...
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Dear White People, Racism Is Not About You
Dear White People, It’s been awhile since our last chat, but I’ve been noticing that you keep fundamentally misunderstanding what racism is. So let’s start with the basics: Racism is not about you....
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I’m Dreaming of a Black Star Wars
As featured on Medium Dear younger me, Merry Christmas! You’re what, 10 now? 13? I can’t remember if you’ve just seen the first Star Wars prequel or the second, but I do know the disappointment you...
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Racism and The Double Standard of Guns
As featured on Medium This weekend, another militia featuring another Bundy entered into their second armed standoff with the American government. The first had been on federal land that the Bundy...
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The Shattered Innocence of Black America
As featured on Medium Barely a year ago in Portland — surrounded by more people of color than I had met in my seven years living there — I stood in the rubble of a destroyed city block, breathing in...
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The Young and The Radical – The Awakening of a New Black America
I’ve been black my whole life. It’s funny how the math of race works: a black woman meets a white man and makes a black child. I’ve always known that, but at the same time, it’s a new discovery. And...
View ArticleA New Year’s Resolution for a Political Revolution
View story at Medium.com In 2017, we won victories *against* Trump. In 2018, it’s time we start winning victories *for* something. So here’s a 2018 New Year’s Resolution we should all get behind. Get...
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