On my prolonged Medium absence. — I learned in the last thirty days that Moana is one of the top ten Disney animated films. I am a Great Mouse Detective fan, but my son is not; he needs bright animation and catchy songs. He’s watched Moana a million times and I found it helpful as I…

The most dangerous enemy of Black personhood springs from our own people. — The only passage I remember from my forced reading of Clarence Thomas’ memoir was how he decided to quit drinking. Thomas wrote that he was in a tub nursing a hangover when he decided he did not want to feel that way again. …

Only a society that has given into its racial-based myths allows the conditions which facilitate mass shootings. — Marvel at how Ruth Whitfield raised her son. “Is there nothing you personally are willing to do to stop the cancer of white supremacy and the domestic terrorism it inspires? Because there is nothing, then respectfully, senators, you should yield your positions of authority and influence to others that…

Black elderhood offends white supremacy. It cannot tolerate the mentorship and proof of survival advanced age evidences. — And though you did me gruesome, I was surely relieved/ I completed my mission, wasn’t ready to leave/ But fulfilled my days, my Creator was pleased/ — Kendrick Lamar, The Heart Pt. 5 Nine of the eleven Black victims the Buffalo white supremacist shooter murdered were elders.

Basic TV demands that Black personhood explain and justify its survival. With Abbott Elementary, Black personhood explains less and shows more. — With his final episode airing, black-ish departs from its mission of delivering comfort food to its viewers on ABC and subscribers on Hulu. For eight seasons, we watched the Johnson family grow up and eventually grow out of their Sherman Oaks neighborhood. Zoey went off to university and her own…

In calling me out for refusing to play the game of white analogies, Johnny Silvercloud falls into their trap of mystifying Black suffering when we have already solved the equation toward ending it. — A few weeks ago, the mighty Johnny Silvercloud responded to an argument implicit in my defense of Will Smith’s slap. Several of my white friends had reached out to me and used analogies to our previous jobs as public school teachers to convince me why Smith’s slap against Chris Rock…

White analogies serve to move Smith’s interpersonal violence into the realm of policing and political oppression. It’s an old move in the playbook of whiteness that centers their political anxieties. — As of the morning of April 9th, 2022, my writing on Will Smith slapping Chris Rock has earned me 3,300 views, 2,000 reads, and about $34 in royalties on here. My argument hinged on the following claims — that all cultures have codes that dictate engagement of interpersonal violence; that…

In a world built on anti-Blackness, war changes nothing for my people. How do we interpret other freedom struggles that do not get us free? — It is not uncommon for Ukrainians to refer to African-Americans as “[N-Word]”. Volunteers of color may be called ‘a monkey’ or may see children’s games with Blackface. Being aware of the history of dehumanization for people of African descent may help inform where this comes from; it does not justify…

Culture is a performance that allows expression of human emotion. Smith unabashedly accessed it, which drives white people crazy. — Will Smith dashed all intentions of me starting my work week with eight hours of sleep. Moments after the comedian made fun of Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair, his slap on Chris Rock injected physical violence into the Academy Awards. Minutes later, after huddling with Denzel Washington and Tyler Perry, Smith…