Countering the anti-Blackness inherent in comics means truly centering the identities of Black heroes and the stories that shape them. Miles Morales and his Black creators are…… Read more “Go Be Our Hero: How to Make a Blacker, More Truthful Spider-Man”

Andrew Sullivan, in a recent column for New York Magazine, again expounds on the tribalism consuming the body politic through reviewing two books. Both authors he reviews…… Read more “The Great Fiction of the West: Andrew Sullivan and Racial Essentialism in Our Nation’s Stories”

I can’t bring myself to write about Kobe. I thought him invincible, in the same way Prince was eternal. The ruthlessness, The callousness against fellow man, As…… Read more “The Week Past: A Poem for Kobe”

This is the second part of my “What is the Empress?” editorial focus. In trying to create better stories for Black personhood, I am examining Sade Adu,…… Read more “The Claim: Sade’s Early Years and her Complicated, Conflicted Blackness”

Notes on the week of January 12th, 2020. On the Simpsons, the voice actor of Apu will no longer perform the role. My father banned my brother…… Read more “The Week Past: Apu, the Water Dancer, Pork Lard and Horizon Zero Dawn, and “What is the Empress?””

Through examining key moments in my life, I examine the impact that Sade has had on the development of my personhood. It is 2003. I was 17…… Read more “What is the Empress?: Sade Adu and my Personhood”

I had blogged and journaled, flippantly, for many years before the police murdered Alton Sterling and Philando Castile on film. Their shootings—or, that the end of their…… Read more “Better Stories for Black Personhood”

I define Black personhood as the space between our humanity and full citizenship. In 1865, we Black people in America fought for and earned our freedom and…… Read more “Black Personhood: A Rewrite”

Back in the 90s, I counted, weekly, on Detective J.C. Williams and Eddie Torres to keep us safe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0pRXxANbRk My household loved Black television, and New York…… Read more “Kamala’s Fall, or My Fear Against My Imagination”

In her presidential bid, Kamala Harris- like many other blacks who have gone into law enforcement- must step into her career and articulate her vision of reform.…… Read more “The Fighter: In Her Candidacy, Kamala Harris Becomes the Latest Avatar for Reformation”