An Oriki Tribute to Harry Belafonte: In Memoriam
Harry George of House Belafonte (Bellanfanti). Second of his name (he was a Jr.). Sultan of the Silver Screen. Champion of Calypso. Humble Humanitarian. Truthtelling Titan. Justice Juggernaut. Resistance Revolutionary. A true multi-hyphenate. A legend. An activist. The most PROFESSIONAL of Troublemakers. A man who epitomized the adage of “leave …
Help Us Bring Little Troublemaker Books to Students
Books have the power to help us dream, give us an escape and teach us valuable lessons. That is especially true for children’s books, which can instill a love of reading and learning for young’uns. Unfortunately, not all children have access to quality books that reflect their own experiences and …
Let Them Choke! We Will Not Be Humbled
People have a problem with confident Black women. And an obsession with trying to humble us. When we walk in rooms, heads held high, assured that we belong, folks are rooting for us to fail. But we win. We win anyway. 😤 This is present on my heart as Angel …
About White Men’s Success, Nepotism and the Lie of Meritocracy
White men love to tell us to work harder cuz that’s what they did, and they’re wrong to do it. They should stop it immediately. On social media, everyday we’ll see white men in business, tech or thought leadership drop posts about what it takes to be successful. They will …
About Kanye’s Antisemitism, Earned Consequences and Who We Fight For
Kanye West‘s anti-semitism is really going to be his downfall. And rightfully so. Dude has been out of pocket with what he’s been saying about Jewish people, and I’ve seen a few interviews. His hate speech against Jewish people is awful and we cannot ignore it. We cannot dismiss it …
We Don’t Owe the Monarchy Our Grief
I was born in a country that used to be a part of the Commonwealth: Nigeria. A country that just got its’ independence from Great Britain in 1960. A country that is younger than my mother. A country that was torn apart because of colonialism’s chokehold on it. A country …
About Kim, Kanye and Who Deserves Abuse
To be a woman who is worthy of being abused or harmed, you need to be pious, flawless, perfect. You need to be a saint whose never worn skimpy clothes, cussed or made a mistake. Kim Kardashian is none of those. Yet and still, she doesn’t deserve the harassment and …
An Oriki Tribute to bell hooks: In Memoriam
Gloria Jean of House Watkins. THEE bell hooks. Second of her name (Bell Blair Hooks was her great-grandmother). Stupendous Scribe. Fearless Feminist. Conscious Critic of Culture. Sage of Social Activism. Towering Thinker. Prodigious Professor. Originator of The Oppositional Gaze. Author of “Ain’t I A Woman”. “To be oppressed means to …
We Know Better (Re: COVID-19) But Still Aren’t Doing Better
There was a point in 2020, where we felt helpless to this strange new virus (COVID-19) that was taking so many lives so quickly that morgues ran out of room. One moment, people talked about feeling slightly under the weather, and the next, we were seeing their obituaries. The world …
An Oriki Tribute to Nikole Hannah-Jones, the 1619 Project Architect
Nikole of House Hannah-Jones First of her name Shaker of Systems Rejecter of Racist Regimes Denouncer of Discrimination Pulitzer Prize Professor Baroness of Bucking Boards Teller of History’s Truths Agitator of Academia Frau of Fiery Fros Tycoon of team #TakeNoShit She told UNC to take their tenure, which she earned …