I've always hated the whole "Black men are deadbeat dads" narrative. For lack of a better term, it's really stupid. And harmful. And wrong. I take issue with people consistently making these "jokes" about Black fatherhood that only perpetuate stereotypes and keep the racist American culture alive. According to this article on Vox.com, the majority of Black fathers do live with their kids, contrary to popular belief. And if your issue is with incarcerated fathers, take it up with the prison and police system that targets Black men disproportionately.  The fact of the matter is that some people have dads, some people don't. Some people have moms, but not everyone. These people fall in every ca

Happy Emancipation Day beautiful people! On this day 155 years ago, the very last slaves - in Galveston, Texas - were freed. Two years after the initial Emancipation Proclamation, and in the aftermath of the Civil War, those slaves could finally join others across the United States of America and live lives of more than just labor, abuse, and horror. While slavery in other forms continued, and Black people weren't ever truly freed, we celebrate Juneteenth because of the weight it carries and message it conveys. "None of us are free until all of us are free." That day was June 19, 1865, exactly 138 years before I was born. Today I am seventeen, and I feel more grateful than ever to have been

Most of us have been force-fed police propaganda the entirety of our lives. We watch TV where detectives act recklessly on a hunch and are rewarded, we see one-sided tales on catching the "bad guy" with no remorse or concern for their life. Because of this, I cannot blame those who have the wrong idea about what the police should and should not be able to do, but we must get one thing clear: THERE IS  NO EXCUSE FOR MURDER. We need to unlearn this idea that if a citizen does anything out of line, cops are allowed to act as judge, jury, and  executioner. Instead we should be asking ourselves this: Why are the police so easily threatened? These are some of the most powerful individuals in the c

This one is for everyone asking why we don't protest when white people are killed by the police. First of all, because those killings aren't motivated by the same forces that have been working against Black Americans for 4 centuries. But, congratulations! You once again completely missed the point. By all means, if that "white on white" crime bothers you, join us, but I would put money on the fact that you don't actually care for the likes of Tony Timpa, in which case you should be ashamed of yourself for using a victim of police brutality to fulfill your attempt at silencing Black people. The fight against police brutality is about more than race and political party. It is a fact and it is

Yesterday would have been the 27th birthday of Breonna Taylor, Louisville EMT and one of the more recent victims of senseless violence at the hands of police. Police raided Breonna's home shortly after midnight on March 13th on the basis that her apartment was being used by drug dealers to receive packages. Now the first thing wrong about this is that the police had already arrested the suspects in the drug investigation. So what was the reason for forcing entry into a woman's home at midnight if there was no urgency in the situation? Secondly they did not identify themselves, yet arrested Breonna's boyfriend for firing his legal firearm. Would you not also use your self-defense weapon if so

On May 30, after attending a peaceful protest in Columbus, Ohio, 22-year old recent Ohio State graduate Sarah Grossman died. While attending said protest, Sarah and her protest group were sprayed by - you guessed it - tear gas, triggering her asthma, and subsequently killing her.  I am writing this post because I want to set something straight. Sarah Grossman should not have died. She is in NO WAY at fault for what happened to her. Some of you may wonder why I make that disclaimer, but you'd be surprised by how many people seem to think she as at fault, and should have known that by going to a protest she way putting her life in danger. Do not let these past few weeks fool you, what has be

Today I am attempting to explain what I mean when I say ACAB, or All Cops Are Bad. It seems that people misunderstand the statement, and tend to focus on the fact that they "know a good cop" or that "generalizations are dangerous." To that I simply say this, POLICE ARE DANGEROUS, not my statement. If that isn't clear by now, you may have something in your eyes - oh wait, no that would be the hundreds if not thousands of protesters that have been senselessly tear gassed over the past few days. The way I chose to explain ACAB was by using one argument I keep hearing, "You can't judge all police because of a few bad apples!" Think about it this way: Imagine going to the grocery store looking fo

This week marks the beginning of Pride Month 2020. You may or may not also know about Tony McDade, a transgender Black man who was shot and killed by police in Tallahassee, Florida on Wednesday, May 27. This is yet another instance of unwarranted police brutality against Black men, and Tony's existence should be recognized not only as a Black man, but as a transgender Black man. As a black woman, my whole life is rooted in intersectionality. I live everyday carrying the weight of not only the #blacklivesmatter movement, but the feminist movement as well. Because of this, I have learned that it is important to, when championing for one cause, include the rest as well. Johnson was part of the

I encourage you all to watch this free episode of Netfix's Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. Along with being a trailblazer for brown people in American comedy and entertainment, Minhaj offers well-thought out, factual, and extremely engaging commentary on American and global issues. I highly suggest watching all episodes of Patriot Act, but this episode from September of 2019 is extremely relevant in wake of the current tension between police and civilians.

"And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear?" - Martin Luther King Jr. Yesterday my family and I ventured out into surrounding neighborhoods on the south side of Chicago. We wanted to properly assess damage that has supposedly been done to our community by protesters and rioters. The news as well as social media was crawling in statements about how people were turning a movement into a chance to get some new shoes. To see what was what, we traveled about 15 minutes north and 15 minutes south of our house, keeping our eyes peeled for broken or boarded up windows. I was disappointed by what I saw, grocery stores, gas stations,

Last night I was made aware that in the heart of this rebellion and uprising, seniors at my high school were still expected to take final exams today, Monday, June 1. My high school is run by an African-American female and I have no doubt that she understands the struggle to pay attention to schoolwork when there are much more pressing matters at hand. This is the email I sent at 9:20 am today, hoping that she would tell her staff to encourage discussion, citizenship, and activism, rather than distracting us with meaningless assignments: To whom this may concern, I am sure that by now you are aware of the uprising that is currently happening due to the wrongful murders of Black Americans

During a nation-wide attempt at peaceful protest, and media's attempt at demonizing them, I realized something. The media and government has always attempted to make #BlackLivesMatter seem dangerous and liken the organization to terrorists. They say that the movement incited violence and riots, but I have seen no proof of this. In fact I have only seen violence incited at the hands of the police force. I have inserted footage of instances where the police have been the violent catalyst that started chaos in cities like Minneapolis, Chicago, New York, Atlanta and more. We are already angry and fed up, so their heavy-handed interference pushes many over the edge and starts something much less