On Being Perfect In One Underappreciated Way
Spring, 1989“Eze ain’t perfect!” screamed Jasmine from the back of the classroom.I could feel twenty-five pairs of eyes staring holes right through me. My body morphed into silly putty before sliding...
View ArticleThey'll Still Be Black After Voting for Trump
Joe Biden is a good man.He’s consistent and loyal — he’s been married to the same woman for more than forty years, served the American people while in Washington for more than fifty years, and...
View ArticleThe Consequence of Losing My Mind a Second Time
It had been spelled out to me in a lucid dream. P-O-R-T-L-A-N-D. Portland. The morning after I’d surmised that the dream was referring to Portland, Oregon, one of the crown jewel cities of the great...
View ArticleDinner is Ruined By Cancer
November, 2013Dad was reclining in his favorite blue chair, staring at the flat screen television, absorbing the national news of the day. He was seventy years old then, balding and paunchy, and in his...
View ArticleGrateful For My Little Life
Bearded, bespectacled, and long haired George leaned back into his chair and said, “This Covid-19 virus is the worst kind of a cock blocker.”My eyes grew wide. For George had uttered the word “cock...
View ArticleWhat Happens When Cultures Collide?
A year after my father passed away from cancer my mother started to muse aloud about marriage and progeny. Not for herself though, for she was focused on finding a suitable woman for me, her beloved...
View ArticleWhen It Comes To Mental Health, Molehills Become Mountains
Ring. Ring. Ring.No one is answering.Ring. Ring. Ring.It suddenly pauses, leaving me eager for some kind of reply. I hope to hear a voice on the other end of the phone line.The next few seconds pass...
View ArticleVoices Become Walls
When I was in my second year of junior high school I would tip my desk chair until I felt the rail touch the wall, rock back and forth, and then reset the desk chair onto the classroom floor. I would...
View ArticleOn This Last Day of Black History Month, I Celebrate Barack Obama
While sitting for an interview, President Barack Obama, a comic book aficionado, was asked to name his favorite superhero. He responded to the question with a reference to Spiderman and…Conan the...
View ArticleWhat's In My Nigerian Name
I don’t know if any English-speaking American is capable of pronouncing my name the right way. It’s not the fault of the Americans though, as the majority have not been regularly exposed to west...
View ArticleDonald Trump's Defeat Has Been Good For My Mental Health
It should have been just another Saturday morning in November.I’d drive to my local Grease Monkey Station, check my car in with the technician, and then hand over my cars keys. I’d step into the...
View ArticleRedemption of A Black Superhero
Eleven years ago.I was speeding down the 1–70 thoroughfare, hands squeezing and pulling at the steering wheel as I fled the school from which I’d just been fired. The anguish I felt. It was of the...
View ArticleRepublicans are Bringing Back the Black Codes
Last month, Georgia Republican state representatives, still seething after absorbing the ignominious defeat of their preferred presidential and senate candidates, ushered sweeping voting “reforms”...
View ArticleJoe Biden Will Not Take Black People For Granted
If you are an avid consumer of politics, it is impossible to avoid comparing Joe Biden and Donald Trump, two septuagenarian white men with complicated histories on race relations. Both men competed for...
View ArticleAn Honest Exploration of Race Elevates a Fictional Superhero Show
Denver, 1992Mile High Comics was located on the south side of a now defunct shopping center, next to the movie theatre that was tucked inside a recess in the wall, and across the way from the music...
View ArticleGo Ahead and Defund the Police
I’m a liberal progressive, an espouser and advocate for reforms that engender a more equitable and inclusive society, one that provides for the needs of traditionally marginalized groups of Americans....
View ArticleJoe Biden Is Going to Make America Great
It’s 7:30 in the morning, or fifteen minutes after I’ve left the house, the absolute nadir of my morningcommute. I’m stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic along the residential thoroughfare, my jaw flexing...
View ArticleWe Need Another Black Supreme Court Justice
On October 11, 1991, faced with impending implosion of his carefully constructed law career, an incensed Clarence Thomas, one of two black men nominated for a seat on the United States Supreme Court —...
View ArticleSlavery and Vaccine Mandates
I am not an individual who abides too much argument, an offshoot of becoming mostly content with my current life situation. I’ve created a nice niche for myself, as I’m currently thriving at my...
View ArticleWhat It's Like Working In An Infectious Disease Laboratory
Summer 2013Soon after graduating from Regis University, I had visions of a large office space, one that I was going to occupy at least five days per week. There’d be a wide oak wooden desk and a plush...
View Article