Shea Moisture is a Black owned hair care company in the middle of a racial identity branding crisis. It’s a racial identity branding crisis of such epic proportions that Rachel Dolezal is breathing a sigh of relief (and possibly seeking new employment?). When Black business owners build their foundation on a Black clientele, it's likely that they will one day ask: should … [Read more...]
Why Integrated Schools Don’t Solve Black Student Problems
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I wasn't surprised to read New York Daily News reporter Shaun King’s heartbreaking article about Jaylon Sewell. Jaylon is a Black student who “wasn't allowed to attend class with dyed hair — ‘when white students with dyed hair were allowed to attend class.’” Nor was I surprised to read that: “Jaylon and more than 20 other black students at Neville High School have … [Read more...]
Teaching Nat Turner
Birth of a Nation: Imagining Black Resistance I’m taking my students to see Birth of a Nation and I’m excited to use this film as a tool in my curriculum. At a time when #BlackLivesMatter has become a unifying rallying cry, I’m eager to use the film to show an example of Black resistance, something most of our students rarely, if ever, get to see. And our inability to see … [Read more...]
Maroons: The Only Free Black People
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Free Black People Brag Different I've said before that slavery impacts us as much today as it did in the past. "Trying to understand race relations (or the conditions ailing the Black community since anyone alive can remember) without understanding slavery is like trying to cure cancer without understanding anatomy." As descendants of the recently enslaved, part of … [Read more...]
When #SlaveryMatters More than #BlackLivesMatter: Alton Sterling & Philando Castile
Ignorance Can Kill You Trying to understand race relations (or the conditions ailing the Black community since anyone alive can remember) without understanding slavery is like trying to cure cancer without understanding anatomy. That’s how much slavery matters to what’s happening in protests all over the country today. We are all historical products and who we are today … [Read more...]