17 May 2013
“One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” —Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “No one is going to give you the education you need to overthrow them. Nobody is going to teach you your true history, teach you your true heroes, if they know that that knowledge will help [...]
15 May 2013
By Mohadesa Najumi When I think about what modesty means in today’s political, cultural and religious environment, I am inclined to believe that the concept itself does not involve choice, or any dimension of freedom or independent thought. Rather, modesty constitutes a dictatorial concept forced upon women whether they agree [...]
13 May 2013
By Kristen Reynolds As I sit here on the eve of my graduation, cataloging what I’ve learned over the last few years as a Black woman coming into (what I hope is) consciousness – I feel a great deal of shame. Shame and, if I am going to be incredibly honest, [...]
10 May 2013
By Alyssa Gockley Several weeks ago, Bucknell University published its weekly campus newspaper. While just about every edition of The Bucknellian has some article or opinion piece that makes you raise an eyebrow or shake your head, this particular week’s paper contained something that sparked outrage across campus. There was [...]
7 May 2013
*Trigger warning* Sometimes I feel like the NRA is actively just trying to lose all the credibility it has left in this world. Just when you thought the NRA’s annual convention in Houston this weekend couldn’t draw any more negative attention, it goes out and casually promotes a company selling a product [...]
29 Mar 2013
By Monica Torres When I sign my name, it’s Monica, not Mónica. When I order pupusas at my favorite restaurant, the waiter will give my accent an approving nod, as if to say, you’re one of us. But it will only take a harder question for me to reveal the [...]
18 Mar 2013
By Alexa Lambertis At an early age, I was exposed to a woman who essentially changed my life. A sweet lady with a southern background, she was introduced to me as a family friend. I met her in her own home, where we would spend a majority of our time [...]
By Ren Jender “She must have been miserable,” one of my Facebook “friends” wrote as a kind of eulogy for Margaret Thatcher. I had to disagree. Margaret Thatcher, before she began to suffer from dementia, had, in every recorded moment of her political career (as well as her writing after that career was over)...
Read more »
By Mandy Van Deven Media icon and cultural pioneer Helen Gurley Brown passed away August 13 at the age of 90. Although I saw her name on feminist tees and bumper stickers for years, my first real exposure to Gurley Brown’s life and legacy was when writing a review of her biography, Bad Girls Go Everywhere. Jennifer...
Read more »
It is with deep sadness and profound devastation that I share that radical Black/Pan-African feminist activist and social psychologist Aaronette M. White, Ph.D., recently made her physical transition. While there is presently uncertainty about the exact date and time of her sudden death, no foul play or harm was done to her in the...
Read more »
For Trayvon, Michael and Martin, and all other black boys sable mappings cover him like an ethno-alien cartogram dipped deeply and precisely in ebony timber whipped in/two industrial multiplexes distorted by a pre/fix of datum convictions venomous raindrops of marked difference inflate him perorating from tongue to tongue oral histories scientific...
Read more »
Kim Jong-il, the reclusive North Korean leader who has been battling ill health following a reported stroke in 2008, has died, the North’s official news media reported on Monday. For more, visit the New York Times.
Read more »
Hip Hop fans are mourning the loss of Hip Hop legend, Heavy D (Dwight Errington Myers), who died suddenly yesterday. Hip Hop culture often gets a bad rap for re-producing, circulating and maintaining sexist representations of women in general and black women in particular. However, to reduce Hip Hop to this unfortunate reality, is...
Read more »
By Sonalini Kaur Sapra Wangari Maathai has been an inspiration to many for her unflagging passion and commitment to women’s rights and environmental justice. She was responsible for founding one of the most prominent transnational environmental groups in the world today – the Green Belt Movement (GBM). The organization was founded in 1977 and...
Read more »
We join millions of Americans in expressing our profound sorrow tonight that despite recantations and substantial doubt concerning his guilt, the state of Georgia has proceeded with the execution of Troy Anthony Davis. But we must also wonder what amount of damage has been done to the idea of justice and freedom, both for...
Read more »
We wish to express our sincere sympathies for all of the victims of September 11, 2001, now ten years ago. The tragedy of that day still resounds throughout the United States, and we still bear the wound. Yet, let us not forget, today, the people who lost their lives, responded with bravery, and have...
Read more »
By Zaheer Ali On Thursday, May 26, 2011, Columbia University hosted a public celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Manning Marable. My complete remarks* follow: The last conversation I had with Dr. Marable was on the 3rd of March at the book signing for Beyond Boundaries, the recently published anthology of his writings edited by...
Read more »
17 May 2013
Assata do not dry like dissipated plums under castro’s bronzing sun you mural fortress you live memorial spirited artifice rouged sea salt that marinates america’s wound Assata you like stripped bone road unaware of which exit is free birth brown coagulated rhythm redefined reborn rumba queen Assata dusk breath [...]
16 May 2013
“Affirmation” by Assata Shakur* ___ I believe in living. I believe in the spectrum of Beta days and Gamma people. I believe in sunshine. In windmills and waterfalls, tricycles and rocking chairs. And i believe that seeds grow into sprouts. And sprouts grow into trees. I believe in the magic [...]
16 May 2013
for Assata Amira Nakati Carter-Goff on her tenth birthday call down the name freedom call up the spirit of no matter what now call your shared name liberation veins steel will fierce focus shielding sacred smile laugh your own name radiant as cuba laugh your yawning name into language [...]
7 May 2013
7 May 2013
30 Apr 2013
25 Apr 2013
20 Apr 2013
The Guardian