14 Jun 2013
Mark Anthony Neal is a professor of Black Popular Culture in the Department of African & African-American Studies at Duke University. Dr. Neal received his PhD in American Studies from University of Buffalo. He is the author of five books, including the recently published Looking for Leroy: Looking For Leroy: [...]
9 Jun 2013
By Mohadesa Najumi Many people object to the phrase “rape culture.” They don’t understand how a culture as civilized as ours can be defined by a force as destructive as rape. They deem it an overstatement, an “over-analysis” by angry bra-burning feminists. Some even consider it an oxymoron. And others [...]
5 Jun 2013
By Bruna Lobato In my first creative writing class as a Brazilian international student at a private American college I received my fiction assignment back with comments and a tall slender “A” written in green ink. I was glad to see validation that I, a non-native speaker, could write well [...]
3 Jun 2013
By Ashley Yenick Do millennials know of any famous feminists in our society? There are many feminists mentioned in this video: bell hooks, Audrey Lorde, Peggy McIntosh, Susan B. Anthony, Gloria Steinem, and Michelle Obama. I was intrigued to hear that Michelle Obama was considered a feminist. I think the interviewee’s [...]
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 [...]
Sarah Mantilla Griffin Charles Ramsey, the hero who recently rescued Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus, and Michelle Knight from a decade of captivity, has become the latest in a new trend of unwitting viral video stars. As Aisha Harris has noted, Ramsey joins Antoine Dodson, Sweet Brown, and Michelle Clark as a YouTube sensation, generating millions of views and various adaptations of his interview with a local media outlet following...
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By Janell Hobson Fifteen years ago, the stardom of then-23-year-old Lauryn Hill had peaked when she released what would become her defining musical legacy. After rising to popularity as part of the hip-hop trio The Fugees, with fellow members Wyclef Jean and Pras, she later released her solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which went on to garner multiplatinum sales and five Grammy Awards for the recognizably brilliant...
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Too often, we do not celebrate the extraordinary individuals who, because of their race, gender, and/or socio-economic standing, lived what appeared to be ordinary lives. This year, I am paying homage to my paternal and maternal grandmothers’ lives and legacies. I proudly stand upon the shoulders of my Nanas—Mrs. Rebecca White Simmons Chapman and Mrs. Juanita Cranford Robinson Watson—whose lives were remarkable. My grandmothers grew up in abject poverty...
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By Karen Hernandez Apparently, pursuing Women’s Right’s has led to the downfall of the American diet. At least, this is what Michael Pollan unfairly implies in his 2009 article stating that “ a bit of wisdom that some American feminists thoughtlessly trampled in their rush to get women out of the kitchen.” Pollan has written four books dealing with food and eating; his most recent, Cooked:...
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By Hashim Pipkin I am not a black woman. And unlike many who are not, I do not claim to be able to speak for the quotidian existence of black women in this world. I do not know their interior lives. I do not know the battles their desires must take up daily to keep intact their psychic and emotional survival. But as a brother to a black sister, a...
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By Ynanna Djehuty Latinas in the United States are facing many of the same concerns regarding birthing and reproductive health care as our African-American sisters. As Latinas assimilate into American society, the threads that have kept us connected to our traditions are breaking quickly. For example, Office of Minority Health research states that the infant mortality rate ranges from 4.8 per 1,000 live births for Central and South Americans...
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By Bill Patrick This week brought the startling news of the arrest of Lt. Col. Jeff Krusinski, the officer in charge of the Air Force’s effort to eliminate sexual assault within the ranks. His reported crime? That he sexually assaulted a woman in a parking lot. The woman fought back and left visible scratches on Krusinki’s face, which can be seen clearly in his mug shot. Hold on. Let...
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By Anis Gisele “Did he hurt you, in a new way?” –Fear and Convenience, Thao Nguyen And you were finally free to call yourself gay. Fifteen years after your mother first asked you, in front of your extended family, in a red-decked Chinese restaurant, if you were a lesbian—and you said no. Four years after you decided you would no longer go to Church—God was the first person you...
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By Nancy Kricorian Back when I earned my MFA in Poetry at Columbia, the majority of the students were women, and nearly all of our teachers were men. They were a distinguished lot, and most took their teaching seriously. They were also, collectively, typically sexist. Work produced by male poets nearly always merited more serious consideration than that of the women. If the reigning ethos among the poetry faculty...
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“There is no such thing as a single issue struggle because we do not live single issue lives.” – Audre Lorde Dear Mainstream LGBT Movement, In a recent advertisement for a local “Give Out Day” event, the organization, South Carolina Equality, asserted that only five percent of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons give money to LGBT causes. As an LGBTQ-identified person and a white ally within anti-racism...
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By Lisa Weiner-Mahfuz Have you read Towards Collective Liberation: Anti-Racist Organizing, Feminist Praxis and Movement Building Strategy by Chris Crass yet? Well, if you haven’t gotten around to it, put it on your reading list STAT! I don’t often agree to do book reviews. Because I have dyslexia, it takes me a long time to make my way through a book. Then when I get around to writing a...
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You might already know that a series of racist behaviors toward Black people recently brought national attention to University of California, Irvine’s (UCI) campus. A recent video by Lambda Theta Delta (LTD), UCI’s oldest Asian American interest fraternity, showed its members participating in a party involving racist blackface. The video was used for rush recruitment, briefly introducing the fraternity to people the fraternity wanted to impress. It was a...
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By Jawahara Saidullah “Kya maal hai.” What good stuff. “Bilkul sahi cheez yaar.” Absolutely, great stuff, man. Maal means, stuff, thing, or merchandise. So does cheez. This common male conversation on the streets of North India is usually conducted over-loudly so that the ‘stuff’ being talked about can hear it. It is almost always accompanied by laughter, a leer, perhaps some touching. For the stuff being talked about is...
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19 Jun 2013
THE ANATOMY OF TRUST OR BREAKING _____ I. HEART The pulse shudders the body at such infinitesimal levels that many of us ignore its existence. Walk around carrying fists in the center of our chests, the bottom tipped somewhat rightward, sitting more-or-less directly below the sternum, squeezing each moment [...]
12 Jun 2013
Diana and the face of the moon another night you are . turning your face ………………….. i am already gone and you are throwing stones . Diana swearing never ….. swearing never …… swearing never ………………………………………… again just say what you are trying [...]
5 Jun 2013
By Kristy Webster The Bee Trap Some girls have eyes like invitations, and some girls wear glasses and scarves, walk with a whistle in their mouth, Some girls leave the window cracked open, they need more air always more than the breeze will bring and some people [...]
13 Jun 2013
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