#BlackWomensLivesMatter #BlackWomenMatter #Bringbackourgirls #Sayhername #Blacktranswomenslivesmatter #MuteRKelly These are just a few of the hashtags that have become popular in the past years to bring attention to violence experienced by black women. There has been much discussion lately about the invisibility of violence against black women, whether this … [Read more...]
Ain’t We Femme?
This post is dedicated to all of the femmes! When I was a child, Easter was my favorite time of year. Every year, my mom always got me an Easter basket full of goodies. At church, we got to recite our Easter speeches in front of the whole congregation. And after the sermon, they would host an Easter egg hunt for the young folks. They even had a golden egg with money … [Read more...]
Ten Counterproductive Behaviors of Well-Intentioned People
This is a follow-up to my previous piece entitled Ten Counterproductive Behaviors of Social Justice Educators. The latter was written for folks who consider equity work as their core life purpose. I wrote Ten Counterproductive Behaviors of Well-Intentioned People for the folks who consider themselves good people invested in social justice and conversations around … [Read more...]
5 Ways I Teach My Children Intersectional Feminism… And Why It Matters
The Maine of my childhood was a very homogenous state in terms of race and really of class, at least in my small town. For the most part, everyone I knew looked like me. Their families looked like mine. We usually practiced the same religion and even when we didn’t, we knew the language. Even so, I was different. I was the weird kid, quirky, and the other kids bullied me for … [Read more...]
6 Ways Well-Intentioned People Whitesplain Racism (And Why They Need to Stop)
This article originally appeared in EverydayFeminism.com and is reprinted by permission. Picture this: You’re fed up with being the target of street harassment. If you’re a woman, queer, trans, and/or gender non-conforming, it’s probably not hard to imagine. Just think of one of those days when you’ve gotten too many unsolicited comments on your appearance, too many requests … [Read more...]
Don’t Purge Your White Friends on Facebook: 8 Actions for Racially Aware White Folks Before Unfriending a Bigot
On my feed I was excited to see a post called the 7 Stages of White People Getting Woke. Great--someone outlining the emotions and actions white folks go through when we first open our eyes to the truth of systemic racism in this country. I was all on board for recognizing white privilege, researching the pervasiveness of racism, feeling the feelings, connecting to others, … [Read more...]
An Act of Knowing: Moving Towards a Black Femme Politic
When I was a child. What age, I can’t remember. But when I was a child tends to suffice for stories like this. When I was a child, I would play dress-up with my little sister. I’m the oldest of four. Theoretically, I should have been playing with my older, decidedly more butch cousin. Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on who you ask – I was always just a tad bit too … [Read more...]
Talking Racism with a Racist Relative in 4 Easy…(um NO) IMPORTANT Steps
A great distance separates me from my family. Not just geographical, they live in Maine and I live in Georgia, but also the distance of identity. I am a leftist, agnostic who practices a vague form of religious expression that encompasses paganism and Catholicism. They are right wingers with a strong belief in Evangelical Christianity. Conversations at the Thanksgiving dinner … [Read more...]
Are You Hot in That? And 3 Other Hijab Questions People Can Stop Asking
There’s something about difference – almost any kind of difference – that makes people in dominant cultures/identity categories feel like they can disregard and disrespect boundaries by asking deeply personal questions or physically crossing the boundaries of people who embody that difference. And isn’t this the foundation for cultural appropriation? White people, cis … [Read more...]
7 Ways ‘Honoring’ Other Cultures Is Really Cultural Appropriation
This article was originally published on EverydayFeminsim.com and is republished with permission. If someone was trying to help you, but they were unintentionally doing more harm than good, you’d want to tell them, right? And you’d hope they’d be open to your feedback – after all, you’re not saying they’re a bad person or accusing them of deliberate sabotage. If they really … [Read more...]
10 Answers to Common Questions People Ask When Being Called Out for Using Ableist Language
The Body Is Not an Apology’s goal is to share the myriad ways human bodies unshackle the box of “beauty” and fling it wide open for all of us to access. Our goal is to redefine the unapologetic, radically amazing magnificence of EVERY BODY on this planet. When we do, we change the world! Join the movement and become a subscriber today! bit.ly/NoBodiesInvisible. *** This … [Read more...]
I Was a Racist Teacher and I Didn’t Even Know It
This article was originally published on Education Post and is republished with permission. I was a racist teacher and I didn’t recognize it. At the time that I taught, I would have argued that I was the opposite. I was a progressive, a Democrat. I campaigned in my progressive town in Western North Carolina for the first Black man to run for the U.S. Senate against a … [Read more...]
Black Women’s Sexuality: Let’s Stop Trying to Reclaim the Past
[Trigger warning: This article mentions sexual abuse, verbal sexual harassment, attempted sexual assault, and threats of sexual assault.] I find most discussions about black female sexuality strange. On the one hand, there seems to be little discussion of male sexuality. Men are not called upon to feel empowered by “embracing” their sexuality. On the other hand, so much of … [Read more...]
10 Examples That Prove White Privilege Protects White People in Every Aspect Imaginable
A couple of weeks ago, Governor Rick Snyder, finally announced a state of emergency for Flint, Michigan in response to the lead-contaminated tap water that residents of Flint have been drinking for nearly two years. Flint is a poor, predominantly Black city, whose residents have been demanding the government for months to clean up the water supply. Structural, environmental … [Read more...]
