Welcome to the New Black Renaissance

I’m sure we’ve all been anxiously counting down the days until Election Day 2020. But the mid-term elections take place this November, and this round of elections has the potential to dramatically shift the political party power of the US Congress. In these elections, we will choose House of Representatives members, Senate members, state governors along with state legislation, and other government positions on the state level. Although every vote cast is important, the elections for the members of the House and the Senate will affect us the most finishing off our last Trump years. Congress, which is made up of The House of Representatives and the Senate, is the Legislative branch of our government. It shares power with the Supreme Court (Judicial branch) and the president (Executive branch). Collectively, the three works together to keep this nation moving smoothly by running a sort of checks and balances for the government – keeping one branch from becoming too powerful. Fo

Summer 2018 has been quite a ride, I’m sure we all can admit. As if the political turmoil and international stresses of the world weren’t enough, the hip-hop community experienced one of the most tumultuous summers in quite some time. Childish Gambino recaps this summer with his video for “Feels Like Summer,” the single from his Summer Pack released in June alongside “Summertime Magic.” Starring MOST of hip-hop’s biggest celebrities along with the culture’s biggest influencers in animated form, Gambino creates a summertime vibe that is eerily reminiscent of Will Smith’s mega-hit from 1991 – “Summertime.” A casual stroll in the neighborhood takes the highs and the lows of the past four months and reimagines it in its most innocent form – summertime fun. Drama and feuds fade away as hip-hop collectively comes together to enjoy the weather. Summer is supposed to be the most relaxing season of them all, and that’s what summer is about and that’s what Gambino brings us back to wit

My mother named me Enjonai Jenkins. It's obvious that whenever my name has come across the desk of any employer, teacher, or Census worker, these people were not fooled into thinking my race was anything other than ‘Black, African American.’ I didn’t grow up knowing the lack of race anonymity in comparison to my peers due to my moniker, but once I grew to that conclusion, I simply utilized the resources that I had at my disposal to influence deceive those who I needed in my favor. My biggest weapon was my “white voice.” It didn’t start off that way though. I didn’t particularly notice that I “talked white” until I was well into elementary school. Oddly enough, the first person to point it out was the same person who forced proper enunciation on me as I grew up, my dad. “Why do you talk so white? You talk so fast, just like a little white girl,” he would pester as my voice rang out in flute-like melodies and the words sprinted through my open lips. Apparently, the only compara

I told you, this is our time. I started this blog for a variety of reasons, but my main one was for moments like this. Quietly watching from the sidelines, I knew that people of color were making their way back into the artistic realm, capturing the adoration of many. On top of that, we were slowly being recognized more for it. And now, with a whopping 28 nominations for African American actors, I think I can definitively say: “I told ya so!” The Emmys will not get caught with the “so-white” stigma that plagued the Oscars. Nope, not for Television’s biggest night. Now, let’s jump into these nominations and acknowledge the sheer magnitude of the list: Sterling K. Brown (Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series – This is Us ), (Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy – Brooklyn Nine-Nine ) Jeffrey Wright (Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series – Westworld ) Thandie Newton (Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series – Westworld ) Issa Rae (Outstanding Lead Actress in a Co

Living in the southern states of America was difficult for Black Americans. Not only were we vulnerable to the burden of daily racism –  in the form of public lynching, violence, and the caste system known as Jim Crow – but the impact of the eugenics movement shifted the violence into medical legality on those placed in mental institutions. Between 1907 and 1940, more than 18,000 sterilizations of individuals deemed as "defective" took place in mental institutions, particularly in southern states. That was the norm for mental hospitals at the time, but nothing is more heart-wrenching than the story of Junis Wilson and his time at Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro, NC. Junis Wilson had been a resident of Cherry Hospital from the tender age of 17. He was accused of rape in 1925 and because he only communicated in grunts and strange hand gestures, he was deemed insane by a judge and locked up at the Asylum for the Colored Insane. For decades, no one tried to understand him or le

Don’t drink the Kool-Aid. I don’t remember the first time I heard the phrase, or who said it to me, but instinctually knew its meaning due to context clues. Don’t blindly follow the masses. What was lost upon me was the connotation and the history behind the phrase itself. It wasn’t until the idiom was used about my mom’s religious denomination – Jehovah’s Witnesses – that I began to question what was wrong with said Kool-Aid. “A cult committed suicide by drinking poisonous Kool-Aid,” a friend explained, “Why a group of people would do that, is beyond me.” But it wasn’t just a group killing, it was a massacre. In fact, up until the attacks on September 11, 2001, the mass suicide at Jonestown represented the largest number of American civilian casualties in a single non-natural event – an estimated 900 people willingly drank poison and took their own lives. The word cult has always been thrown around when discussing the tragedy. It implies that the people involved were

White people calling the police on innocent people of color has become the new trend. Well, not exactly the new trend. It’s been happening for years but, with the power of the internet, it’s the new wave of viral videos blatantly highlighting yet another injustice that we face daily. But there must be a REASON for White people to feel such unease in all these situations, right? With the police brutality rate against people of color being so high, white people wouldn’t be risking Black people’s lives for folly, right? PHILADELPHIA STARBUCKS Two Black men arrive early for a business meeting at Starbucks. One man asks the manager for the key to the restroom and was informed that the restrooms were for paying customers only. Without any complaint or disorder, he returned to his seat where his companion was awaiting the arrival of another friend to begin the meeting. The police show up TWO minutes later based on claims that the men were trespassing and refused to leave af