2 Debuts and a Veteran Poet: A Sneak Peek at My Fave 2023 Books

I loved THE SAME COUNTRY, DID YOU HEAR ABOUT KITTY KARR? and REFUSE TO DISAPPEAR. You will too.

Justice for Jelani Day

For a young black man in central Illinois plains to just go missing from his university didn't even make sense and almost didn't make any national noise. His mother changed that.

The Smollett Verdict

#JussieSmollettTrial: Reflections from Chicago. How are we measuring "success"? What's worth it? What's not? For context on hate crimes, I read from #RichardWright's posthumous novel The Man Who Lived Underground. Be grateful for what you have or achieve, people.

My Fave 2020 Reads

Warm winter wishes to all... I'm a fan of books but I also loved some short reads as my favorites of 2020. All are worthy time fillers to cozy up with in any season!

“You are not gonna silence me.” -Senator Stephanie Flowers on racist Stand Your Ground “rights”

Emmett, Trayvon, Markeis, Kalief, Oscar, Tamir, Aiyana, Stephon, Botham, Sandra, Amadou, Eleanor, Terence, Philando, Alton, Walter, Sharmel, Miriam, Tony, Jordan, Rumain, Rekia, Laquan, Eric, Michael...

At the Movies, Mammies Make Way for Mourners

This Black woman onscreen had to buy her freedom to agency and complexity for a high price. That price was her child's life. Such is depicted in a spate of films now depending upon a Black woman losing a child violently with no one held accountable.