17 and Cops: Coming of age as a young black man
While 27 seems to be the magic number for rock stars and entertainers, 17 appears to be the golden age when young black men step into their own dark netherworlds. And while the luckiest of us might avoid a pine box or jail cell,...
Southern Living: Richmond, VA
I'm sitting beside a bridge, beside a canal close to the James River, a paperback Cometbus beside me, the sun setting while the Silversun Pickups crank out a set about 20 feet across the water. On the benches near me are young families and old people-others who...
Now is the New Black: Futuresurrealtechnopunknationalism & the New Black Imagination
I was a little shocked this morning when I was checking emails and upcoming events and realized that I was in the future. The new black is now. If the “Attending” numbers on Facebook events are accurate, then tomorrow night the African American Arts and Cultural...
35 Years of Gratitude
I wrote the original draft of this post leaned back deep, feet kicked up on the seat of a train speeding through the Italian countryside from Perugia, Italy into the chic colossus of Rome. A few days prior, in between sessions at an international journalism festival,...
April travels and media
Alright, it's finally stopped effin raining in the Bay (our big winter issue-aside from, maybe, radiation) and yes, that's big news. 1St, well, because it's freaqin' gorgeous and signals the return of the bike riding, outdoor festival goin' “this is why we live here...
Happy New Year! Fuck Depression!
In order to be who you’ve never been you must do things you’ve never done. For a months I’ve been flipping between this quote and a conversation a few years ago, when I 1st admitted to an acquaintance that I suffered from depression. He tried to be helpful and...
My own personal Lovelle Mixons
You can always tell when the words poised at the edge of someone’s mouth, waiting to spill out in a declarative statement, will be bad news. Doesn’t matter if it’s face to face or phone to ear, there’s always a pause-a heavy hesitation that hangs in the air right...
Shawn Taylor, Paul Kivel and dj fflood on street harassment and male allies
Its likely that few women around the country will ever say that they have never been the victim of some kind of street harassment at the hands of passing men, and thats a huge problem. Offenses can range from off color cat calls and inappropriate pick up lines to...
Oscar Grant and Oakland Local
Tomorrow night marks the 1 year anniversary of the murder of Oscar Grant by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle and emotions in Oakland are running high. From renewed anger over police brutality, to BART announcing it will increase the number of police on call for...
To Kirkus w/love: A book geek’s lament
I found out a couple of days ago that Kirkus Review is shutting it's doors and it kinda felt like someone had hit me in the chest with a hardback copy of Infinite Jest, ie. it stung, more than a little. And I know that outside of authors and folks in the book biz, the...
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