The Return

Just a quick note to say a few things.
First, I’m back and feeling very zen. Don’t know how long this feeling will continue, but I hope for at least a few more days. However, considering the inkling I have of what went on in the world in my absence I’m almost ready to [...]

Race or Gender?

A couple of weeks ago author Steven Barnes posted this on his blog:
I had a conversation with a friend on racial and gender issues. The question came up of whether Hillary or Barack had the best electability. It was her contention that white men would rather vote for a black man than a white woman. [...]

Something *I* needed to understand

Y’know, housesitting here at ABW for a few days has really opened my eyes to how important it is to keep a “safety zone” around discussions of racism. I thought I understood this, intellectually, but the practical experience has been a whole other thing. One of the recent threads started off as a [...]

My final thoughts on Language

Note: I’m off meditating in the woods until April 30th. This post was written beforehand and set to go live in my absence. Feel free to comment and discuss as you normally would. Just be aware that I can’t take part until I come home.
By the time this post goes live we’ll [...]

Things You Need to Understand #5 - Color Blindness

When white people say:
“I don’t see color”
or
“We should live in a colorblind society”
What they’re actually saying is:
“I refuse to deal with how our culture and societry treats people of color because it makes me uncomfortable. I don’t want to understand how having a different skin color or ethnicity affects other [...]

Why I Love Tim Wise

Passing the Buck and Missing the Point:
Don Imus, White Denial and Racism in America
by Tim Wise
…those who are telling black folks to “get over it,” when it comes to racial slurs, such as those offered up by Imus, are missing an important point: namely, the slurs are not the real issue. The issue is [...]

No more lily-white futures and monochrome myths.

Note: This post was written by my guest blogger, N. K. Jemisin. While I would love to take credit for its awesomeness, I cannot.
OK, been working up to this one for awhile now. Bear with me; it’s going to be long.
I should preface the following rant by saying that I’m fully aware it may hurt [...]

Why “Black” and not “African-American”?

Note: I’m off meditating in the woods until April 30th. This post was written beforehand and set to go live in my absence. Feel free to comment and discuss as you normally would. Just be aware that I can’t take part until I come home.
Last week in the Political Correctness post I [...]

Howdy, and Virginia Tech’s ASIAN KILLER

Thanks for the intro, ABW. I should preface my first entry by saying that I’m fairly mild-mannered, so when ABW asked me to be her guest blogger I wondered whether I could do a good job of it given that I’m rarely an Angry black woman — more of a Cynical and Frequently Annoyed [...]

Introducing…

I’m about to disappear for a week and a half. At least this time I warned you all, right?
Tomorrow I am off to a meditation retreat in the Massachusetts wilderness. 11 days of no talking, meditating for 9 hours a day, no eating after 3pm, and only vegetarian food. This may not [...]