Portfolio Category: Portfolio: Race

The Supreme Authority of Mss Oregon

According to census data, Black- or African American-owned businesses in the United States comprise 11.4 percent of the total. Given the fact that Black people comprise a mere 13.4 percent of the population, more or less these two figures jibe with one another. Without looking too deeply, one might assume the percentage of Black-owned  businesses…
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Interview with Founders of the Freedom Georgia Initiative

Many of us have threatened that if x happens, they'll do y. "If Trump is elected, I'll move to a new country," "if this law passes, I'll move" or "If the U.S. continues to do nothing about the police brutality against people of color, I'll start my own community that's safe and addresses all of…
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Companies are Finally Changing Racist Brand Names. But is it Enough?

From the moment we wake up until we go to sleep, it’s estimated that we are exposed to between 2,000 and 5,000 advertising messages daily. This includes ads we see on TV, hear on the radio, see on billboards, on the Internet, in magazines we pick up while waiting for a doctor’s appointment, on display…
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Music, Politics and the Soundtrack of Rebellion

As long as there have been voices and instruments, people have made music to express themselves. From odes to trucks, dogs and love to songs about Jesus and Allah, no matter the emotion, if it can be felt, it can be put into words and turned into music. As many songs that have been produced…
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A Legacy Denied: The Murder of Fred Hampton, 50 Years Later

Fred Hampton
On December 4, 1969, one of the country’s most promising young revolutionaries was murdered by police, in a joint operation fully supported by the FBI. That revolutionary’s name was Fred Hampton, and 50 years later his brief time in the spotlight still evokes admiration and deep regret over the events that took his life. Hampton…
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Overview of the Civil Rights Movement

An image of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr with a caption reading "Overview of Civil Rights Movement"
There is a history of racial inequality in America and out of this the hunger for African Americans to be able to equally express their citizenship rights took a nationally tangible shape. Sixty years before Black Lives Matter, there was the civil rights movement. For people just coming of age, it might seem from current…
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Pondering My Racial Identity Post-Hurricane Maria

I have been writing from the Biracial and Multiracial perspective since I co-authored the book, Being Biracial: Where Our Secret Worlds Collide in 2015. Being Biracial is an anthology of essays from either Multiracial people or parents of mixed race kids. My parents raised my brothers and me to self-identify as Black, and yes, I…
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Procter and Gamble Commercial: Let’s Talk About the Talk

If you haven’t heard about the Procter and Gamble commercial, The Talk, let me please be the one to introduce it to you. It’s raw, it’s historical and it’s spot on! Anyone claiming it’s race baiting, racist or that they’re going to boycott Procter and Gable because of it, I say this: ask yourself why…
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