5 Reasons Black People are So Bomb in 2015

31 Mar

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Black people, have I told you I loved you lately?

Not a day goes by where I am not enamored by Black people’s all-around excellence. Whether I’m walking down the street, in the grocery store, or scrolling down my Twitter feed, my day is saturated with Black beauty, intellect, humor, activism, and creativity.

So let’s take a look at the top 5 reasons Black people are so bomb in 2015:

1. Black Beauty

Did you all see all the stunning photos from #BlackOutDay last month? Black folks seem to have every damn thing #OnFleek.

Black girls are stepping out with the most beautiful hair styles. The natural hair community is thriving, with baddies wearing faux locs, box braids, Senegalese twists, and afros of all shapes and colors. And the girls with weaves are gorgeous too (don’t get it twisted).

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And I don’t know if it’s because I live in LA, but the Black men I’ve been crossing paths with are hotties.

Black is beautiful—if you haven’t already noticed.

White folks (Ahem, Iggy, Kylie, etc.) would like to know what Black people are drinking to make us so freaking stunning. They’re probably somewhere listening to “The Blacker the Berry” hoping Kendrick left some breadcrumbs to the path to flawlessness.

2. Black Music

To Pimp a Butterfly AWWSpeaking of Kendrick, our artists are killin it (well, some of them). Hip hop fans are still enjoying the newly released To Pimp a Butterfly and entertaining arguments about whether or not Forest Hills Drive was better. Meanwhile, J. Cole’s new “G.O.M.D.” video was pretty fitting for the times, considering our blactivists and allies are fighting back against white supremacy.

Also, did you hear that the Misseducation of Lauryn Hill will be added to the Library of Congress?

The Library of Congress stated that the album is “a work of honesty in which Hill explores her feelings on topics that included the deep wonder of pregnancy, the pitfalls of modern relationships and the experience of the sacred. The album effortlessly fuses soul, rhythm and blues, rap and reggae. Hill’s vocal range, smooth clear highs and vibrato are stunning.”

Anybody want to disagree?

3. Black Humor + Intellect

I have to give a shout out to Black Twitter. Y’all always have me snapping my fingers, laughing my ass off, shouting hallelujah, and gaining serious insights. Black folks online are very good at telling you about yourself and making it hilarious. Just ask the celebrities that were made fun of in #BlackCelebsBeLike. Black Twitter and Black Tumblr  preach so much truth and demand our nation to “do better.” Hashtags like #BlackLivesMatter #BlackCelebsBeLike, #CNNBeLike, #NotJustSAE, #OverwhelmingBlackness and #NotJustUVA bring about necessary conversations.

Exhibit A:

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Exhibit B:

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And this jewel had me dying:

 

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Are your Twitter and Tumblr feeds not poppin like mine? Follow the people I’m following.

Additionally, we have our culture critics and intellectuals holding it down: Marc Lamont Hill, Melissa Harris Perry, Franchesca Ramsey, Jessica R. Williams, just to name a few. The knowledge that comes out of their mouths can and is changing our world.

4. Blactivist Protests
I know you don’t think those #BlackLivesMatter protests are a thing of the past. Nope—activists are still demonstrating, demanding justice, and not taking shit from our nation’s white supremacist mindset. Mainstream media may not be broadcasting it anymore, but we already know from those #CNNBeLike tweets that mainstream news outlets ain’t shit.

It’s been several months after the initial protest in Ferguson and I’m still getting emails and Facebook notifications about upcoming protests and small groups of activist meeting with elected officials. It’s inspiring to see people taking care of business.

5. Black Future
Of course, there is much more Black Excellence to come.

Things I’m looking forward to Black people doing:

  • Toni Morrison’s new novel God Help the Child
  • Brandy playing the role of Roxie Hart in the Broadway show Chicago
  • Michael B. Jordan playing the Human Torch in Fantastic Four
  • Anything Mo’ne Davis has coming out
  • The tons of black 2015 graduates making moves

Black people—you are bombAF.

Your Black Excellence encourages me on a daily basis. Thank you for being so inspirational.

P.S. This article is part of the Top Posts. Check out the Best of A Womyn’s Worth.

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Balancing Your Ultra-Busy Life

10 Mar

Busy AWWAs a girl who works full time, goes to school in the evening, and uses what little time she has left to manage her blog, I’m used to coming home at the end of a very long day and being completely worn out. Still, I boot up my laptop, sit down, and write.

That routine worked well for me until few weeks ago, when I started feeling unnaturally lethargic. I would come home from my night classes with absolutely no strength left in my body. The weakness was frightening; yet, the problem was obvious: I hadn’t cooked a meal for myself in weeks. I was eating a little bit, but it was mostly fast food I could pick up between my drive from work to school.

Though I was checking things like “tweak editorial calendar” and “finish homework” off of my to-do list, I’d forgotten to satisfy my body’s most basic need.

So I created “Shae’s Hierarchy of Needs” to make sure that with all the things going on, my life remained healthy and balanced…

Read more at Brown Girl Bloggers.

 

Author’s note: This post was originally published on BrownGirlBloggers.com. You can read the full-text there. Hope you enjoy!

Photo courtesy of Vic via flickr.

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Call It What It Is: White Supremacy

24 Feb

AWW White SupremacyThe other day, a friend proofread an article I was about to publish. When she came across the words, “white fear,” she underlined it and suggested that “white supremacy” would have been more appropriate in that specific sentence.

“Nope! You’re only allowed one usage of “white supremacy” every four articles,” I told her, as a sort of joke that I was serious about. “Otherwise, you start sounding like some type of extremist.”

For those of us that need a reminder, white supremacy is the belief, theory, or doctrine that white people are inherently superior to people from all other racial groups, especially black people, and are therefore rightfully the dominant group in any society (according to Dictionary.com). Culture critic Chauncy DeVega breaks it down even further in 10 Things Everyone Should Know about White Supremacy.

The term “white supremacy” tends to make people uncomfortable, including me. While reading bell hooks’ Black Looks: Race and Representation, I found myself squirming at the amount of times “white supremacy” came up on just one of the pages in the book. She isn’t shy about calling things like she sees them. After several chapters, I’d adjusted to the recurring use of the phrase, but that did not impact how often I felt comfortable using it in my own writing. I mean, bell hooks is bell hooks, renowned feminist, social activist, scholar, and author of more than 30 books. I, in comparison, am a culture-critic peon, who clings to her bylines and hopes one day to accomplish even half of hooks’ achievements.

Previously I believed that if you’re not bell hooks, when you say “white supremacy” too often, then you risk sounding like those communists who show up at Occupy and #BlackLivesMatter protests to talk about the need to overthrow our capitalist society. As soon as the word “communism” falls from their lips, many people begin to roll their eyes and ignore the person.

I did not want those reactions to happen to my writing. So as not to be labeled an extremist, I’ve been avoiding frequent use of “white supremacy.”

However, Ms. Say What’s Real, my alter/inner-ego, whom I channel whenever I need to be totally honest in a difficult situation, has been calling me out on my bullshit.

I realize that sugar coating my argument or purposely not using certain words means that I sometimes gloss over important issues. And not calling things what they are makes me part of a problem that plagues our society.

I can’t pretend white supremacy is hidden under the rug when the it’s bi-products, the school to prison pipeline, racial profiling and more, are damaging to communities of color.

So it’s about time I start calling it what it is.

Fellow writers and bloggers…are there any terms or subjects you feel uncomfortable including in your writing?

 

P.S. – Check out 10 Things Everyone Should Know about White Supremacy.  It’ll answer all your questions about why discussions about white supremacy are still very relevant in today’s society.

Photo courtesy of shoehorn99 via Flikr.

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