LIFE & DEATH

I loved him, still. He was one of those people you could never forget, the kind you couldn’t help but check up on years after you swore you’d never talk to him again. He was loveable and wild, and he was more careful with others than he was with himself. We were lovers and friends, and when our time was over, he left me with some of the most endearing, thrilling, and unforgettable memories of my life. We fought like dogs in the halls and lobbies of posh Beverly Hills hotels, spent dusk to dawn in recording studios, and nights…

After winning two NAACP Image Awards this past year, Marsai Martin recently turned heads in an interview. When asked what type of projects she wanted to produce next, she made it clear. She would say no to any “Black pain projects.” Even at 16, the star recognizes her power and has no qualms about wielding it on and off the set.

Martin may be young, but she’s nobody’s rookie. In short order, she became a household name by starring in ABC’s hit series black-ish. Then she broke a world record by becoming the youngest executive producer in Hollywood history.

She…

The recent police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis outraged the country, sparked global protests, and became the latest symbol of the centuries of systemic violence toward Black Americans. It also reignited calls to defund the police — an idea that may be new to public discussion, but not to the many activists and academics who have pushed for and studied what this significant change could look like nationwide.

On Sunday, nine members of the Minneapolis City Council answered those calls with a vow to defund and dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department and to create a new public safety system…

Amazon’s Them (officially Them: Covenant) is out, and let’s just say Twitter has largely not been here for it. Over the weekend, the series trended heavily. Executive producer Lena Waithe was dragged relentlessly as many erroneously pegged her as the series’ creator and writer. (Let’s be real: Some of the venom directed Waithe’s way is residual from her 2019 film, Queen & Slim.) But Them’s creator and main writer is newcomer Little Marvin. Very few biographical details are available on Marvin, but he is an alumnus of corporate America.

To fuel the horror in Them, Little Marvin turned to California…

Your Politics

In 2010, the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case changed corporate influence in politics forever. After nearly a century of guidelines that prohibited corporations and wealthy donors from having outsized power in our democracy, the Supreme Court ruled that limiting corporate spending in politics was akin to limiting free speech — except the First Amendment and its protections of free speech were meant for actual people, not corporate entities.

Since then, we have seen political races whose candidates are raising mega money to the tune of billions, making it all but impossible for regular people to run for office…

So there is this “compliment” that well-meaning people lob at me when I write conscientiously about social ills that infuriate me. I write about something deeply painful, troubling and/or problematic in our society in my own fairly measured way that feels innate to me and is not in any way meant to say anything about the deservedness of my politeness as it relates to thing that is problematic or people supporting or engaging in problematic behaviors and without fail someone, sometimes many someones, will thank me for being, “so polite.”

Instead of sharing my outrage at the initial and underlying…

Spirit Medicine

There is a power within you that has been bubbling beneath the surface, waiting to combust. As the card above — Revelation — illustrates, this week greets you with a call that you can not ignore; you are being challenged to rise to the occasion. What’s on the horizon? Making life changing decisions, choosing a new spiritual path, deciding to walk in your purpose or eliminating the things that have steered you off your path.

Dear Zora Reader,

Have we got a Spring surprise for you. Starting this Sunday, none other than mystic podcaster and all-around spiritual savant Amber the Alchemist will pen the new Spirit Medicine column. Amber will pull a card or two — some Oracle and some Tarot — and will break down what the Collective needs to know. This Sunday spiritual tip will both affirm and protect us as we go about our days. And because she is using the Akamara Tarot deck and The Awakened Soul oracle deck by Ethony, you can follow along weekly to learn more about the…