From the Derek Chauvin trial to the killing of Daunte Wright, it is a hard time to be an African American patriot.

My father used to read an entire Perry Mason book every day; Perry Mason is a fictional American criminal defense attorney authored by Erle Stanley Gardner. The series was a chance for my father to escape his reality as a child living in poverty in a rural region in Nigeria. He eventually gained an American green card and worked at a Stop & Go gas station for upward of two years while studying at Los Angeles Community College…

Spirit Medicine

Triggers are emotional reactions that transport you to traumatic experiences where you’ve felt unseen, unheard, or unsafe. They can be sharp reminders of where you’ve been, but also provide the opportunity to face the wound and initiate healing. Are you ready to climb up that mountain this week? The Five of Cowrie, whose image is below, shows up in this week’s pull and reveals that you may be challenged by a material loss, a scarcity mindset, or a lack of support.

When lack of support or financial resources is all that you’ve known, those deficiencies tend to pop up during…

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…

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…

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.

We’re ranking current events on a scale of 0 to 100! Who kept it 100 this week?

Poet Mahogany L. Browne made her young adult novel debut in January with Chlorine Sky, a literary gift told in verse. Chock full of resonant Black girl childhood moments, Chlorine Sky is a coming-of-age story about the power and perils of a young friendship and the growing pains it takes to become self-aware and self-assured. We journey through it all with the book’s protagonist, Sky, a teen with mighty basketball skills trying to understand — and accept — who she is and who she is becoming as she experiences colorism and sexism. …