Culture
In ZORA. More on Medium.
Spirit Medicine
Amber the Alchemist pulls a tarot and an oracle card just for you
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
Some people were monuments. They were institutions. Eras. And losing X is losing the only other person who remembers what I remember about us.
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…
Black actors settling for trauma roles should be a thing of the past
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.
When racialized horror gets too deep, some viewers tune in while others tune out
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
Amber the Alchemist pulls a tarot and an oracle card just for you
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.
From the ‘Zola’ movie trailer to Lil Nas X’s controversial video, here’s what’s been going on in the world this week!
We’re ranking current events on a scale of 0 to 100! Who kept it 100 this week?
The poet and organizer reflects on writing, hoops, and relationships
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. …
Amerie isn’t afraid to follow her passions. While many know her for her beautiful voice, the Grammy-nominated singer is also making waves in the publishing world. She’s released a New York Times bestseller, Because You Love to Hate Me, and launched her own book club and popular YouTube channel. In 2018, she gave birth to her son, River, and she’s still in the studio getting ready to put out some new music!
Amerie can (and will!) do it all.
I’m unapologetic about being a woman who speaks her mind. And one who has never been willing to play someone else’s…
It’s okay if your edges aren’t laid.
When I was a small child, I spent every morning on the floor watching cartoons while my momma secured my hair in tight braids wound with hard plastic bobos and fastened with butterfly-shaped barrettes. All of my outfits were perfectly color-coordinated and pressed free of any wrinkles. I was explicitly told not to let anyone touch my hair and was repeatedly implored to stop picking up rocks and stuffing them in my pockets.
Presentability was instilled in me from an early age. All the women in my family know how to dress, and I was taught to take a lot…
From mint to rooibos to matcha, take the time to pour into yourself
I grew up on an island that remained a British colony until 1962, so of course tea was part of the ingrained routine of life. To break the fast in the morning? Tea. To calm your spirit after school or the workday? Tea. During the day as needed for a pick-me-up? You guessed it, tea! My mother is a born and raised tea fanatic, and she passed that energy along to me. There is no time of day that she won’t advise me to drink an “NCOT” as she calls it — a nice cup of tea.
“I don’t need…
