Twenty-eight years ago, famed science-fiction author Octavia Butler published her apocalyptically prescient bestselling novel Parable of the Sower, which illustrated what America would look like when climate change, economic instability, and a white Evangelical Christian fascist movement took hold and converged.

Sound familiar?

The eeriest part about this novel is the way in which cultural and political norms were slowly erased. There was no major war, no invasion; instead, a sense of collective lethargy set in across the nation, and things went from bad to worse. Religious fundamentalism seized the country, slavery was reintroduced, water was scarce, and all the…

Politics

When multi-hyphenate performer Childish Gambino released his visual for “This Is America” in 2018, it sent shockwaves through the Twitterverse and beyond. Everyone was talking about its violence, its darkness, and its irrevocable honesty. The same can be said about the testimony of the four officers at the first hearing of the Select Committee for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Officer Harry Dunn, Sgt. …

Despite heightened awareness, Black Lives Matter, multiple marches, protests and even Derek Chauvin’s conviction, scores of Black people still died in the year after George Floyd’s death at the brutal hands of reckless, misguided police officers and other hate-motivated people.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations reports that anti-Black crimes continue to be the single largest category of hate crime incidents. The latest information is for 2019, but with more people emerging from Covid-19’s cover post-vaccine, it’s reasonable to think that the number and intensity of hate crimes and so-called ‘casual racism” attacks against people of color could escalate.

Experiencing racial…

BLACK SCHOLARSHIP MATTERS

Right now, Nikole Hannah-Jones deserves a round of applause. Whether you love her or hate her, it’s time to admit she won the culture war. While conservatives started the conflict, she ended it with poise. So, how did Hannah-Jones stare into the belly of the beast and come out triumphant? Let’s unpack this.

Ever since becoming the lead contributor for the New York Times’ 1619 Project, Hannah-Jones’ journalism has taken center stage, winning her the 2020 Pulitzer Prize. Before this, she received the MacArthur Fellowship in 2017, also known as the “Genius Grant.” …

Summertime has finally arrived. After a lengthy pandemic-inspired hibernation, many women feel excited about their hot-girl summer plans. Tourism around the globe has recently hit record heights. And while these vacations are well-deserved, conservative voter suppression tactics are surging. Systemic racism does not take time off, but that does not mean Black women have to stick to the picket line to make a difference.

According to MSNBC : “Stacey Abrams has launched her ‘Hot Call Summer’ campaign to get Congress to pass the For the People Act. The ‘Hot Call Summer’ campaign asks supporters to call their U.S. …

True to its origins, this year’s Juneteenth combines incremental victory and continued struggle.

Juneteenth is now an official federal holiday, with legislation creating “Juneteenth National Independence Day” having passed in the House and Senate and signed into law by President Joe Biden. This victory is hard-won, the fruit of decades of activism from people like 94-year-old Opal Lee, who once walked from Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C., (at 89!) to push for federal recognition.

So finally, the U.S. is getting a national holiday dedicated to the emancipation of our enslaved ancestors. But it’s happening amid a concerted right-wing effort…

With six months under our belts in 2021, many have begun to refer to 2020 as the “lost year.” Twenty-twenty was the year that brought us so much — trauma, a reset, inner peace, anxiety. Essentially, it was a basket case of a year. If you are Black, however, it brought with it the persistent reminder that even in the midst of a global pandemic, where a trip to the grocery store could land you in the hospital or worse, being Black in America was still just as deadly as contracting Covid-19. …

What’s in a name? Apparently a lot when it comes to royal babies. After Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, announced they were pregnant with a girl during that infamous Oprah interview, speculation began over both the name and the due date.

Earlier this week, royal watchers received their answer. Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born on Friday, June 4 at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, weighing in at 7 pounds and 11 ounces, according to an announcement on Harry and Meghan’s Archewell website. A fine name if you ask me, especially considering how the first name is a…