In ZORA. More on Medium.
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…
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…
The Derek Chauvin trial will be one of the most consequential trials of our lifetime. The ex-police officer who casually drained George Floyd of his life while pressing his knee into his neck as (some of) the world watched in horror is a tragic sign of the times we live in. It was the ease in Chauvin’s face and the smug look of domination and cruelty that recalled the haunting truth about White America’s love affair with abusing Black people and publicly torturing Black bodies. …
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…
In GEN’s ongoing series, How I Got Radicalized, writers share that pivotal turning point when they had their “aha” moment. I found Dr. Furaha Asani’s take on Disney’s The Princess…
~ Nikki Giovanni, “Adulthood II” (from Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day, 1978)
There is always something / of the child / in us that wants / a strong hand to hold / through the hungry season / of growing up
My heart is a lonely heart. It reflects the beginnings of a depression that I will learn will encompass much of my life. I live in a Black body that doesn’t know her womanhood, that doesn’t know how to see herself as herself, as a being worthy of love. I do not want to be White, but I do…
It’s Monday morning, you wake up, brush your teeth, have your coffee, maybe even get a good workout in! You’re ready to start your day! You pick up your phone for a quick social media scroll and that’s when you see it:
The hashtag. The protests. The video. Another Black man, Black woman, Black child. Murdered by the police.
Suddenly, the day feels like trash and you just want to crawl back into bed. But what excuse can you give to your boss? …
I was not Black enough as a kid.
At least, that’s what I was often told by my classmates and, more subtly, by my family.
As soon as I entered middle school, I became obsessed with shoujo manga and anime — the type of Japanese visual media made for teen girls. Magical girls, romance stories, and cute colorful characters were my kryptonite. Every week I was in Borders (I know) spending my allowance on every volume of Tokyo Mew Mew (which was for me what Sailor Moon was for everyone else).
Yet when talking to friends at school, I hid…
My morning routine is the same almost every day. I typically wake every morning between 6 and 7 a.m. I don’t use an alarm clock, preferring to let myself rise naturally with the sun. I stretch. Sit up. Take a sip of water. Say a little prayer of gratitude. Get out of bed and open the curtains to let the sunshine in.
And then… I panic. The countdown has begun.
Starting from the moment I open my eyes, I have T-minus 2.5 hours before I need to start work. That’s 2.5 hours to become fully awake, do some yoga, walk…
Women’s History Month is a celebration of strong women through history. How do you exhibit strength in your life?
“Strong Black woman.” It’s a phrase that’s been used to describe our mothers, grandmothers, aunties, and elders, and it’s something every Black girl may feel she needs to grow up to be. As we celebrate Women’s History Month this March, we may find ourselves immersed in stories about women throughout history who fought.
But what does it actually mean to be “strong?”
Throughout history, Black women have exhibited strength in different ways. Through overcoming grief like Mamie Till Mobley, speaking truth…