Time for the obligatory Colin Kaepernick post: y’all should’ve listened to him in 2016

Most Americans, myself included, do not endorse looting in response to injustice. But your preference to discuss looting over racial equity right now misses the point Kap was making nearly four years ago. I’m breaking an editorial rule for this blog by stating what seems to be the most obvious viewpoint that’s been proven by […]

Columbus, Ohio police attacked US Congresswoman Joyce Beatty during George Floyd march

Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) was attending a Justice for George Floyd protest in Downtown Columbus, one of the many protests taking place across America, where police officers pepper-sprayed the Congresswoman and her colleagues. No one from Representative Beatty’s group was arrest. By the way, brilliant camerawork by Columbus Dispatch photographer Kyle Robertson. Tweet of the […]

To all White people who say they are not racist — you all are neither innocent, nor safe, from White supremacy

You’re living in White supremacy. What will you do about it? African American George Floyd’s slow death under the seemingly-knowing knee of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is a symbol of White supremacy’s death spell for both America and the freedom this country celebrates. Note that I didn’t say “ … death spell for Black […]

Roger Williams scores again with his Wednesday Wind Down Zone Soul Music podcast — May 27

Another example of my weirdness: I Shazam songs I already know. My guess is that I have trust issues with the app and want to catch it in a lie. Not sure. An Aha-you-busted moment came last night when Soul Music podcaster Roger Williams played Impact’s “Something to Rock Too” during his monthly last-Wednesday show […]

Memorial day thought: what does American society come back from — or come back to — after coronavirus?

Here’s what “We’re in the same boat” means during a pandemic right now. Answer this: if someone has been aporophobic or racist — be it blatant, passive, willfully ignorant or plain hateful — for much of their lives, how is a coronavirus pandemic going to magically make them believe “we’re in this together” or “in […]

‘You ain’t Black’ Part 3: how Biden can fix the mess he’s made

It’s time for the Presidential hopeful to share and discuss his platform on race — and understand his place in the eyes of the Black electorate. Plus, a rare endorsement from this blog. About four years ago, but without a public endorsement, I categorized the Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Presidential race as a question […]

‘You ain’t Black’ Part 2: Biden has been enabled to have enough nerve to say that.

Presumptive Presidential candidate Joe Biden clearly had a problem with coherently discussing a vision for racial equity with Charlamagne tha God. But why? The Vice President’s remarks during yesterday’s appearance on The Breakfast Club can be entered as evidence of a problem he has with holding a serious discussion about race in America. I’ll go […]

‘You ain’t Black’ Part 1: what will you do for Black people — er, what the hell did you just say, Vice President Biden?

Lawd. The Democratic Presidential candidate’s appearance with Charlamagne tha God yesterday has left plenty to unpack — and the “You ain’t Black” comment is the least of them. But I’ll cover that too. Here’s the first of three parts. Joe Biden’s words — spoken and not — speak volumes about the lens he places on […]

Aural Dive: “Maxine” by Saoul

Funk as a music genre is far from dead. For the moment, it’s spending time in the worthy hands of multi-instrumentalist Saoul in the form of “Maxine”, the funkiest track I’ve heard so far this year. What makes Saoul’s Funk so unique for 2020 is that he moves beyond the basic, lower-shelf grooves and immerses […]

Aural Dive: Jamal Dixon — Brick City EP 2020

Coronavirus pandemic be damned, this is Jamal Dixon’s time to fly. Somewhere and somehow between sets during his busy NYC-based Standard Hotel residency, DJ and producer Jamal Dixon released his Brick City EP earlier this year to the world — and the results have the power to connect with nightclubs far outside of America. The […]