A century of state-sponsored bananas, blood and bullets — facts that are missing from today’s immigration debate

I’ll preface my different angle of approach to the latest immigration episode concerning President Trump’s zero-tolerance policy by first addressing those of you who think droning children overseas, snatching them from parents at the U.S. border, physically abusing them, or injecting them with anti-psychotic meds without consent or proper diagnosis is symptomatic of a healthy […]

Unstable mixtures and missing chapters — Chekesia Clemons’ beef about plastic forks at Waffle House ends with being stripped and arrested by Alabama police

Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson’s arrests at the Philadelphia Starbucks and the story I just read about the Black woman who was choked, stripped and arrested by Alabama police officers — more on that in a moment — reminds me of a late-night encounter I saw in a downtown New York City diner from the […]

Starbucks, racist Holly Hylton and magic training

Do you think we’re anywhere near through discussing this racist, Central City Philadelphia Starbucks incident that resulted in the coffee shop’s manager, Holly Hylton, siccing police officers on two African descendants — Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson — for sitting in the café for just two minutes without buying anything? Hell. Naw. Starbucks could repeat […]

Something to think about when the sight of two Black guys sitting in Starbucks makes you call the police

Unless you really dislike Black people, the video shared by author Melissa DePino of two African descendants being arrested by Philadelphia police officers for simply sitting in a Starbucks in advance of a business meeting should be uncomfortable to watch. @Starbucks The police were called because these men hadn’t ordered anything. They were waiting for […]

“Where are our leaders today?” you ask.

It’s been 50 years and three days after Dr. Martin Luther king Jr.’s assassination, and people still ask “Where are our leaders today?” Which makes me think of Americans’ funny attitudes about leaders. By 1964, a Gallup poll reported that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the fourth most admired person in America, even beating […]

As if tasing an 86-year old man is a tonic: a sad update about Albert Chatfield

Remember that horrifying story about 86-year old Albert Chatfield? The unarmed dementia sufferer was tased by a Kingstree, South Carolina police officer last October, after a brief car chase and subsequent verbal exchange. Chatfield’s injuries prompted the attending hospital to put him in a medically-induced coma in order to save his life. Here’s a sad […]

Stephon Clark — Killed for Daring to Be Human

“I feared for my safety and the well-being of my fellow officers.” “I feared for my life.” And in the shooting of Stephon “Zoe” Clark, the officers who shot the unarmed man were “fearing for their safety.” I’ve repeatedly written about how the killings of unarmed people of color by law enforcement personnel are almost […]

Bruno Mars and cultural appropriation, part 2: the bake

The fried-rice-and-chicken-wing-theory of Blackness gets too much shine at times. We’ll dig deeper into that point later. I want to continue my thoughts from earlier today about Bruno Mars and cultural appropriation by asking a silly question: what is Blackness? Also, what credentialed person or process gets to determine someone else’s Blackness? No, this isn’t […]

Bruno Mars and cultural appropriation, part 1: the shake

To the folks who continue to drone that performer Bruno Mars is guilty of cultural appropriation — leave him Alone. Yeah, I always thought Bruno Mars played Cruise Ship Funk — the safe stuff that’s deodorized to a sucralose state of Middle-American acceptamce where listens invoke Peoria-grandma-approved happy faces, trying hard to keep a beat. […]

That day the NRA pulled the (Black) race card — and everyone lost it

Okay — it’s time to deal with the National Rifle Association’s Dana Loesch and her days-ago quote that still has people arguing. Many in legacy media love mass shootings. You guys love it. She then creatively teased the race card … Now I’m not saying that you love the tragedy. […]