We, beautifully flawed humans that can neither tolerate a world order that, in thinking we are worthy of its oppression, is beneath us nor wait idly by as it consumes itself, are headed towards the lands filled with the glorious black light of the power contained in the ocean of human imagination. We will not merely content ourselves to observe the effects of its absence.
Essays and Creative Non-Fiction
Feminist Reflections on my Spiritual Sabbatical
How empowering would if feel to Black men to get our sense of human validation from emotionally supporting our families [broadly defined] rather than anxiously trying to game a system founded in our bondage in order to support them financially? Imagine what our communities might look like if we supported Black women and Black gender-non-conforming folx in transforming leadership and the workplace as Black men and gender-non-conforming folx transformed the home?
New Meditation for #BlackJoySundays
Black Joy is a transformative force. It is a visceral, deeply embodied reminder of the precious euphoria of our humanity. It is the source of Black resilience which is itself the wellspring of Black Liberation. #BlackJoySundays are a supportive place we can be affirmed in our Blackness, fellowship with other gorgeous Black people and discuss some of the racial stress we experience. Yet above all, it is space where we cultivate a shared sense of Black joy. This is a space for Black people, which means ALL Black people.
Call Me in Until You Need to Call Me Out
Reflections On Being A Leader in a Leaderful Movement Rape Culture is real. It is omnipresent. It is destroying all of our movements. I don’t know how to start this essay. I don’t really know what to say or how to say it so I’m going to be real and raw and honest. I … Continue reading Call Me in Until You Need to Call Me Out
Meditations On Liberation
Liberation is joy in its purest form. Liberation is joy arising from moments so splendid and just as to transcend their own context. Liberation is the joy of light bursting through the darkness. Liberation is not merely laughing so hard you cry, it is laughing so hard that your pain loses its meaning and the means to sustain itself. Liberation is when laughter is a treatment not merely an anesthetic.
Dear Black Women and Trans* People in the Struggle
Dear Black Women and Trans* Activists in the Struggle, I don’t know how to begin this letter. There are so many things I want to say to all the Black women in my life. There are so many things I want to say to uplift, spread and support marginalized voices within this new movement. There … Continue reading Dear Black Women and Trans* People in the Struggle
An Argument for Operating with Love
*If you are looking for the speech I gave at Sixth and I please click here* I was reminded today that there is no cosmic scale weighing the oppression of Blacks in America. There is no ledger listing the wrongs that have been done to us. There is no mystic reckoning that will bring wholeness. … Continue reading An Argument for Operating with Love
The Truth About Gender Based Violence
Elliot Rodger terrifies me. It’s not that I’m afraid that some kid like him will attack me or, worse, someone I love. I don’t think Men’s Rights advocates are going to join with the NRA to declare open season on women. What scares me about Elliot Rodgers -- what makes my whole body clinch into … Continue reading The Truth About Gender Based Violence
Home Is Where You’re Fighting To Get At It: An Essay on Music and Memory in Times of Transition
My first published article! I’d like to say Thank you to everyone who has been reading this blog over the past few months. I’m am really proud of this article and I hope you enjoy reading it. This Is Rhymes and Reasons is a phenomenal website and you should look around at their other post. Their interviews are amazing and really do a great job of the dealing Hip Hop Stories. Please comment, like and reblog like crazy!
by: Aaron Goggans
For years Chicago was my city, my center and my muse. Chicago was my on again, off again college sweetheart. Sure, we may have taken breaks over Christmas and Thanksgiving and I might have flirted with New York and Denver but I always knew I’d come home to her. We had gone through too many fights, birthdays, finals, and first dates for me to ever stay anywhere else too long. When I was away, she would send me mix tapes infused with that instantly recognizable Chicago sound. Sometimes, when I was lonely in my childhood home in Colorado I’d play Common or Kanye just so I could hear her voice; that wholesome, familiar sound that always reminded me of going to church.
To me, Chicago Hip Hop takes you to Cottage Grove on a Sunday morning. You can see Black people, from Englewood poverty to Beverly wealth…
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Rich Is The New White: Reflections on Capitalist Class Culture and D.C Housing
So, a lot of things have been going on in the past few weeks. I've sort of jumped straight into housing advocacy here in D.C. It all started when my sister introduced me to the Housing For All Campaign here in D.C. I joined a Learning Circle on gentrification that they ran and meet some … Continue reading Rich Is The New White: Reflections on Capitalist Class Culture and D.C Housing
The Well Examined Life 