Yesterday I sat in a Baltimore restaurant called Ida B.’s Table eating Southern-inspired shrimp and grits in a Creole cream sauce. It’s a new Black-owned spot near the Inner Harbor and when I heard the name I was immediately elated thinking about the late and often forgotten Ida B. Wells. Call me dramatic, but when I go to places built in honor of those who paved a way for us (like Busboys and Poets, or the now closed Eatonville), I can’t help but think about what it means t

As an African American, I’m celebrating “Columbus Day” by dissecting Christopher Columbus' contributions to all American people. We’ve been hit in the face with patriotism lately. Our NFL athletes are expected to salute the flag, our President wants to make America great again, and most recently people are fighting back for the preservation of Columbus Day. What is missing in these blanket expectations of love for this country, is the all-inclusive narrative of Americans like

The devastation of Hurricane Harvey hit too close to home. I have friends in Texas, one specifically in Houston. I, like many people, wanted to help and wanted others to do the same. I was happy to hear that celebrities like Kevin Hart were challenging others to contribute to the cause, but I wasn’t satisfied. I wanted to see more people in the forefront, specifically Houston natives like Beyoncé. Am I the only one who expected to hear from Beyoncé after Hurricane Harvey? Was

I try not to make everything black and white. I hope that my growing level of consciousness won’t prevent me from enjoying everything, but I find that America makes that more and more difficult. Most recently football has become a political battlefield. Now, my Sunday afternoons and Monday nights will be spent standing by my principles instead of sitting in front of my tv praying for the Eagles to get it together. A year ago when Colin Kaepernick received backlash for sitting

“If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention.” These words are displayed on the Facebook cover photo of Heather Heyer, the 32-year old legal assistant who was murdered during the Charlottesville rally in Virginia last weekend. I’ve been outraged, long before Charlottesville. This time, I’m not alone; I’m not the angry Black woman in America. I united with my city, the City of Brotherly Love, in the “Philadelphia is Charlottesville” rally, stood behind clergy men of a