Our Baby Girl, Our Future: Looking Forward, Lurching Back

This Saturday, Calvin and I will officially become the parents of two teenagers, as our youngest daughter Layla, will be turning 13. As many parents do, we appreciate her progress so far and fondly remember the months and moments that shaped her entering our lives.  When I was still expecting Layla, it felt more like… Continue reading Our Baby Girl, Our Future: Looking Forward, Lurching Back

Mary J. Blige’s “Good Morning Gorgeous,” Preview/Review Link

According to an idiom popularized by rapper and ‘business, man’ Jay-Z, “Men lie and women lie, but numbers don’t.” So even by this simple metric, Mary J Blige has “the numbers” that count: over 70 million in album sales, fifteen albums, nine Grammy Awards, a pair of Academy Award nominations and….oh yes, that single crown… Continue reading Mary J. Blige’s “Good Morning Gorgeous,” Preview/Review Link

Critical Truths, Racist Lies

On Independence Day in 2020, a clamoring throng toppled a statue of Christopher Columbus Baltimore neighborhood of Little Italy. When the cheering protesters dragged it down and sunk it beneath the depths of Inner Harbor, the statue became the latest symbol of societal change and a harbinger of a larger reckoning  about the hypocrisy and… Continue reading Critical Truths, Racist Lies

“….For me, ‘Sankofa’ means to remember who you came from, what you came from, & where you came through.”

  “I’ve been slow-walking this whole thing: stewing it, getting it into people’s systems and letting them absorb the aesthetic of it. So anytime the music is able to get out of me, I consider that a success. The press, PR, whatever that other stuff is, that’s a different thing…….But once it gets out, and… Continue reading “….For me, ‘Sankofa’ means to remember who you came from, what you came from, & where you came through.”

Targeted Bodies, Troubled Souls: How to Self-Care While Black

In the last few months, more than any other time, many of us have learned the value of self-care. For some, it’s a long pier, a collapsible chair and a lake to fish in. For others, it’s solitude and a bubble bath. Others look forward to bingeing Bridgerton and brewing a pot of tea. But no… Continue reading Targeted Bodies, Troubled Souls: How to Self-Care While Black