Nia brought home an intriguing assignment weeks after becoming a second grader. A note from her homeroom teacher came attached with a worksheet and detailed a lesson using Kevin Henkes’ book, “Chrysanthemum.” The lesson was intended to help learn classmates’ names while also demonstrating the harm of teasing: “In ‘Chrysanthemum,’ a little mouse is given… Continue reading Consequences & Repercussions: The Societal Significance of Chosen Names
Tag: Dallas Morning News/Briefing Column
Sex As A Weapon: ‘Blameless’ Boys, ‘Guilty’ Girls & One Misguided Mom
Last week, Darius turned in his first assignment for World History class, a project requiring him to assemble top news stories from the year he was born. In newspaper format, my son listed 1997’s hottest film (“Titanic”), the price of gas ($1.22 a gallon!) and the fact that William Jefferson Clinton took his second oath… Continue reading Sex As A Weapon: ‘Blameless’ Boys, ‘Guilty’ Girls & One Misguided Mom
No Hilarity In Self-Hatred: An Open Letter To Sheryl Underwood
Dear Cheryl Underwood, Before you were added to the five woman panel of CBS’ daytime show “The Talk,” your rise as a professional comedian was a sure and steady one. You had regular appearances on HBO’S Def Comedy Jam, hosting duties on BET’s Comic View, a Sirius satellite radio slot and film cameos. So given… Continue reading No Hilarity In Self-Hatred: An Open Letter To Sheryl Underwood
Miley Cyrus, Swaggerjacking & The Myth Of ‘Sister SuperHo’
In Spike Lee’s 2000 film Bamboozled, Damon Wayans portrays the pretentious Harvard-educated Pierre Delacroix, a writer and executive at a fictitious television network. After his previous sitcom pitches are rejected by a superior as too “antiseptic” and “white-bread,” the frustrated Delacroix hopes that his latest idea, a satirical variety program entitled Mantan: The New Millennium… Continue reading Miley Cyrus, Swaggerjacking & The Myth Of ‘Sister SuperHo’
To The Beat Y’all: Celebrating 40 Years Of Hip-Hop
It was in Dallas TX, 1979. An unassuming grade-schooler discovers an art form that would move the body, touch the heart and resonate within the soul. Already established, but continually evolving, this cultural phenomenon would inform her, entertain her and permanently alter the course of her entire life. That musical genre became known as hip-hop,… Continue reading To The Beat Y’all: Celebrating 40 Years Of Hip-Hop