The Ferguson Lesson- Three Reasons to #CancelBlackFriday

I woke up at 4am on the morning of Tuesday, November 25th. I was faced with a challenge: In four hours, I would stand in front of four classrooms filled with young black people, in the aftermath of a grand jury's decision to not indict Michael Brown's murderer, Police Officer Darren Wilson. The … Continue reading →

Why We Need Boundaries, Online and Offline

When I log on to Tumblr or Twitter nowadays, useful, fun and inspiring content is being replaced by venting gone viral. I see responses to people who say things like "You're cute for a black girl, are you mixed?" or any other example of plain social ineptitude, tinged with colonized … Continue reading →

The Corners and Classrooms of Chicago-#FreedomTeaches

This post is a part of the "Freedom Teaches" series, where I post my reflections on teaching video production in the alternative schools of Chicago. "The Corner" is a recently restored documentary about the early days of Chicago's Vice Lords street gang. Filmed in 1963, it is astonishing … Continue reading →

Five Success Lessons I’ve Learned From Beyonce

The last few weeks of 2013 have been a serious time of reflection for me, and I've had plenty of material to reflect on. First, Susan Miller's Astrology Zone December 2013 forecast for Scorpio says that from December 7 2013 to July 25 2014, I will benefit from working on a semi-secret project … Continue reading →

Shade, Read or Bullying? Three Rules to Follow

When I was in second grade, I got teased so much that I would fake a sore throat every Monday so I didn't have to go to the same art section as the kids who teased me. I did this until my mom caught on, and then I learned how to adapt in another way: I made fun of someone else. Then my bullies … Continue reading →