Trump’s Rise is America’s Descent

Being the vulgar pragmatist, I often do what I can to see things beyond the typical buzzwords thrown around on social media, especially when talking about race. Too many times, "racism" and "privilege" are used as silencers of dissent in progressive circles, much like "repentance" and "sin nature" are among evangelicals. What has resulted from …

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Reparations: Yet Another “Conversation”

I had to laugh weeks ago when discussing Ta-Nehisi Coates' piece, "The Case For Reparations" with friends on Twitter. Having known what to expect from Coates for a while now, it did not shock me that people were waiting with the proverbial bated breath as they watched the trailer--yes, in the manner of a summer …

Racism, the Erosion of Trust, and the Lost Art of Objective Analysis

"I want my country back." When screamed into the public discourse at a town hall five years ago, these words became the call-to-arms for the purest, most virulent fringes of conservatism to unite. For centuries, the United States, for all its initial tropes about freedom and liberty from the British crown, had held to a …

Foolish False Equivalence and the Black Progressive “Brand”

When the name Ta-Nehisi Coates comes up, many people treat him and his work as the immutable gospel of the Black struggle; the spirit of James Baldwin made flesh, so to speak. His words are treated as the final say as to what the true face of racism is, and all those who dare disagree …

Do Black Thought Leaders Really Want Change?

As the tweets and statements parsing President Obama's speech announcing the new initiative My Brother's Keeper started to roll in late yesterday afternoon, I began to remember the antics of one man: Tavis Smiley. Already a household name with a powerful platform on PBS and in Black circles, Smiley was one of those people who …

Maybe I’m Not Black Enough

I've spoken in limited slang since I was little, only beginning to pick some up after being teased by my cousins for "talking white." I never went to any type of public or private school throughout my teenage years. I have yet to read anything from James Baldwin, yet all over social media I see people …

Sense and Respectability

This year started off on a bit of a rough note for me, with the news of James Avery's passing. The role he played so masterfully and would be known best for was that of Judge Phillip Banks, affectionately known by most as "Uncle Phil." A powerful, authoritative figure that also showed great love to …

Why I am Cynical on Matters of Race

The calm, dinner table scene in 1998's American History X still haunts me to this day, even more than the scene in which Edward Norton's character, the brutal skinhead Derek Vinyard, curb-stomps one of the Black men that tried to break into his truck. The calm, smooth manner in which Derek's father, a cop bitter about how …