I have what feels like a lifetime of wonderful childhood memories of my sister and me dancing and singing along to Prince songs with my sister. We never had a lot of CDs, but would use cassette tapes to record our favorite jams when they came on the radio and found creative joy in curating… Continue reading From the Little Girl who Always Sang ‘1999’ too Loudly
Category: Thoughts and Musings
Canaries and Cages
I haven't written anything in a long time. I've started and stopped blog posts, but only in my mind. I've been engaging with writings that others have written and readily shared strong voices of my dear writer friends. But my own thoughts have been stuck on the roof of my mouth and the tops of… Continue reading Canaries and Cages
When Whiteness Rears Its Ugly Head, or #KeepItIn2015
"Tamir Rice was lynched and everybody knows, every black body felt it and every white body dealt." -Tabias Wilson to not be safe on the earth. simply because of the color of your skin. how does a being survive this? -trayvon martin -nayyirah waheed There are things I cannot leave behind in 2015 even if… Continue reading When Whiteness Rears Its Ugly Head, or #KeepItIn2015
For 26: A Look Inward
It has been a few days since my birthday, and I continue to ride the high of assisting my brother in his first murder case that was a big win against a leading prosecutor. Throughout the entire process I was really emotionally and mentally invested in the case, especially for the sake of the client… Continue reading For 26: A Look Inward
Close Encounters
black women breathe flowers, too. just because we are taught to grow them in the lining of our quiet (our grandmothers secret). does not mean we do not swelter with wild tenderness. we soft swim. we petal. we scent limbs. love. we just have been too long a garden for sharp and deadly teeth. so… Continue reading Close Encounters
On Leaving (Again) and Thoughts that Have No Words
"During the time between ending one project and beginning another, I always have a crisis of meaning." - bell hooks There are instances. Instances when I will stand still outside amongst the bustle of life and close my eyes and imagine that I am as alone as I sometimes feel. There is a deep well… Continue reading On Leaving (Again) and Thoughts that Have No Words
Ghosting
Ghosts Things fall apart And people disappear One minute they are there And the next you are drinking wine alone at the table Or raking through 8 years of memories captured in photographs And it haunts me August, You bring some of the hottest days of the year And I returned to America and fell… Continue reading Ghosting
Choice Revisited: A Black Woman Reflects on Alice Walker and Returning Home
This was the first time that I did not begin a new journey with time spent reflecting in the Town Where Time Does Not Reside. I boarded my flight in London and came straight to this new beginning in Philadelphia, the weight of time zones and memories jarring the journey. There was a moment on… Continue reading Choice Revisited: A Black Woman Reflects on Alice Walker and Returning Home
How to Get to the Other End of a Dark Tunnel
People often ask me why I research black men and not black women. The answer to that is long and complicated, but it boils down to doing the work of what would be so close to my own life day in and day out, would be to live that life twice. I am so grateful… Continue reading How to Get to the Other End of a Dark Tunnel
For Michelangelo and Makiah
I can hear them From the first words I read Laughter high and smiles wide Weaving in and out of what they believe are safe streets Home And in the last seconds of hugs and kisses you don't know are the last you'll ever give Are the same seconds it takes for someone to end… Continue reading For Michelangelo and Makiah
Odelia Younge 