Tag: black is beautiful campaign

Your Black Self: How Race Makes Us Hurt Ourselves

.Reading time 9 minutes.

My mother would often say to us, “Sit your black (expletive) down.” After arguments with my father, she would conclude that, “Niggas ain’t (expletive).”  Many African Americans or those who would claim to take pride in blackness use the word black and likewise, nigga derogatorily. In the case of children, it is used to shame and […]

Read More

My Brother, My Sister: How Race Makes Us Family

.Reading time 5 minutes.

“How are you doing, my sister?” “Can you spare some change, my brother?”  I hear it often from older African American men who wish to pay me a compliment or are asking for assistance. I hear it as respectful, an expression of social grace as it assumes a relational closeness that could draw a smile […]

Read More