Now accepting suggestions on what to do during the scripted show drought — September 2023 television is dry as a Sahara desert day. All I see with the “new" label in the guide’s prime-time schedule are game shows and “reality” TV. People are volunteering to be pranked, provoked, and probed to reveal either how much smarter they are than a preteen or how…

Has technology made map knowledge obsolete? — “Backpack! Backpack!” For Millennials and Generation Y, that phrase is a trigger to release fond memories of watching the “Dora The Explorer” TV series as a child. In the series, Dora explored the world with her monkey Boots as they traveled from point A to point B. Watching a child…

Rewatching Black movies from an older perspective — Back in college, I had to have it. By “it", I mean fine, sexy, …nude Black actresses. I wasn’t a ladies' man back then. I was your average Black nerd making decent grades, but not making enough income to afford an apartment, car, …you know, the independent adult lifestyle. I…

At least 4 times I drove for hours to be an audience member at “The Moth” — I have always wanted to be heard and have my perspective valued. Growing up in an African-American community where customs like “the dozens” (a game of verbal combat) are championed, I can remember feelings of being shut down in conversations with my peers as a youth. Maybe part of this…

African-Americans have no choice but to stay ready — “Woke" has become the term du jour for conservative politicians who want to use dog-whistle tactics to rile up their base. They have to employ socially acceptable phrases as a substitute for saying “Black people” or more derogatory terms that would turn off “respectable” supporters who would never admit that…

Illinois becomes the first state to eliminate cash bail — People make mistakes, both minor and significant since we’re all human. Depending upon their socioeconomic status, the mistakes people make can be costly if they run afoul of the law. Young people who think they are invincible are most at risk since they don’t have the wisdom of life experiences…

The privilege of centering white youth’s feelings — In July 2023, acclaimed author Ta-Nehisi Coates attended a school board meeting to support a teacher who was employing a book he wrote on racism to teach her students. This high school teacher was instructing her Advanced English class on the stories of American citizens who don’t look like them…

I grew up drawn to bodies of water as a means of peaceful reflection. A way to calm my nerves. A wondrous backdrop to celebrations. I’ve been to a multitude of picnics by Lake Pontchartrain or the Mississippi River in New Orleans during my youth. This routine became integral to…

Mainstream White America’s 1-strike trigger with African-American lives — White American society has historically honored ethnic segregation in daily life. This manifests primarily in their social lives, where most of their personal interactions are ethnically homogenous. White communities have cultivated neighborhoods that are insulated on an ethnic level, which they protect through silence that’s interpreted as consent. Whether in…