My father is listed as white on his birth certificate. His great-grandfather was the founder of America’s first black daily newspaper. But when I tell the story of my family, inextricably linked to the narrative of New Orleans and, in fact, to the country, I [...]
Things I Will Tell My Daughter
Joel Leon.2016-11-29T17:39:10-05:00I am fearful of the men who will attempt to treat her like cargo, like a thing to be played with; disposable. I worry that when she leaves me, there will be times when the stars will not align for her goodness, and others will [...]
10 Uncomfortable Truths About Being Black in America
LeRon L. Barton2016-11-29T17:39:10-05:00I talk and write about race a lot. I can’t escape being Black, even if I want to. I have always been race conscious, known who I am, and where I stand in the world. However, everything changed for me during the Trayvon Martin [...]
Five Days in the Life: Single, Minimum-Wage Fast Food Working Mom in Chicago
Adriana Alvarez2016-11-29T17:39:10-05:00Name: Adriana Alvarez, 23 City: Cicero, Illinois Child: Manuel, three Job: I’ve worked at a McDonald’s franchise for almost five years. I do everything in my store: cashier; kitchen; runner; drive-through. Wherever I’m needed, I’m there. When I’m not at work, I’m with my son — and sometimes [...]
Choosing Queer: I Was Not Born This Way, And That’s Ok.
Hari Ziyad2016-11-29T17:39:10-05:00I don’t remember the first time I found a boy attractive. I do know that in my earliest memories, when I was 4 or 5, this attraction felt natural and innate. I know, too, that there was a first time I found a girl [...]
#FightForDyett in Voices from the Frontlines Today [Videos]
empathy2016-11-29T17:39:10-05:00After 34 days, the Hunger Strike may have ended, but the commitment has not waned. The "conversations" with Chicago Public Schools remain. Through the video presentations [below] we invite you to the Dyett Hunger Strikers Press Conference held at the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. [We apologize for [...]
Growing Up Muslim in a Post-9/11 World
Fariha Roisin2016-11-29T17:39:10-05:00My sister put on the hijab when she was 20 years old. I remember the color of her first scarf—a pale blue green, maybe chiffon, crinkling at the corners of her smiling eyes, enveloping the circumference of her perfect moon shaped face. My sister was one [...]
I Don’t Act Like An ‘Angry Black Woman’ – But I’m Read That Way If I Broach Race
Rebecca Carroll2016-11-29T17:39:10-05:00“Why are you so angry?” my mother asked me during her recent visit to Brooklyn. It’s the first time my mother has ever asked me that question, and I know that she is lovingly unaware of its ramifications as a nocuous cliche, despite its power as [...]
Ode to the Only Black Kid in the Class
Clint Smith2016-11-29T17:39:11-05:00You, it seems, are the manifestation of several lifetimes of toil. Brown v. Board in flesh. Most days the classroom feels like an antechamber. You are deemed expert on all things Morrison, King, Malcolm, Rosa. Hell, weren’t you sitting on that bus, too? You are [...]