Actualize

It was a frigid New England February day, much like this one, when we were first introduced. Of course, I imagined that I knew something about you beforehand, by the way you moved and kicked and somersaulted in my belly — by your satisfied silences and painful [...]

I was four years old the first time that I was called nigger. It was my first day at Athens Preschool Academy. APA — who feels like writing Athens Preschool Academy over and over again — was — is I think — located on the Atlanta Highway in my hometown. It had a [...]

From early childhood through young adulthood, my wife and I lived lives dedicated to sports—she a real and successful athlete (state champion, MVP, honorable mention All-American), and me a sincere, hard-working wanna-be. Our daughter was born in 1989, and I am sure we almost immediately [...]

If you were a fan of the HBO series “The Wire,” you likely remember the scene in the fourth season focused on Baltimore public schools where the term “juking the stats” defined how corporate-driven reengineering of the public sphere has distorted public institutions so [...]

There’s a reason why, when a woman whispers her story of sexual abuse, when she writes about it, when she Tweets about it or carries a mattress around on her back, calls the police or a rape crisis line, I believe her. The reason is [...]

I was a senior at Cornell University when I was arrested for heroin possession. As an addict — a condition that began during a deep depression — I was muddling my way through classes and doing many things I would come to regret, including selling [...]

my breath catches in my throat as the continuity of life is abruptly disrupted. again. as i sat down to write a poem about my slain brothers and sisters. (and sisters). another was murdered. i watched live streams of black souls gathering in berkeley, missouri [...]

[ The “Our Lives Matters” project was inspired by the extrajudicial killings of minorities, particularly boys of color who are targeted on a daily basis. Fear of these young men continues to be seen as justification for the use [...]

   ~ For Chris Brown Rape doesn’t happen to men Not even boys if you know how To spin your tale & feather it up You’re from that special, faraway place It’s different in the country Just couldn’t say no to it Kind of, like, hot [...]