Cognize

Many a Black child has that moment when they learn that certain White spaces are off limits to them. That not only are such spaces unwelcoming, but they can possibly be dangerous. The Black teenagers who attempted to attend a pool party on the White side [...]

I've started this letter five times and deleted it five times.∗. Even though we’ve never met I’ve known you all my life. I learned you existed from a letter addressed to someone else. A few months ago, my mom told me you wanted to meet me [...]

Black Mothers remember you are warriors the root of African Nations courageous resilient resolute you hold truth on your side you are light in the devastation makers of ways when there are none your existence is revolutionary their institutions will try and convince you to chew [...]

Piercing through the silence a strong and ardent voice emerges. The Poet, Aja Monet is heard to say, “Melissa Williams, Darnisha Harris, Michelle Cassell.” These are the names of many of the girls and women who were injured or killed by police. Sadly, too few have heard [...]

I was four when my mom sat me on the washing machine to explain the situation. Once she was sure I understood, she concluded, “I know how you feel, I don’t have a daddy either.” “But your daddy didn’t want to leave,” I replied “He [...]

PRESS RELEASE | May 8, 2015Contact: Nikolina Lazic, 608-260-9713, nikolina@prwatch.org (Madison, WI)–The federal government has spent more than $3.3 billion over the past two decades creating and fueling the charter school industry, according to a new financial analysis and reporters' guide by the [...]

Academically overbearing parents are doing great harm. So says Bill Deresiewicz in his groundbreaking 2014 manifesto Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life. “[For students] haunted their whole lives by a fear of failure—often, in the first [...]

We are in the midst of another cycle of oppression boiling over into the streets. In Baltimore, protests have erupted over the death of Freddie Gray who died a week after being arrested by police and suffering a broken spine. Protesters took to the streets [...]

My mom has the cheery demeanor, moral sensibilities and lingo of a Leave It To Beaver episode. “Don’t be such a sourpuss,” she scolds. “Have you ever smoked a doobie?” she inquires. “Oh, that is just terrific!” she exclaims. My mom is what I’d like [...]