Last night I had a dream. I was crossing a bridge to meet my father on the other side. You see, my dad died a little over six months ago. When I got there, he hadn’t arrived yet. While I waited, I communicated to him (it could have been via phone or telepathy; it’s a […]

Music lends a voice to circumstances, times, and places. Multifaceted, it can give voice to the disenfranchised as well as lull a child to sleep at its mother’s bosom; it can uplift a nation defining love, hope and fear. Utilized for diverse purposes, it has been used to ease the suffering of people and/or used […]

The definition of philanthropy often conjures up lofty ideals of elevated ways to use resources to serve the community, usually money, and is most often attributed to foundations, corporations and uber-wealthy individuals. It implies that large sums of money and/or assets are needed in order to be considered philanthropic. Dr. C. Erick Lincoln, Race Scholar […]

During summer, I like to attend the 149th Street Block Association’s annual picnic at Baisley Park, where I grew up in Queens. It reminds me of where I come from, and puts me in contact with the environment that inspired and encouraged me from the beginning. As most can attest, growing up in a predominantly […]

Photo: Copyright © Antonio carlos cascatrina, Getty Images. I remember when I took an economics course in college. It was tedious at best. The only takeaway from it was the paradigm of supply and demand. A concept easily understood without having to employ the complicated formulas and skills needed for mathematics. Don’t get me wrong, […]

Photo: Copyright © Jon Rubin, under CC BY-SA 2.0. Today, one of my favorite events of the summer season takes place. It’s a great street fair on west 135th street that occurs annually at the close of Harlem Week. It usually straddles the weekend. The latter day signifies the end of summer and offers one of […]

Photo: Copyright © Benjamin Stangland, Getty Images. When I decided to write this piece on Our History, I regarded it as an opportunity. It’s through the lens of it that I stay informed about the world we live in. However, once the excitement died down, I was faced with the conundrum of “Whose history?” It’s been […]

Photo: Copyright © Gary Scott, Getty Images Look at history and analyze it. We might conclude that we are culturally standing on the precipice of collapse. By peering over the edge, we look into an abyss that usually results in the reframing and re-calibration of society. We’ve seen this throughout history with the decline and fall […]

Photo: Copyright © David Arauz, under CC BY-SA 2.0 Black is a rich, deep, dark, mysterious color often erroneously attributed to death and negativity. That’s what the media would have us believe when it comes to black people. How is it the negative adjectives like that become synonymous with people of African descent? In spite of […]