black rage

"Black Rage is founded on 2/3rds a person,
Rapings and beatings and suffering that worsens,
Black human packages tied up in strings-
Black rage is founded on these kinds of things.
Black rage is founded on blatant denial,
Squeezed economics, subsistence, survival.
Deafening silence and social control--
Black rage is founded on wounds in the soul.
So when the dogs bite, when the beatings, and when I'm feeling sad,
I simply remember all these kinds of things, and then I don't FEAR so bad."
--Lauryn Hill

(Hear the entire song here.)
 

And that's why I'm not scared to say what I say. You don't like it? Oh well. My people go through too much for me to keep quiet. If it makes you uncomfortable, well, imagine how it makes us feel. Let's talk about it, shall we?

phenomenal binder, that's me

As seen on AwesomelyLuvvie.com

Inspired by Mitt Romney's "Binders Full of Women" commentary during the presidential debates.  (To the tune of "Phenomenal Woman" by Maya Angelou)

Bigger binders wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not tall enough at all for 11×14 size.
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in my front pocket
And the one in the rear
The reinforced metal socket
The cover that’s clear
I’m a binder
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal binder,
That’s me.

I’m stored up on the shelf
Just as cool as you please
And for a band
On music stands
Or placed atop their knees.
Choir kids swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the 3 rings that hold
All the music they read
You just can’t deny
I’m their basic need
I’m a binder.
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal Binder,
That’s me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s because I’m so convenient
Because I hold so much
You can find me in your backpack
with just the slightest touch.
I’m a binder.
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal Binder,
That’s me.

Now you understand
Just why my cover’s not bent.
Don’t need a lock or special box
to protect important contents.
When you fill me up with women
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my rings
The bend of my spine
The dividers I hold
My color, so divine.
‘Cause I’m a binder.
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal binder,
That’s me.

©K.K.Hough

STOP stop and frisk

This is why when I see the NYPD, I don't see heroes, I don't feel safe and protected.

I feel less than; I feel like prey, just because of the color of my skin. This has happened to people I know, even my husband. It's a ridiculous, dehumanizing process and it needs to STOP. Commissioner Kelly claims all he's taking away at the most is somebody's time. Incorrect. You are taking away our dignity, our freedom, and our right to feel like we belong. This is why we can't tell our young people to just "stay out of trouble, and you'll be fine." What evidence do they have of that, when this is their EVERYDAY LIFE?!?  

America is going backwards.  Here are facts you need to know about this practice.

no boys allowed

If you read this and still think the GOP has ANYONE'S best interest in mind by outlawing all abortion, you are pretty much losing at life. Eve Ensler just broke it down, and gave all of us a #ReasontoRise against the GOP. Vote them out of the house, so we can get them OUT OF OUR VAGINAS.

equality

Preach Rev. Dr. Moss!!! PREACH ON IT!!! Man, look. If you watch this and still don't get it, well, you just might not ever get it. And that's a shame. Notice I didn't say agree with it--I said GET IT. If you don't agree with it, that is completely your right. It also makes you a bigot, in the Webster's definition of the term, and I hope you're okay with that.

america needs a second opinion

"America's pathology is her denial. It is what keeps us sick about this issue of race. It is our denial. What does it look like? When people say...often couched in the form of a compliment...'I don't even notice race.' ...It's insulting to say you don't notice race...the pathology associated with this statement is such that: 'I'd rather erase you than notice that you're there'..."--Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary

 

That is a proper diagnosis if ever I heard one. America, you're sick. You need healing. You need to pay proper attention to your illness, because we're all dying here.  Start by accepting that Dr. Joy DeGruy Leary's theory of P.T.S.S.--Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome--is a real thing.  You can find more information on it here, and watch videos explaining the syndrome here.

s.o.s.

Dear friends OF ALL RACES, especially White friends--please just read this. Then you *might* understand why we are so angry. Why we are so very, very sad. Why this is about more than just Trayvon Martin. Why we feel hopeless. Why we despise those who misjudge us. Why we see no way out, around, above, or through this tangled web America has woven around us. You will never be afraid your child, husband, or father will be taken away from you just because of the way he looks. We have always been afraid. And always will be. The burden of being Black is that you HAVE TO ACCEPT THIS BULLSHYT EVERYDAY. Help us change this. Please. We're begging you. 

Be the change.

blackness is hazardous to your health

I read a piece that said "We know that being a black man in America is a life-threatening occupation..." --unfortunately, this is fact, not hyperbole.  As much as I would love to give my husband a son, the fear I would live in every day of his life makes me question the point of reproducing in this country.

Our ancestors prayed that we wouldn't know the pain they went through, having their children sold off to far-away fields, because they fit the bill, never to be seen or heard from again. Their prayers seem unanswered today, as we still deal with little Black boys being stripped from their families, never to be seen or heard from again. Just because they fit the bill.

Below is the link to an intelligent, fact-based opinion piece by a lawyer on the Trayvon Martin issue. I can't call it a case, because no one has been charged with this child's murder yet. Can someone arrest George Zimmerman's trigger happy azz NOW, please? Put him in custody? Hold him for questioning? COME THE HELL ON!! 

CNN "In America" piece by Carolyn Edgar

blue pill bill

PREACH SENATOR NINA TURNER!!! It's all about the love, men. We have to help guide you to make better sexual health choices. I SUPPORT SENATE BILL 307!!

There have been 430 bills introduced in the last 3 months that deal with women's reproductive health. It's time we stop being selfish and take the men into consideration, people.  Men need to know the health risks that come with Viagra.  We also need to make sure they are psychologically stable and able to handle the responsibility that comes with Viagra. 

"Specifically, Turner's bill would require men to receive psychological counseling to verify that they have a medical reason for taking erectile dysfunction medications, such as Viagra, before they can legally obtain a prescription for it. It would also require doctors to inform men, in writing, about the potential risks of drugs like Viagra."

I hope everyone fully supports this bill.  If we don't, it's like saying we don't care what men do with their own bodies.  Since we care so much about what women do with theirs, it's selfish to turn our backs on the men of this country.  
Read more about the bill here.