She Sings To Know She’s Alive
“I sing to know that I’m alive” starts with a calypso-inspired rhythm, Nina’s piano playing trails in. Then her unrefined, jarring voice “I sing just to know that I’m alive, […]
Category Archives: African-American
Black Americans Undergo Cleansing From ‘Slavery Stigma’
It took a trip to Africa to change 10 lives forever. Six months after Irene Toland, Sidney Davis, Robin Almeida and Pamela Ramsay joined a group traveling to Africa, the […]
This American Life By Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo
You come to America, young and dashing, on full scholarship, finish school, get a great job, marry a glamorous spouse, have cute children, and retire at a young age with […]
Hair Your Way: The Politics of Negro Gals’ Hair
“Spiritual” is what he said my hair makes me look. Then, he said “Chika,” Nigerians would “be a little afraid of you.” Chimamanda Adichie was right. Discussing her latest novel, […]
Desegregation And Crime: Resegregation Has Led To A Spike In Violent Crime
The Dismal Science Brown v. Board Reduced Crime And now resegregation is leading to a spike in violent crime among young black men. At the turn of the millennium, a […]
Recollections of Chinua Achebe, the African Lion Who Told Our Story
I was blessed to meet Professor Achebe on several occasions, twice at conferences where he was the keynote speaker. First at West Chester University of Pennsylvania, at the Conference Across […]
Mysticism In Traditional Yoruba Culture
“I’m training to be a Yoruba priestess,” she said with her face scrunched in utmost sincerity. The confession from the young African-American student alarmed the Nigerian students at the Georgia […]
Black Americans Free To Give Thanks, Even During Slavery
You’ll be hard pressed to find the face of an African-American in any artistic depiction of that all-too familiar feast of 1621-, like the one where a group of Plymouth […]
‘Concerned Black Men’ Put Fatherhood First
I recently joined a White House press call with representatives of the Obama administration. The topic of discussion was the recent grant awards to programs that support healthy fatherhood and […]
Money Answers All Things
Recently, I engaged in an interesting conversation with a friend pertaining to racism and how to get rid of it once and for all. Chomping sweet barbequed morsels of baked […]
Afrocentric Confessions 