I shouldn't have to preface this post with #metoo but the warrior inside me says "by whatever means necessary." We know that 1 in 3 women are victims of sexual assault: We know it... And yet so many of us still can't hear it, accept it, process it. We simply can't, because the sheer weight of the truth threatens the fabric of our very existence. We know, in a deep part of ourselves, that our entire being would have to be shattered and built anew as we, the victims, have been.

Conversations about the 'N-word' with 'C' age six... C: Mama what does N-word mean? Me: Well Buddy, it is a word that people who have learned to hate use to make people of color feel bad. It's their attempt at trying to say the meanest thing they can think of. Interesting fact though, that is the not the proper definition of the word. It means to move slowly or lazily... C: Well people don't say that to me... Me: And I hope you never have that experience Buddy, but if you do

Do you consider yourself to be a strong person? I've been thinking a lot about 'strength' lately... As a child surrounded by 'strong' black women, and through our media and literature that often portrays the 'strong' black woman, I learned that to be strong was to hold...not to be held. The other day, while getting the kids ready for bed, C bumped his ever elongating leg on the side of the bed. It was the kind of bump that makes you instinctively grab your own leg and say 'ou

Has someone ever doubted your abilities? Has someone ever suggested that they were better, smarter, more capable than you because they have more degrees, an impressive resume? Has someone ever told you that you were too dumb, too old, too fat, too ugly, too [insert] to chase your dreams? I knew I was going to be a dancer at a very young age. The first time I saw Judith Jamison perform Alvin Ailey's, Cry, I knew I was going to be THAT. What I never expected, and am still o