Lemme Get This Off My Chest 6.1: ALL Black Lives Matter

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You gotta remind people that black lives matter like you remind a child to wash their hands before they eat.

For more information on the incident involving Dr. Imani Perry, check out this NYT article: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/10/nyregion/black-princeton-professor-protests-her-parking-ticket-arrest.html?_r=0

#29DaysOfBlackness: Outfit of the Day 9.0

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I feel in love with this tee the first time I saw it on SoulSeed Tees website. It features a beautiful image of a black women with colorful, rainbow-colored hair and my favorite quote from Ntozake Shange's choreopoem

"For the Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Was Enuf"

---"I found God in myself and I loved her fiercely."

Shirt: For Colored Girls t-shirt by

SoulSeed Apparel 

#29DaysOfBlackness: Outfit of the Day 6.0/7.0

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It was a snowy weekend in the Boston area but that didn't stop me from celebrating #29DaysofBlackness. Stayed in and still celebrated the beauty and amazingness of black culture. 

Shirt: "She's beautiful! She's dynamite!" Barbie t-shirt by

Hot Topic

Shirt: "Holler If You Hear Me" t-shirt from the 

(now closed) 

Broadway musical of same name

(inspired by the lyrics of Tupac Shakur)

Beyonce Gets in FORMATION and Tells the World She #StayWoke

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Unless you were living under rock or you passed out upon hearing about this surprise drop, you have encountered (and I do mean encountered because it was an event) Beyonce's new song and video, "Formation," which dropped Saturday, February 6th, a day ahead of her scheduled Super Bowl 50 performance.  

I have to first say that I hate Beyonce for doing these kind of surprise music/video drops. It is killer to my nerves. Makes me feel like I always gotta be ready for an immediate purchase (and the way my bank account works, Navient, Perkins Loan, and ACS gotta get their coins first before I can do anything).  

With that said, I loved this video. It was SO BLACK! Unapologetically black! And, you know I am all for it. The images were so powerful: 

  • A young black boy dancing in front of a line of police officers in riot gear, next to a wall with the words "stop shooting us" graffitied on it.

  • Beyonce on top of a sinking New Orleans police car in the middle of flood waters.

  • Beyonce decked in all black and flanked by black men in all black, looking like a junk joint jazz band.

I could honestly watch this video over and over again (on mute). Yes, I said mute. The song...well...I am not sold on it. On first listen, it did nothing for me. I like some of the lyrics such as "I like my baby hair with baby hair and afros" and "I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils."It does not get any more pro-black than that, especially for the straight, blonde haired, chick-o-stick pop star former manager Matthew Knowles groomed (his daughter/cash cow) Beyonce to be. But the rest of the lyrics just sounded like a bunch of lines strung together. The New Orleans "bounce" beat really adds a thick layer of triple chocolate cake-type blackness to song. Makes it sound gritty. The song almost sounds like it is growling at you, "stop and listen to me." I just wish the all of the lyrics were as strong as the beat and the video. But, unfortunately it is not. 

"Formation" is definitely the most "woke" song and visuals Beyonce has ever produced; and I am so happy that she decided to step up and out. 

Keeping it coming, Bey! #StayWoke #VeryBlack #UnapologeticallyBlack

#29DaysOfBlackness: Outfit of the Day 4.0 (and a Langston Hughes poem)

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I got this shirt in 2008 as part of a set of voting-themed clothing, and it is still dope as F*ck!

Shirt: "I, too, Sing America" t-shirt by Ragamuffin Clothing (company has since closed but still love the shirt) || Earrings: Large Adinkra Sankofa earrings by

Seiwa Akoto

I, too, sing America

I am the darker brother.

They send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes.

But I laugh.

And eat well. 

And grow strong. 

Tomorrow, I'll be at the table.

When company comes, nobody'll dare say to me,

"Eat in the kitchen," then. 

Besides, they'll see how beautiful I am and be ashamed.

I, too, am America

--Langston Hughes 

#29DaysofBlackness: "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou

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Dr. Maya Angelou is hands down one of my favorite creatives---poet, author, actress, dancer, activist, and black girl magic practitioner. The first time I heard her poem "Still I Rise" as a young girl,  I was mesmerized by the beauty and power of Maya Angelou's words. My favorite line of the poem is "Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave." These words emboldens me to live my best and most authentic life by highlighting 

the strength, determination, and resilience of my ancestors.

*"Still I Rise" From Frank Morrison Cutest Kids Collection.*

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops.

Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don't you take it awful hard

'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines

Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I've got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame

I rise

Up from a past that's rooted in pain

I rise

I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise.

Kicking Off #29DaysOfBlackness

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Today is February 1st. And, I am so excited!!!  In the midst of all the craziness happening in this country to black people in America, I have decided to take the time this year to truly celebrate and honor Black History Month by loudly and proudly sharing my love for black people, business, culture, and history here on this blog and out in the real world.

I plan to be #veryblack. Unapologetically black. Happily black. Twirling in the magic of my blackness. For the entire month of February, I will be wearing clothing and accessories that are either created by black business owners or featuring black culture and/or people. I will also be featuring some of my favorite black authors, entertainers, poets, and creatives. And, to top things off, every week I will be spotlighting black folks doing and achieving amazing things in a "Black Excellence" post.

I think this is a great way to open up dialogue about the richness of black American culture and history, and to also educate the uneducated about the many contributions that black folks have made to help build this country.

Despite what some crazy confused fools have been saying in the media, Black History Month is very much needed---maybe more now than ever. I love my blackness (and yours too).

So, I invite all of you--and I mean all of you, regardless of race or ethnicity--- to join me in celebrating #29DaysofBlackness.

#29DaysOfBlackness Outfit of the Day: