Experience
his 13 year old body
told him to stop eating
sweets and fried food
his 14 year old body
told him to run so
he runs and runs and runs and r u n s
internet boys
told him he shouldn't pudge
when he sits down
his head
told his stomach
to shut the fuck up
the Gay that glitter my footsteps
be loud
be heavy
be jaunty
be immortal
be everything you never wanted Him to
be
better get used to Him
before my Gay be flamboyanced
before the Gay under my step cause earthquakes
opening fissures that seep glitter and purple syrup deep
Something I talk about daily and have been aching to write about is representation. What it is, what it means, where it is, where it is not. I'd like my experience to be taken for my personal reaction towards it and then the reason behind my reaction to be considered.
I walked into work a few days ago and grabbed the newest issue of WWD, a fashion magazine my job is subscribed to, and noticed yet another cover, in the stack of 20 magazines, where no one looks like me. And to keep it transparent, I mean Black. I go through the stack of magazines to be sure I am mistaken and there is at least one Black person on the cover. To no avail. I flip through the magazine anyway and the entire inside is White as (h)well, with the exception of a photo of the Obama's with a "goodbye" caption. Oh, and Kanye West's show coverage on the same spread. So I should be happy, right? Sure, this magazine has had Black and Hispanic people on their covers before, I just have never seen them in person so this is not actually about the magazine itself. More so my frustration comes from wondering why I am so passionately thirsty to find myself in this magazine and in the world. It seems as though when I do find the representation I need I am excited and never fail to speak on it. I think had this been normal, seeing myself that is, I might become a little numb to it by now. Alas, I am not. I did not grow up seeing Black men all over magazines, at fashion week, in my favorite TV shows, in movies, in politics, on book shelves, in textbooks, at school, in ad campaigns, on billboards, or anywhere else but in my house and across the street.
Read MoreThe academic "summer" has fizzled to it's end and classes have begun. I sit in bed this afternoon and reflect back on my summer. My summer...the frizzy hair, the laughter, the lost wallet, the dusty boots, the disappointment, my humble queen, the all nighters, the open mics, the credit card swipes, the late rent, the struggle and the outcome. I start a new chapter of my life in a city to call my own. So for now I say in as bittersweet and accent to my home state that holds my heart and nothing else...
Au revoir Ohio, my love, until next time.
New York's initiation grated my patience / bruised my skin / emptied my pockets and had me question my intent / New York's initiation swallowed my soul / gnawed it to death and spit it out into a waterless ocean / baptized me and brought me back / a reincarnation of the self I used to be / A work of art / a walking poem / immortal. Lava under each step / I am heavy / I am tall / brown / hungry / relentless / breathless / A God / A King / Unapologetic in nature and far removed from it / I am an impala lily removed from Africa, ready to grow between the cracks of broken sidewalk in the jungle with no trees.
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As I rise this morning, ass and feet both equally sore, I sit and wonder what a protest actually does. Can we truly achieve effective political change by walking through streets holding signs and wasting our breath with heartfelt chants? Is that even the goal of a protest? Or is there some greater purpose other than making noise?
Last night in New York City I walked in the first protest I'd ever been apart of with so many people, with cops involved and that lasted so long. I am trying to take away a few things from this experience, as we all should. Aside a sore ass from walking 85 blocks, what do I have as result? There is a clear divide among people fighting for the same cause, those for protesting and those who believe they accomplish little to nothing. I think I can sympathize a bit with both parties seeing protesters who want to do something, anything to express their hurt, rage and desire for change (excuse the rhyme). Protesting gets the attention of the all mighty media and in turn brings some focus to the issues being faced. We can wake the city, stop traffic and chant "Black Lives Matter" for hours and hours, go home and watch all the damage we caused. More aggressive cops, some protestors who got a little to caught up in the moment and acted out, protesters peacefully speaking their piece and still being handled and arrested. So other than making noise and getting attention, what are we doing?
Read MoreOriginally this post was supposed to be an update on how I was doing in New York...but now I feel like there are more significant and current things to talk about.
So, Florida...I wake up this morning hearing about some shooting in Orlando. 50 killed, 53 injured? So 103 people physically harmed from this massacre. According to articles I read this is the worst in US history. A lot of articles I am seeing are brushing over the fact that it was indeed a gay club and so automatically this incident is associated with hate crimes. After speaking to the parents of the alleged shooter, his parents say he "would become angry when saw two men kissing," giving him a bit of irrational motive.
Read MoreSo the topic has been coming up a lot lately and I've been seeing confused faces left and right about it. What is cultural appropriation? It's just hair, right? Just clothes with fancy patterns, its just jewelry. So I am going to do my best at explaining what cultural appropriation is and give my opinion on why and how my people get offended by it.
So first off, cultural appropriation at its most basic definition is when one culture adopts elements from another. America is a melting pot of diverse cultures and people and a lot of time the cultures rub off on one another. Which in a lot of ways can be a good thing. Cultural appropriation, however, is an issue, a very complicated issue, but an issue nonetheless. I think that part of it depends on the context, and keep in mind that this is a subjective issue, a lot of us might not agree. Even still, people are being offended so it needs to be addressed and understood.
Read More“I was served lemons, but I made lemonade.”
"I was served lemons, but I made lemonade."
I was served lemons...but I made lemonade....not until I saw Jay Z's grandmother speak these word's in Beyoncé's new visual album did I actually understand the concept of this phrase. For me the phrase has always been just something to say, I'd never actually put thought into it or tried to evaluate it. So I am thinking that this phrase lends itself to say that lemons are something negative. Sour. And lemonade is something positive and sweet. It is a simple concept so don't think I'm patting myself on the back or anything for just now getting this. But I get it, I do. We, all of us, are given some type of hardship and it is sort of our responsibility to try and make something good out of it. Out of everything.
Read MoreLately I've been coming across different people who have different ideas of what self-love is or what it means to love oneself so I thought I might share mine.
For me, as a person who certainly loves himself, self-love is about forgiving and being comfortable with who I am. I think its easier to talk about loving yourself as if you are someone else. So humor me for a second...say you have a friend...Your friend has all these great qualities, they are kind, they are open to growth, they have nice hair, a unique sense of humor and a whole lot of ambition. This friend has flaws and makes mistakes too. They've cheated on a lover, shops too much, forgets to call grandma back, they don't visit home enough, they don't work out everyday, they break out every now and then, falls asleep at work and loves to argue. Is this friend less worthy of your love because of these qualities? Be honest, are these things that will make you stop loving your friend?
Read MoreMichelle (mjustiniani.com): Kimono - Boohoo (boohoo.com) | Top - American Apparel (americanapparel.net) | Pants - BDG (urbanoutfitters.com) - Me: Kimono - Boohoo (boohoo.com) | Top - ASOS (asos.com) | Pants - H&M (hm.com) - Photo shot by India Pringle (@fathomsome) and retouched by me.
Some artists like to approach their work with a minimalist's eye. Keeping essential parts and omitting anything extra. With this approach, they come up with a clean, crisp result that is easy on eyes. Just the same, there are people who like to keep a minimalist lifestyle. Keeping focused on a certain goal, executing it effortlessly and moving onto the next. Making it all look so easy, you know?
I am not one of those people.
Read MoreEver since I can remember, masculinity has been questioned and challenged. Both mine and the men around me. For some reason, unknown to me, when someone challenges or goes against the typical idea of what a man is supposed to be, or of how a man is supposed to act, the world starts to crumble just a little bit. Or so it seems. While I like to believe that I live in a progressive society that is open to change, I cannot help but remember and acknowledge all of the criticism I have been exposed to directed toward men who don't fit a certain mold. As with women, men are born and immediately assigned a role. Immediately wrapped in a blue blanket because that is a "boy" color. We are raised to believe that playing sports makes us more of a man and that liking something artistic like dance or painting makes you feminine or even gay.
Read MoreSo, the word around the net is that today is the International Day of Happiness. The United Nations planned for this day for years and finally in 2013 declared March 20th International Day of Happiness, making today the 3rd anniversary of the holiday.
Read MoreBy now, we should all know what it is...but for those of you who are unaware, Black Out (Day) is a a social media campaign that in a nutshell...celebrates Blackness. Carefree, unapologetic, uncensored, Blackness. I noticed that the first Black Out Day (March 5, 2015 - Happy Anniversary by the way) started around the time when we finally started getting tired of images of unarmed Black people who were killed by police being so unnecessarily negative. By that, I mean, the media pulling negative imagery from god knows where to associate with Black people, criminals and victims alike.
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