It’s Black History Month, and sellers everywhere in America are trying to promote their products with the spirit behind the celebration—just like me with my black jagua tattoos kits. But I just want to point out that some people should refrain from attempting to burnish their image by associating themselves with Black people and The Month. For example, Ivanka Trump tweeted the following on February 1st: “During #BlackHistoryMonth, we celebrate heroes like Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who Read More…

You know what comes out of a shithole? Shit. Haiti is: Poor? Check. Politically unstable? Check. Literacy rate? 65%. If you are poor, does that mean you’re shit? If you live in a politically unstable environment, does that put you in the “excrement” category? If your country does not provide you with an affordable education, does that equate you with fecal waste? In 2015 over 43 million Americans were living in poverty. Since the election of Donald Trump, Americans have been living Read More…

In light of the better-late-than-never conversations I’ve been having with male feminist friends (my husband included) about discussions here and abroad on routinely accepted male behavior toward women, I have one piece of advice for you guys at this moment in time: practice silence. Take the time (a long time) to listen to what women have to say on the subject before jumping in with all your knee-jerk responses: a) The eventual backlash will be fierce b) Some woman will Read More…

Back then I looked so much like my mother that people mistook pictures of her as a younger woman for pictures of me. Our bodies even moved the same way, swaying a little bit from side to side at a rhythm and pace that nearly had us colliding. I sometimes purposefully collided with her, in lieu of a hug, which would have embarrassed her. My mother couldn’t easily say “I love you,” but during these walks her body said it. Read More…

 On a recent trip to Paris, I had the good fortune to visit the Fondation Louis Vuitton (FLV), which describes itself as “a private cultural initiative”. In essence, it is a private museum housed in a dynamic and formidable Frank Gehry construction apparently inspired by an ice glacier. (Mission accomplished!) FLV is currently hosting an awe-inspiring exhibition of contemporary African art titled Art/Afrique, Le Nouvel Atelier or Art/Africa, The New Atelier. This exhibit is a destination point affair; in other words, Read More…