The other day at the gym, an older gent came up to me, and began a conversation. We were both masked, which was great, but his extra closeness to me was admittedly not so great.
While we chatted about my enviable dedication to a morning routine of daily workouts, I was writhing inside from the uncomfortable way in which this stranger was leaning into me, as if he intended to gobble me up on the spot.
The socially awkward moment was thankfully over almost as soon as it began, and as we both parted ways, I walked away with the…
By now we’ve all heard about the latest scandal to reverberate around our diseased universe, centered around embattled rapper Nicki Minaj, who has so far managed to escape the trapdoor of speaking too freely on platforms that were built for our imminent extinction…until now.
Minaj recently waded into dangerous territory when she openly admitted her unvaccinated status, and claimed the infuriating excuse of still “researching” the available data that very clearly proves the legitimacy of lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines.
It started with the explanation for her sore absence from this year’s annual Met Gala, which she attributed to the mandate for…
The three-year anniversary of the tragic shooting death of Botham Jean, a 26-year-old Black man who was the innocent victim of a sloppy cop’s gross negligence, fell on this past Labor Day weekend — September 6 . And for his loved ones left behind, notably his grieving mother, Allie Jean, the worst moment of their lives will always be a haunting reminder of what can’t be reversed.
This year’s remembrance brings a brighter development in the form of a new legislation known as “Bo’s Law,” which was recently introduced in the controversial state of Texas in honor of a fallen…
This time last year, after weathering the deadliest months of a raging killer virus, we all swore that the world had to be ending. How else could we explain the biblical proportions of global catastrophes, stemming from a mysterious life-threatening pandemic that violently made its debut to kickoff a profoundly prolific new decade?
My world ended when my functioning alcoholism was no longer functional, and I had to make the conscious decision to swallow my pride and fears by starting all over.
Leaving Los Angeles and surrendering to a more mundane existence seemed like the end of the world, but…
We can all agree that none of us knew the name Sha’Carri Richardson until she did something great, and instantly became a household name. Her lightening speed performance as an up and coming track star at Louisiana State University gave her the meteoric rise that advanced her into qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo.
In late spring, she made headlines as the “sixth fastest women of all time, and the fourth fastest American woman in history” which is no small feat, even if we’ve been reprogrammed to be dismissive of the hard work and perseverance it takes…
About fifty-five years ago, Lois K. Alexander-Lane, a Black fashion designer and one of the early pioneers, who contributed immensely to the curation of the Black aesthetic with the founding of the Black Fashion Museum in 1979 — that has since been archived at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, memorably launched The Harlem Institute of Fashion (HIF) in 1966.
Tale of a woken death
The body is a vessel of information that doesn’t need to be mummified to elicit endearing mysteries about the meaning of each perverse layer. The body contains the formula for reboots, redesign, reshaping, renaming, and repurposing. Each skill is a variation of ancient techniques of self-defense that will be activated when certain death occurs.
When the heart stops beating, that’s actually when the blood starts pumping with more vigor, and with the willpower to avoid a complete shutdown at all costs.
Suddenly the wirings are thrilled back to life from the extreme of circumstances that leaves you skinless, takes your…
Triumphant reentry
Recently on the train ride home, after four blissful days of rest and lots of fun hosted by my first love — NYC — it was clear that the fixed smile on my face wasn’t going to fade anytime soon. Another bright indication that my staunch promise to rejoin the land of the living was a good call.
I knew I wanted to be a New Yorker way before I could articulate those strong desires. Growing up as a child of the eighties who devoured the classics of TV and film that helped shape and enrich a memorable era, including…
What a huge difference a year makes. In some ways it’s almost like nothing has really changed outside of the miraculous unleashing of lifesaving vaccines that are shamefully being allowed to waste away, due to the American culture of not giving a damn about your fellow humans.
But then there’s the saga of the Cuomo dynasty, and how it started off with the brilliance of sweet destiny, ordaining a father and son bond that extends into the energetic and unforgiving streets of New York City politics.
I was an American child with Nigerian-born parents, when we relocated from Kansas City…
We’re more than six months into the Biden presidency, and there’s no doubt that a COVID-ridden nation teetering on the brink of non-recovery has benefited greatly from the profound defeat of Donald Trump’s sick and twisted game of “Catch Me If You Can.”
But the election scandal that has taken on a dangerous life of its own, thanks to the enabling of the racist GOP, far-right conspiracy theorists and the criminality of Fox News was the indicator that Trump’s unremarkable exit from his House of Horrors wouldn’t be the permanent silencing that we keep fantasizing about.
Ezinne Ukoha
Juggling Wordsmith. I have a lot to say! https://medium.com/membership https://www.patreon.com/Ezziegirl
