When we talk about black maybe We talk about situations Of people of color and because you are that color You endure obstacles and opposition And not all the time from … from other nationalities Sometimes it comes from your own kind Or maybe even your own mind You get j...

This past weekend, I spent some time with my Dominican parents. To be specific, my Dominican mother and stepfather, both of whom enjoy the Dominican satellite channels offered on Time Warner Cable. They’ll watch shows rooted in guttural comedy, scantily-clad volup...

The night before my engagement, I had the pleasure of attending Capicu’s Anniversary Show featuring the legendary Felipe Luciano. Anyone who’s read this blog for longer than a few months know how much I admire the former first Chairman of the Young Lords Par...

For those that haven’t pieced it together from the plethora of race essays I’ve written here and elsewhere, I self-identify racially as a Black Latino. I’ve found it’s probably the most appropriate title for this idiosyncratic, deeply political e...

Welcome back to my monthly book giveaway! < insert applause here > One of two books I’m giving away is Carmen Mojica Fabian’s Hija De Mi Madre, a poetry chapbook I’ll soon have on my bookshelf and I suggest others get that as well. I can tell you...

A few weeks ago, a few people asked me why I helped create the now annual event Quisqueya, a celebration of Afro-Latino history throughout the Americas at Syracuse University. Honestly, it had a tinge of selfishness: by then, I helped run a series of workshops dedicated...

A few links: Long overdue shout-out to the latest edition of Education Carnival courtesy of I’m A Dreamer. [ImADreamer] Mom101′s response to the LA Times’ article about mommy bloggers is the best I’ve ever read regarding blogger relationships wit...

Sure enough, I didn’t catch most of CNN’s Black in America 2 special. I’ll most likely catch that sometime in the future; reruns prevail over original programming even on a 24-hour news channel. I caught bits of it and found inspiration in the story of Steve Perry, a Bl...

I’m honestly not that arrogant. I just like to call madness out for what it is. Eddie Griffin might be right: I’m insane, and that’s something to be congratulated. Watching Black in America over the last 2 days, at the encouragement ad nauseum of pract...

On Friday, our grade / floor celebrated Dominican Independence Day / Black History Month, through a series of performances, from song and dance to Powerpoint slides and poetry (including yours truly.) I wasn’t bothered at all by the performances or even the more p...