Last fall term I wrote an article entitled, “The Commodification of Activism.” In that article, I talked about how activism and social justice are becoming buzz words off which institutions profit. The generation that grew up with the internet uses the web to voice their concerns about social issues that plague our societies. Companies and…
Is it Time for National Borders To Go?
Let’s admit it, borders are obsolete. We should not affirm it because scholars and theorists say so. Let’s say it because we want to envision a world where violence and oppression is no longer ignited by this horrid passion to preserve essentialist ideas of national identity. As much as we like to argue about identity…
A Fleeting Moment of Black Queer Rage
Talking about gender and sexuality with a group of straight men can be anxiety-producing, especially when you are one of the few black queer men in that space. I went to a retreat three weekends ago where we discussed the overarching topic of “Us vs. Them,” divisions and conflicts within America and how these topics…
MLK’s Vision, Weaponized
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day has passed, and I rarely comment on it, but a friend asked me to write about his legacy as a prolific civil rights leader. This friend compelled me to think critically about this day. I reflected on the symbol of Dr. King’s. For so many angry black activists, MLK…
Love, Healing and Envisioning a New World
As CODA chair and a student organizer, I am going to be very honest. People of color and other marginalized folks need to stop trying to educate their privileged counterparts. We do not need to prove to them why racism, sexism, homophobia and class struggles exist. The symbolic rise of Trump to power shows that…
Haiti: Anti-Blackness and Imperialism Kills
Hurricane Matthew is another reminder how disposable my body can be. The impact of Matthew on Haiti reminds me that black bodies are still disposable. The crises after the wake of Hurricane Matthew should not be viewed as the misfortune of the Haitian people, we need to start calling it how it is. Many people…
The Commodification of Activism
Technology has taken over: the internet has become instrumental in the way information is accessed, distributed and consumed. Living in a connected world has both negative and positive effects in the ways humans interact and communicate with each other. One of positive effects is that it has provided a platform for social activism through social…
Critical Medical Anthropology
My Critical Medical Anthropology class has blown my mind into pieces. Throughout my experience at Lawrence, there has never been a class that has forced me to think this deeply about issues surrounding health, power and identity. During the first day of the class, my professor showed a video about social determinants of health. One…
The Right to Exist: Women of color redefining reproductive rights
As a gender studies major and a man, I feel as though it is time for me to invoke my feminist North Stars. It is time for me to invoke the women of color that have been at the forefront of movements that do not just affect them, but their communities. On this campus, people…
I’m not African American, but I am Black!
I have always been intrigued by the term “diaspora” since I heard it the first time. There was something about the meaning that struck me as I started to be more conscious of how I ethnically identify. Diaspora refers to a population of a people not living in their original homeland. Diaspora has come to…
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