charisse-kenion-cJkVMAKDYl0-unsplash.jpg
 

 
 

directory of work

bernd-klutsch-nE2HV5AUXFo-unsplash.jpg
 

pub crawl

 

some pages i’ve graced


i’ve written for 20+ major publications.

 
 
 
 

workety-work

 

i write about food, culture, Blackness, lupus, mental health, HalfroPanamanian life, sexuality, and more.
i’ve written for 20+ major publications. here are some of the hits, broken down by subject.

 

blackness

Abernathy
Lemon and Ice: The Rules of Blackpeoplegatherings

Cassius
Black Extraness: When You Do Way Too Much With Way Too Little

Guerilla Feminism
On Bad Allies and White Victimhood

Mused
Love of the Queer Black Variety is ***Flawless

Saint Heron
Black in The Day: Women’s History Month Edition Black In The Day: Back To School Edition
Black In The Day: The Black Joy Playlist​
Black In The Day: Stage and Screen Mainstays​ 

Black In The Day: Self-Care Playlist​
Black In The Day: Always Extra, Always On Point Black In The Day: Black Excellence Express

The Colored Boy
Eat The Cake, Anime: On White Cluelessness (and Beyoncé)

For Colored Girls Who Don't Eat Chicken Wings In The Presence of White People
How to be Blackety Black in Panama: part one
How to be Blackety Black in Panama: part two

The Extraordinary Negroes
Hey, Thirty-Two (Part One)
Hey, Thirty-Two (Part Two)


The Grio

Mom and Pop Business Owners Day: Black female entrepreneurs represent


Very Smart Brothas
"Hot Peas & Butter" And More Slavery Merriment In Virginia
8 Thoughts After Finishing Bobby Brown’s Good But Messy-Ass Memoir
How to Respond to White Folks Who Ask How They Can ‘Help’
Why I’d Give An Entire Kidney To Live In Key & Peele’s ‘Negrotown’
I’m Reading James Baldwin For The First Time And I’m Falling In Love With His Work
When Jethro "Becomes" Jamal: Alabaster Fucknuggets And Their Laughable Digital Blackface

Vice
I'm Black and My Doctor Should Be Too
This Is What Addiction Was Like Before it Became a White-People Problem

culture

Abernathy
On Selma, the movie

CNN
Madonna’s use of the N-word is more of the same

Ebony
How to prepare for a move abroad
Gay men are not ‘a waste​’
‘Blackbird’ and the wealth of po’ Black gays on screen​”
Discussing ‘the gay’ with your parents​
Whitenicious and YOUR self-hatred
Why Black Gay Dads Matter

Eater
Judging Paula Deen's Debut on 'Dancing With the Stars’

Howlround

My Brother’s A Keeper: Storytelling With Funk Aesthetics

Huffington Post

What NOT to do When Someone Comes Out to You

OZY
Roxane Gay: Hottest Writer on the Market​?
Bombastic Beer Cocktail Recipes

Gawker
The New Aaliyah TV Movie is Going to Be Fucking Terrible
How to Get Away With Murder Gets Away with Less Than Usual
Rooting for TV’s Longest-Running Gay Marriage to Fail
Law and Order: SVU’s Predictable Spin On Wayward Former Child Stars
How To Get Away With Murder Gets Away with Primetime Analingus

How To Get Away With Murder: I Stab You Because I Love You
Why Shonda Rhimes Rules ABC’s Thursday Nights

Pop Sugar

A Thank You to bell hooks — From Black Men

The Colored Boy

Jeremiah Heaton, North Sudan, and the Audacity of Whiteness

The Root

Dear 20-Somethings, Stop Chasing Perfection
Mom’s House or Flophouse? Where to live after college

The Extraordinary Negroes
The Wackness Hall of Fame

Very Smart Brothas
Keep Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Soap Away From Your Fuckparts (Just Trust Me)

The Five Stages Of MacBook Charger Death

Visions of Pappyhood
Growing To Appreciate Steve Harvey’s Shuckey Jivey Charm on Family Feud
True Confession: I’m Just Now Watching The Wire For The First Time
On Returning to America After Life in Panama
Watching ‘Tha Crossroads’ As An Adult

Vice
The Male Faces of Lupus

 
 
 
““If you wanna be somebody, and you wanna go somewhere, you better wake up and pay attention.”
”
— -Deloris van Cartier aka Sister Mary Clarence, I
 
writerlythings footerbkg.png

Need a wordsmith, editor, or proofreader? Seeking a facilitator or speaker for your conference, workshop, classroom, or wellness/food/Blackety Blackness/writerly bonanza? Beep me 411.


 
stamp sm2.png
 
BCimage 125.png
 
Featured
"literary therapy: writing (for) your life" workshops

9/15/20: "Literary Therapy: Writing (for) Your Life" is a dynamic, interactive, non-clinical six-week therapeutic writing program that harnesses the cathartic power of honest reflective writing, group readings and discussion, and collective vulnerability to explore mental and emotional wellness (joy, stress, loss, trauma, self-love, affirmation, fear, shame, etc.), curate self-care strategies, and thrive amidst uncertainty, conflict, oppression, violence, etc.

More information here.

events & such

Appearing during Tea with Queen & J’s Virtual Juneteenth Kickback on 6/19/20 (info & registration here)

what i'm reading

For the last few weeks The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, and Body In The Healing of Trauma by nosy Dutch psychiatrist/busybody Bessel van der Kolk has been wearing me out. I highly recommend it.

Also just started a screenwriting book, The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller by John Truby.

Other brilliant things:

I’m Telling The Truth, But I’m Lying by Bassey Ikpi

Heavy by Kiese Laymon

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabella Wilkerson

An American Marriage: A Novel by Tayari Jones

Also, I have a readerly group situation: Miss Celie’s Book Club. Join us.

my mama's favorite essay

When I first moved back to Virginia in September 2018 after a few harrowing years in New York, my main priority was making it through the day and scraping together as many reasons as I could find I stay on this here planet. I spent those weeks recovering from what felt like a nervous breakdown and spending time with my mom. I wrote about it for my site, the colored boy.

This is is my mother’s favorite thing that I have written: finding joy in the little things.

what i'm eating

  1. AlexGottaEat #321: a garlic & cheddar/pepper jack loaf [Medium]

  2. The Buffet at The Buffet in XYZ, Queens blessed my soul. Sushi pon sushi. And crab legs.

  3. There’s always time for banana pudding from Magnolia Bakery.

What are you doing to getsomejoy?

Prevailing against spiritual ashiness and letting your soul glow takes daily work. What are you doing to getsomejoy in the Golden Age of Dumpsterhearted Foot-Faced Presidential Swampdonkeys? Here are five things that brought me joy in the past month or so:

  1. Tumbling and reading with my eighteen-month-old godson and pouring confidence, wisdom, and tummy rubs into him to armor him and help him evade ancestral disappointment on his journey towards his First Electric Slide.

  2. Stomping folks out in Bop It Extreme 2 battles.

  3. Facilitating a free monthly peer support group and finger wave sculpting academy at GMAD in Brooklyn for Black LGBTQ folks.

  4. Asking for extra gravy whenever possible.

  5. Practicing gratitude for being alive at the same time as Our Lady of Dancebreaks, Saint Damita Jo Jackson of Gary, Indiana, First of Her Name.

What about you?