She’s Gotta Have It

In November Netflix premiered a series based on Spike Lee’s original film She’s Gotta Have It. I’m a huge fan of Spike Lee’s work. Malcolm X, Do the Right Thing, School Daze, and He Got Game are a handful of my personal favorites. I watched his film She’s Gotta Have It for the first time awhile back this year, and I thought it was interesting. The basis of the film is about a young woman named, Nola Darling, who can’t figure out what kind of guy she wants to date, so she dates three (very different guys – a goofball, a put-together guy and a narcissist) all at once, and also has a brief fling with a woman, while figuring out what it is she’s looking for. Fast forward to now and the series on Netflix? Bold. And…

Brilliant.

Creative.

Smart.

Funny.

Informative.

Thought Provoking.

When I heard a series was coming out – I honestly wasn’t interested. But before I knew it, I finished the series in two days. I can’t deny that what Spike Lee has done with this new version of Nola Darling is unbelievable. Nola Darling is smart, beautiful, complicated, sexually liberated, and indecisive and an incredibly gifted artist. The Nola from the original film even made a cameo in one of the episodes, which was cool too. The series is very well-written, the music set to the different episodes is on point, and the diverse and well-written characters and dialogue, in addition to the setting in New York City, all come together to tell real and powerful stories about a young woman in search of love, success and self-expression and discovery. It’s amazing.

The Day I Became A Kidney Donor

About a year ago, I had a dream my dad wanted to talk to our family about something serious. I wasn’t sure what he wanted to discuss, but I knew it was something I needed to prepare myself for. Around the time after I had this dream, I remember stopping by my parents place and sensing something was going on that they weren’t telling me. I tried to dismiss what I’d been feeling, but I couldn’t shake it. Something serious was happening. As I returned to my home after visiting them one day, I was in my kitchen washing dishes when a heaviness hit my heart like nothing I’d ever felt before. Something’s wrong with dad. That’s what that dream was about. God, what’s going on? As I continued washing dishes, I started crying and praying. Then in mid-spring, my dad held an unexpected family meeting that would change all our lives forever. He hesitated at first, and as his voice started cracking and he started crying, he said, “Well, I wanted to talk to ya’ll to tell you that I have kidney disea...

Thoughts From a Black Educator: Qualified, Credentialed, and Constantly Undermined

I’m a Black educator in my fifth year of teaching middle school English, and in my third as the 8th Grade English PLC (Professional Learning Community) Lead. And while I genuinely enjoy the purposeful work I get to do, seeing the growth of my scholars, and continuing to hone my skills in a content area I’ve loved since I was a little girl, I’ve had to confront some unpleasant experiences in this space. I’d been through much worse when I was an academic advisor at a Christian university. Racism, sexism, harassment, and workplace bullying were sadly norms in that environment. However, some of what I’ve experienced as a Black educator hasn’t been normal … It doesn’t seem normal to be the only Black educator in my department – in a predominantly Black school. One of my Black colleagues once said, “It should look like a Tyler Perry movie in here.” But it doesn’t. It didn’t feel normal being reprimanded in a meeting (during my second year of teaching) by an administrator who went in on...

The Day I Made A Will

When I was a teenager, I remember writing a list of my greatest fears. One of the things I listed was death. Looking back, it was an interesting item to list because inevitably, death is something each of us will face at some point in our lives. Even though it’s no longer a fear of mine, I understand why and how it’s not a comfortable thing for everyone to navigate. But regardless, this past summer I completed a detailed will. I signed it, had witnesses sign it, and got it notarized. As I was getting everything done, one of the witnesses looked at me and said, “You know, it’s just that you’re so young…” I’ve learned that death doesn’t care how young or how old you are. You can be five, fifteen, thirty, or fifty, and it’s still something that happens. Completing my will wasn’t scary. It gave me peace of mind having documentation in place stating my detailed directives and requests. A year ago, I had one of my kidneys removed. It was a surgery that came with risks that were presented cle...

Making Waves