*as an anti-oppressive social (justice) movement — Veganism, as an anti-oppressive social (justice) movement, is in crisis. Recent iterations of anti-Black and antisemitic social media posts by influencer-activist vegans vividly exposed white supremacy in veganism, “white veganism”. …

Around 1880, my great-great grandfather Dublin Lee arrived in Jamaica from China as part of a migration stream that would labor in coffee, sugar, and cocoa plantations of the Caribbean. His migration was rooted in colonialism: Hong Kong became a part of the British Empire in 1842 and an integral…

Addressing Keke Palmer and Decolonizing Black Health, Wellness, and Healing — When I first encountered Keke Palmer’s tweet suggesting EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer card) should ONLY be used for “healthy items” I was triggered. Growing up food insecure with chronic asthma, I deeply acknowledge the systemic restrictions placed on marginalized communities to access nutrient dense foods, clean water, and live in…

Let’s talk about Blackface as Minstrelsy, Blackfishing, and cultural appropriation — This week while watching Girlfriends (2000–2008) on Netflix, I became annoyed. Although revisiting the show presented all types of problematic early 2000s narratives about Black life, womanhood, and community, I still accepted the nostalgia linked with consuming “my favorite show” as a teenager. In the episode entitled, “Sister, Sistah” the…

Centering whiteness while claiming (and un-claiming) Blackness & Why I personally call for reparations Recently GWU Africana Studies Associate Professor Jessica Krug came out in a personal blog on medium as a fraud. She self-outed as pretending to be Black for decades for personal and professional gain. I graduated from…

Garveyism, Black sovereignty, and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) and African Communities League Marcus Aurelius “Mosiah” Garvey was born in St. Ann’s parish, Jamaica in 1887. Having apprenticed as a printer, he voyaged to Limón, Costa Rica and Panama in 1910 where he began his career in radical journalism.[1] Garvey traveled to London that same year where he joined the Pan African journal…

In the midst of protest and pandemic, how should we engage with Beyoncé and Disney’s Black Is King? — On June 28th, 2020 Beyoncé Knowles-Carter announced the release of her visual album Black Is King to debut on Disney+ July 31st, 2020. Black Is King is an extension of The Lion King (2019) soundtrack, “The Gift”, and in collaboration with well-known artists from continental Africa. Social media has given…

Anti-Blackness in U.S. Immigration Policy — Part 1 — “undocumented welfare queen” In 1976 during then Governor of California Ronald Reagan’s first candidacy for U.S. president, he addressed an audience of supporters with an anecdote of a Chicago woman with a $150,000 a year tax-free cash income from the use of “80 names, 30 addresses, 15 telephone numbers to collect food stamps…

Deconstructing biographies about Harriet Tubman published between 1856 to 1886 and restoring the narrative with the honor she deserves. I started writing this piece as a response to the “haters”. Those who have willfully misrepresented Harriet Tubman’s story (the 2019 Harriet film — 60% fiction), the political wannabes that use…