“Actually, I Prefer Punk Rock”
I love hip-hop. It defined my youth and was the music that helped guide me into developing my own identity in the world. I’m a verified “hip-hop head” and I study the past and present of the art form like someone is paying me for it. That said, I really hate when people assume that … Read more
BlackWhite Handshake
We’ve done posts in the past about the handshake dilemma between Black and White people. When Black people and White people introduce themselves to each other in the office, everyone pretty much sticks to the standard handshake (unless you work for some phone app development company where dudes where ironic t-shirts and everyone wears knitted … Read more
Letters from a Travelling Negro Part II: London
London, England. The capital city of the once triumphant British Empire. A terrible fire burned much of this city in 1666. They have a huge monument to it. It is quite epic, though for my American sensibilities, just a tad morbid. Imagine, if you will, a monument to Hurricane Katrina. A glorious column 202 feet … Read more
No-Soul Plane
So this story hit the news at the end of last week but I was too bogged down to notice it. Apparently Deshon Marman, a member of the University of New Mexico football team, was returning from a funeral in San Francisco Wednesday when he was escorted off of a U.S. Airways flight for sagging his pants. While … Read more
It’s For You
When I walk into work, the professionalism is on full throttle. I even code-switch when I’m eating with my peers at lunch, because the way that I normally talk is really Black, peppered with expansive vocabulary of course. The majority of my White coworkers would literally not understand me if I spoke “normally”. Either that, or they’d spend … Read more
Letters from a Travelling Negro Part I
In my never-ending search to find out the perspectives of Black folks everywhere, I managed to swindle the federal government out of $12,000 and take a month-long trip to five countries in Europe. It wasn’t easy getting that much money from some woman named Sallie Mae (I guess she is some worker who does personal … Read more
Everything’s Connected: The Stress
We all know the statistics. Black people in the United States have the highest rates of a ridiculous number of chronic medical conditions. Hypertension, high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, you name it. Even though some of that is due to bad eating habits and socioeconomic status, a large part of it is also due … Read more
Edit: Why I’m NOT Moving to Canada
It appears during my last post I was a bit hasty in my stated desire to move to Canada. I’ve given the matter some thought and decided that I will remain in the US on a probationary period or until a better alternate destination is located. My reasons: 1. Canada is fucking cold. Not “hard … Read more
Why I’m Moving to Canada
I’m sorry guys…I’ve had it with the United States. I just can’t do it any more. I put up with commercials with Black folks pop-locking with chicken and ads telling us to wash the Black away. I’ve put up with so many other slights and racist things but this one thing has finally forced my … Read more
Harlem Night: A Taxi Story
I was reading one of yesterday’s posts, The Taxi Struggle, and I was reminded of my first experience hailing a cab. I need to share this story to bring attention to the fact that Fivefifths‘ experience was not an isolated event. I’ve worked on a few diversity workshops before and let me tell you, mad … Read more
