The article “Top Yoga Studios Unite to Racially Profile Black “Yoga Thief,”” on the feminist wire by Sabrina Strings explains how a young black man has being considered the “yoga thief” because he has stolen various yoga instructors’ materials and is on the run. Various students at the yoga facilities have encountered this so called “yoga thief.” The extent of their fears of the young man compelled them to implicitly ostracize him. One woman, sitting in a café, could not believe he was sitting beside her and sent an email to her other colleagues telling them to watch-out for him. As I continued to read, I stumbled on these words, “…the petty theft of property by a black man surfaces as the underlying justification for his perpetual harassment, dehumanization, and criminalization. It is the typical U.S. politics of valuing property over humanity.” Continue reading Stolen Property →

“It amazes me that some people have seen “Bloodchild” as a story of slavery. It isn’t” asserted Octavia Butler in the Afterword of her short story “Bloodchild.” This knowledge of her assertion is what I brought into my readings of fledgling. Consequently too, from the time I read her Afterword, I was enchanted by the information. Butler had begun to have control over my mind. By making that assertion, she influenced my subsequent readings of her work. Continue reading Butler Bites →

A few years ago, I met a young lady who was on my track and field team. Beyond the physical attraction, her mind captivated me. She was motivated, determined, and she challenged her present capabilities with a drive that I’ve never encountered. So much so, I wanted to do the same; be the same. I felt great around her, because she reflected the ‘me’ I always envisioned. I was encouraged by her actions. Yes, this is what brought me to her… something I wanted for myself. I reasoned to a very close friend about the same experience, and ironically, he was going through the same thing with a young woman too. But I told him that “a person will love another person the more the latter motivates the former and vice versa, to be better.” Perhaps it holds some truth even today, and after the conversation in class about desire and people staying together, I believe it ever more so. Continue reading Defying Magnets →