‘Such a Fun Age’ and 19 More Favorite Books From 2019
I read — and listened to — a lot of books in 2019. And, a lot of them were amazing. My favorite? Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid. It’s out today, Dec. 31 and is a brilliant fiction book about race and class and systems that oppress and, at the very same time, a […]
‘The Chi’ Doubles Up in ‘Feeling the Heat’ (Season 2, Episode 5)
There’s nothing better than a team, and The Chi’s “Feeling the Heat” is filled with both long-awaited alliances and not-so-dynamic duos. The second season of the Showtime series has been a nice unfolding, artfully balancing the emotions of joy and grief. This episode is no different and has strong visuals of pure happiness punctuated throughout […]
‘The Chi’ Gets What’s Coming in ‘Past Due’ (Season 2, Episode 3)
Sometimes, you just get what you deserve, and in the third episode of Season 2 of Showtime’s The Chi, “Past Due,” some characters get long-awaited breaks while others just luck up. This episode was also possibly the most beautifully shot one yet — notably, the black and white to color transitions as Ronnie walks out […]
‘The Chi’ Goes to Work in ‘Every Day I’m Hustling’ (Season 2, Episode 2)
Season 2 of South Side, Chicago-based Showtime series The Chi is here, and the second episode is full of characters trying to get to work. And because I decided after episode 1 to recap this season, here’s my summary of that: Brandon is still losing, Ronnie is still rightfully in jail, Emmett is still immature, […]
‘Love Is___’ Challenging (Episodes 8 and 9 Recap)
I was 22, recently graduated with a full-time job, and way too young to be engaged when my fiance told me I “thought I was all that now that I had a lil’ master’s degree.” Wait, what? I actually didn’t think enough of myself at the time. In fact, I must’ve thought so little of […]
‘Love Is___’ Checking You (Episodes 6 and 7 Recap)
I’ll admit it: I’m a damn brat. I can get really upset when things don’t go my way — in a relationship, at work, wherever. So I feel Nuri to her core when in episode 6 of Love Is___, she becomes unreasonably upset at her girl Angela for not choosing her as a writing partner […]
‘Love Is___’ When Things Heat Up (Episode 5 Recap)
“You know what? You just make me so mad, but I love you,” a boyfriend once told me in the middle of a fight about trust. “Excuse me? What did you just say to me?” I questioned with an attitude. It was the first time he’d said it and how dare he say it like […]
‘Love Is___’ A User (Episode 4 Recap)
OK, I’m just going to say it: Being in love is being used while using somebody else. It’s getting what you need in a person while giving them what they desire. It’s reciprocal, but love is, in fact, a user. When I went back to grad school, it was all-encompassing, and I was stressed all […]
‘Love Is___’ The Cocoon Phase (Episodes 1-3 Recap)
When I was in high school, I would always fall asleep with my face pressed to a house phone talking to a boy I was over the moon about. We’d talk about everything, and because I was sneaking on the phone way past my curfew, I’d whisper, “Listen, if I just hang up, that meant […]
A Letter to Young Black Panthers: Be the Hero of Your Own Story
As little kids, we would run around in gym class pretending to be Power Rangers. There was one guy in our class who would make Power Ranger watches for us out of notebook paper [“It’s morphin’ time!] but we’d spend half the class arguing over who got to be who. See, the yellow ranger was […]