(Interview edited for clarity and length.)

I grew up in a rather religious household to reformed Born Again, Evangelical Charismatic, Non-Denominational Christians. I know, that’s a mouthful, right? Like most folks, on Sunday we went to morning service. Unlike most people we were back later that same day for afternoon service or, “Church Part Two: Electric…

We’ve reached the end of the second season of Underground and it seems like just yesterday that we were wondering what the future would hold for our remaining Macon Seven. Some characters have reaffirmed my hatred (See: Cato’s janky ass) while others have pleasantly surmounted my low expectations and have evolved into…

“A sense of safety transforms the spirit.” —- Georgia

Bokeem Woodbine’s Daniel has been blinded since we saw him running from the overseer raid from last week. As a skilled craftsmen who depends on his eyes in order to create intricate granite work, it’s particularly disgusting that he would not only be punished in this way for knowing how to read but have the thing he…

After dedicating last week to the one-woman show that was Aisha Hinds’ Emmy consideration reel, Underground returns to form with “28”. We check back in with my favorite character whose story-line has yet to be connected to any other character, Daniel. Looks like he’s changed his mind about not teaching other slaves to…

This week’s episode of Underground, “Minty” came at a special time. Yes, it literally aired two hours earlier than it usually does and was rebroadcast throughout the evening by WGN but it also ran during a time in this nation’s history where Harriet Tubman’s words struck with such fervent urgency that it played dual…

This week’s episode of Underground was titled “Whiteface” and it was so jam-packed with plot that I half-way expected the little boy from that one episode of Atlanta to make an appearance. He doesn’t, by the way, but with the season at the midpoint the show has a lot of ground to cover so I guess it’s for the best. We…

This week Melania Trump’s first official White House portrait was revealed and all of Black Twitter shrugged in one accord because nobody cur, girl and A PHOTO WAS RELEASED OF EX-FLOTUS MICHELLE OBAMA ROCKING HER NATURAL HAIR!!! And it was glorious, y’all. Spring birds chirped En Vogue melodies in four-part harmony…

This week’s episode is all about choices. The choices that we make. The choices that we sometimes convince ourselves we have no other option but to make and the disparity that lies between those who choose to hide behind their choices and those who choose to stand in their truth. Cato is the latter, a character you’re…

Black stories told by black people. A novel concept, I know. But here we are all the way in 2017, our year in the lawd Beyonce, and the idea that the folk best-equipped to tell the empowering, perfervid, often-complicated stories of the real-world and fictionalized experiences of black people would be other black…

Daniel’s learned a few more words since we saw him last episode. In addition to “love” we can add “strength” to his list of vocabulary words he’d choose to describe the black women in his life. He’s reading Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I A Woman?” speech to his daughter and she can’t believe northern black folk speak with…

I’m 1:30 into episode two of WGN’s Underground and I’m already crying. Sure, Venus is in Retrograde, my car is stuck in the ice and I’m craving salty snacks but I’m mostly crying because Bokeem Woodbine’s Daniel has been teaching himself how to read and write. This is courageous AF for any slave to do but his…

Underground is back, y’all! Season two premiered last night so let’s get started…

Before Facebook memes about women making a plate for their man and Dr. Umar Johnson took the interwebs by storm, I was quite uninitiated to the world of the Hotep. I knew guys like Shazza Zulu from A Different World existed but I never thought I was the kind of dame to have one stumble into my life. And I certainly…

Women of all colors and backgrounds have been fighting for the right to be viewed with just as much humanity as men since we first crawled out of caves. This is a noble cause that all mankind must take up. We all know this. Or at least we should. But somehow whiteness always finds a will and a way to muddy the waters.…

Hey you! Yeah you over there. Are you sitting down? If so, great! Stay sitting down. If not might I suggest you find a nice comfy lumbar-supporting transcendental meditation cushion and commence to sitting your ass all the way the hell down because I’m about to drop a truth bomb on your said seated asses.

I mistakenly walked into the season finale of Atlanta with the idea that we more or less knew what was to be expected of this episode. A couple of hat-tips to the quirkier aspects of Black American culture, some behind the scenes insight to the struggles of the rap game, a moment of tenderness between two people…

As a child I was always hyper-aware of the attempts at social climbing my parents made to move my siblings and me up the ladder rungs of black society. There were the Jack and Jill activities with the children of the Pastor at our local Megachurch, the etiquette classes that taught present-day me to chew my Chipotle…

When FX first announced their partnership with NBC workhorse Donald Glover for their new show about the inner-workings of an up and coming rapper and his manager, I assumed scenes like the ones that take place in Atlanta’s “The Club” would be par for the course. Club appearances and popped bottles are, after all, much…