Early yesterday morning, pop star Justin Bieber was arrested for driving under the influence. After swerving recklessly around the world for the past few months, the 19-year-old finally did what the public expected him to do: crash. When child stars “go bad,” a certain class of apologist emerges, explaining away the stars’ actions as theContinue reading “Justin Bieber, Trayvon Martin, and the Racial Implications of Being a “Just a Kid””
Tag Archives: black men
Adrian Peterson, Black Monsters, and the Daddy Problem
NFL running back Adrian Peterson (AP) unarguably suffered a tragedy last week in the death of his young son. But another quiet, subtle injury to the football player saddened me for a different reason. Two articles published by major news sources shifted the lens from the pervasive problem of domestic violence against African-American women and children toContinue reading “Adrian Peterson, Black Monsters, and the Daddy Problem”
Love Song to Black Men
I am in love. I’ve known it since I was a teenager, looking with young brown eyes at his chocolate skin and easy smile. He called me shorty, and it was all over. I lived for his hugs, his daps, and my heart strings were tied to the soles of his feet. That love startedContinue reading “Love Song to Black Men”
F$%^ the Police?
Sometimes fear is the four-letter F word. Red and blue lights flash in my rear view and my pulse quickens. I glance over to make sure my glove compartment box is still there, as if, at the sound of the siren, it would have magically vanished with my papers in it. I roll the windowContinue reading “F$%^ the Police?”
dara t. mathis 