You probably don’t know how Black people shaped the state. That’s a problem. — The history of California is filled with Blackness. Melanin is woven into the state’s fabric, from the Black founding families of Los Angeles to the buffalo soldiers who patrolled the state’s frontier. …

You want us to turn states blue but won’t call us for an interview — I have been looking for full time employment for about seven months. It has been a process filled with disappointment, stress, and heartache. As I was pecking away at my keyboard in August, I saw a tweet that made me groan: “Black women will save the United States,” stated Jorge…

Everything is awful, nothing is ok, and you have done such a good job It is month seven or eight of the pandemic. Longer, if you are counting from a non-western nation. In the United States, millions of people are out of work, facing eviction, and have lost their health…

And how you kept them White — Neighborhoods are not created equal. They never have been. Neighborhoods have been carefully constructed with barriers to assure a certain aesthetic. For many years, the nice neighborhoods had a singular aesthetic: Whiteness. A space where people of color could not intrude on White comfort or White joy. It was the…

Its not because we hate the great outdoors or cooking over an open fire — I grew up camping in the Pacific Northwest. From the chilly, Oregon Coast, to the deep sapphire waters of the Puget Sound, my summers were filled with exploring the wonders of the west coast and the waters next to it. However, as I recall my beloved childhood summers, I realized…

In 1916, Jesse was killed by the people of Waco, Texas, after being forced to sign a confession he could not read. Warning: This article discusses a violent lynching. To respect the memory of Jesse, pictures of the lynching are not part of this article, however, descriptions are not sanitized…

I am filled with nostalgia for a place I struggled to function in The day my plane lifted off the ground from San Francisco International for the last time, I felt myself breathe a deep sigh of relief. It was over. My time in the Bay had ended. …

In 1980, Dad documented his solo backpacking trip of the Pacific Crest Trail. 40 years later, I am piecing together his story. Dad was going to die and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I had spent months trying to find a way to beat the cancer…

A beloved talking point that ignores how White people reshaped slavery in Africa — “Blacks sold Blacks into slavery.” This smug proclamation is often used by people who wish to silence discussions of slavery and sooth White fragility. On the surface, it is a easy phrase to repeat. It seeks to derail any White responsibility for slavery and put Black people in the driver…