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African Arts
Author Archives: Cheryl_McCourtie
Why I Despise Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” Speech
I have a dream that I will never hear that damned “I Have a Dream” speech ever again. I hate the namby-pamby sentiments in the “content of the character” line that is misappropriated every year on Dr. King’s birthday byRead the Rest »
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Reflections on America’s First Attempted Coup
I was aroused from a rare deep sleep this morning to the nightmare that I was lying on railroad tracks and couldn’t get up. A kind man tried to help me as the train barrelled toward me and my wholeRead the Rest »
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Colin in Black and White is Must-See TV
Colin Kaepernick had died a death from a thousand microaggressions long before he took the knee in 2016. Destined to become a legendary quarterback, Kaepernick’s career stalled once he protested police brutality and injustice while playing for the San FranciscoRead the Rest »
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The Political Weaponization of Toni Morrison’s Beloved
In 1968 the Jamaican government banned books with “radical” content, including the Autobiography of Malcom X. Not long after my elder cousin Vivia Heron, an avid reader since early childhood and then a college student on the island, immigrated toRead the Rest »
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The Holiday We Need is Not Juneteenth but Rather Election Day—Or So I Thought
Forget about making Juneteenth a holiday. If Congress wants to do something for people who look like me—Black people—make Election Day a holiday. That was the story I woke up wanting to write on Saturday. I have become more andRead the Rest »
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It is Hard for Me, a Black Woman, to be an Ally to Asian Americans Because I Don’t Know Any
I am a middle-aged Black woman of Jamaican descent who has no Asian friends in America. With the rash of despicable assaults and deadly violence against Asian Americans, and the recent clumsy plea by Senator Tammy Duckworth for more AAPIsRead the Rest »
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Dear Senator Manchin: Pass the COVID Bill!
Dear Sen. Manchin, I am not your direct constituent, but since you have taken it upon yourself to hold up the COVID bill on behalf of all Americans, I feel entitled to write you. People in this country are SUFFERING.Read the Rest »
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Everything is Broken
Everything is broken. Like this country. Yesterday I waited on hold for more than 25 minutes to make an appointment for an x-ray at a local hospital. It was the second time in two days that I had called andRead the Rest »
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How an Episode from Everybody Hates Chris Reminded Me of My Boarding School Experience
One of my favorite episodes from the sitcom Everybody Hates Chris goes something like this: Chris and his mother are watching a holiday news broadcast. Suddenly the boy’s teacher from his new, white school enters the screen. As the teacherRead the Rest »
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Tagged George School, Waterford/Kamhlaba
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Dear White People, Sigh
I have always thought of the “Dear White People” editorials as gags, devices used by people of color to highlight the many misunderstandings that non-people of color have about us. Until I got an email from a white former classmateRead the Rest »
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Tagged Dear White People, George Floyd
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