Single, Muslim and Eligible. Now what?

SingleMuslimEligible
May 15, 2012“Are you married?” they ask as they glance at my ringless ring finger. I have gotten this question from Muslims, Christians, whites, blacks, men, women, children and especially my students. This question knows no single demographic. However, the degree of shock to my 30 years of singlehood is most dramatic within my Arab community –
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How to Celebrate Mother’s Day Even When it Hurts

Mothers Day Hurt
May 11, 2012I get this knot in my stomach and wave of distraught when Mother’s Day rolls around each year. How do I celebrate in the face of having had lousy parenting? Odes to moms who inspired, supported, expanded, guided and embraced in unconditional love ooze from, well, everywhere … from friends talking about their Mother’s Day
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Hey Mama! Meet Your New Best Friend

Danielle Atkinson with the two who prompted her to create the MaMa Agenda, 4 year old Eva, whose sitting and Livi, 2.
May 10, 2012She lives in Royal Oak, has fulfilling work with good pay, a loving husband and two well-tended kids with another on the way. In that respect, Danielle Atkinson is miles apart – literally and figuratively – from the other mothers of color who live on the margins of barely meeting the basic needs of their
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Mean & Short ≠ Gay!

slider mean & short
May 2, 2012I was recently in front of the Thirty-Sixth District Court building in downtown Detroit collecting signatures for a fabulous law colleague and buddy who’s seeking to be placed on the ballot for an open seat as judge. If you’ve been in this area of the city, you know that the court’s promenade is a popular
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“That’s a very beautiful baby,” the homeless man said

baby and meSlider
April 30, 2012“That’s a very beautiful baby,” the homeless man who sits on a ledge at a corner near my residence uttered as we walked by. I see him on a regular basis sometimes passing him on my way and seeing him again in that same spot hours later when I return. On this especially warm day,
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Our Fabulously Frugal Family

I hated disposable diapers – the cost and the waste. Imagine how ecstatic I was when I discovered that my baby and I LOVE cloth diapers. I was skeptical because it did seem like a lot of extra work – figuring out how to put them on and washing – especially dealing with the baby
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Written by on March 18, 2012 in Featured, Your Woman-ness IQ

Hey Mama! Meet Your New Best Friend

She lives in Royal Oak, has fulfilling work with good pay, a loving husband and two well-tended kids with another on the way. In that respect, Danielle Atkinson is miles apart – literally and figuratively – from the other mothers of color who live on the margins of barely meeting the basic needs of their
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Written by on May 10, 2012 in Featured, Profile Gallery, Well Meaning White Woman

The Cure for the Common Everything

I look down at my Blackberry and read David’s text: “I’m on my way, amor.” My husband – who is also suffering from a cold – is racing to pick up the required “medicine” to fix the madness cruising both our body systems and provoking chills, fevers, headaches and the sense that the world is
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Written by on April 25, 2012 in Featured, Tales of Middle Journeys

Adriana Pavon Wants to Help Your Career In Fashion

I grew-up in Mexico City in a family with sparse resources – some call it poor. My two sisters and I shared the workload within the household. I was cooking by the time I was 10. My parents, who worked very hard for little pay, encouraged us to make our own toys and games and
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Written by on April 23, 2012 in Featured, Personal insights

Survivors of Sexual Assault: Learn to Heal

NOTE: Take Back the Night was a fabulous, meaningful event on April 13, 2012. But not to worry if you missed it! Want to pursue healing? Well, then, heck, contact Detroit’s Sexual Assault Services for Holistic Healing and Awareness (SASHA) But also read Kalimah’s important story below … I am a survivor of rape during
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Written by on April 9, 2012 in Featured, Personal insights

Do You Love Me (Now That I Can Dance)

The Contours signed with Motown in 1960 and 50 years later I was dancing to one of their songs in the streets of Philly, as part of what is believed to be the first ever Crip Flash Mob*. Along with hundreds of other academics and activists, I was attending the Society for Disability Studies annual
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Written by on April 6, 2012 in Divine Dessa-bility, Featured

What Trayvon Martin Means to Me & Should Mean to You

Initially, I labored over writing something about the Trayvon Martin tragedy. I was going to use cliches to explain what happened to him … things like ‘boys will be boys’ and ‘crime doesn’t pay.’ Then I thought, how cliche of me to do what I’ve always done as a writer. You know – writers will
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Written by on April 2, 2012 in City Girl Proper

A Crazy Idea To Populate Detroit

“Detroit needs people,” my friend stated over dinner the other night after we strolled through the hustling Manhattan’s streets. “They have so many gorgeous but empty buildings.” She continued with excitement in her voice, “Maybe it’s a crazy idea but how about inviting all those immigrants to come? They could fix up the empty buildings
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Written by on March 28, 2012 in Tales of Middle Journeys

Lessons from the ‘Occupied’ (Struggling, Partially Employed, Barely Mobile) Mom

I wrote about Tawana back in December after her hurting honest ‘Occupy’ letter landed her – and her gifts as a spoken word poet – in the blaze of the public stage. Blown away by her pluck and artistic talent I noted, “Honeycomb and I, we’ve not met yet, but I look forward to that
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Written by on March 22, 2012 in Featured, Well Meaning White Woman

Dreaming a New World of Words

Near my bed, I keep a copy of a landmark book, “I Dream A World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America.’’ Time and time again, I thumb through, mesmerized by the buffet of beauty and brilliance before me. Seventy-five exquisite portraits and first-person tales from artists, politicians, and other heroines who, quietly, and sometimes
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Written by on March 20, 2012 in Featured, Personal insights

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