Category: Featured

Allyship is a verb

LeRon Barton
Allyship is a verb

Black folks are tired. I mean worn out, depleted, and exhausted. The marathon of life and the hate we experience has got us debilitated. Drained of power and desire to talk with white folks about what it means to be Black, our struggle, and attempting to justify why we should not be terrorized. We are out of ways to tell white America why we are deserving of respect and peace. Black people cannot describe our lives enough. We have said everything and done everything. It is over. This is the…

#Permitpatty and #BBQBecky: 911 is a joke

LeRon Barton
#Permitpatty and #BBQBecky: 911 is a joke

There are not too many Black people walking among us today that can tell you they have avoided contact with the police. It is an almost inevitable collision. You can be walking down the street, driving a car, entering your own home, or performing everyday life tasks, and eventually you will interact with the cops. This is something Black parents try and prepare their children when they give The Talk, a conversation our Mothers and Fathers have with us about how to act when confronted by the police and how…

Working – An Excerpt from Straight Dope

LeRon Barton
Working – An Excerpt from Straight Dope

Here is an excerpt from my first book, Straight Dope: A 360 degree look into American Drug Culture When I graduated high-school, I was finished with going to class. I had enough of being told what to do, what place I had to report to, what time to be there, and what kind of man I was shaping up to be. I just had enough of that shh, so after I graduated, I said, “F college, I am going to take a break, get a job, and make some money.”…

A Black Guy and a White Guy…… Talk Catperson, Dating, and Consent

LeRon Barton
A Black Guy and a White Guy…… Talk Catperson, Dating, and Consent

Here is the new trailer for the first episode of “A Black Guy and a White Guy….” This episode Conor and I discuss The Newyorker story “Catperson” by Kristen Roupenian. We talk about what took place in the story, dating, and what men do not understand about consent. This is a two part series – first episode will be released next Tuesday June 11, 2018 and episode two will be released on Tuesday June 18, 2018. Check it out and let us know what you think!!

#LivingWhileBlack

LeRon Barton
#LivingWhileBlack

For while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard. There isn’t any other tale to tell, it’s the only light we’ve got in all this darkness.” -James Baldwin, Sonny’s Blues If I were to ever be asked, “What is life as a Black person?” I would be totally aghast. Not because I couldn’t answer the question, but because of how vast it is. Where would I start? Would it be with our current…

Does America really love Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ?

LeRon Barton
Does America really love Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ?

Between the months of January and April, there are endless tributes and praises of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Rightfully so, the slain civil rights leader, winner of the Noble Peace Prize, and recipient of a doctorate in theology inspired many people through his non-violent approach to racial harmony and economic fairness. King was a fantastic orator who could touch people with his words; his many speeches including “I Have A Dream” are heralded as the greatest to have ever been written. The Montgomery Bus Boycott, which King helped…