Today ForHarriet.com launches Black Girls Love Books, a digital book club for Women of Color. Our selections represent the expansive work of Black women authors. Sister Citizen by Melissa Harris-Perry is our nonfiction selection. The book explores the difficulties African American women face in performing the duties of citizenship in the USA. Ernessa T. Carter's 32 Candles is this month's  nonfiction pick. BLGBers can choose to read one or both books, and discussions will be held on both.

Yes, it may be difficult to manage two books, but follow our reading schedule and you'll end up reading about 20 pages a day.

Here it goes:

Week 1 - 3/1 thru 3/7
Sister Citizen
"The Hurricane," from Their Eyes Were Watching God through the end of "Crooked Room" (p. 1-50)

32 Candles
Part I (p. 1-68)


Week 2 - 3/8 thru 3/15
Sister Citizen
"Myth" through the end of "Shame" (p. 51-133)

32 Candles
Part II (p. 68-122)

Week 3 - 3/16 thru 3/22
Sister Citizen
"Disaster" through the end of "Strength" (p. 134-222)

32 Candles
Part III (p. 123-222)

Week 4 - 3/23 thru 3/31
Sister Citizen
"God" through the end of "Michelle" (p. 269-300)

32 Candles
Part IV and V (p. 223-338)

While you're reading, tweet your thoughts and questions with the #BlackGirlsLoveBooks hash tag

Each Friday at 5 PM ET we'll host a live Twitter chat on 32 Candles!

Each Saturday at 1 PM ET we'll discuss Sister Citizen!

Are you ready? Happy reading!

If you still need to purchase the books, you can get them here!

Many of us have experienced the crankiness and food cravings that come with dieting. And because every woman’s body is different, some “withdrawal” symptoms that women experience when attempting to cut junk food out of their diet may vary in severity.

The carb-filled comfort foods we’ve come to know and love (think pizza, fries, chicken and dumplings, pasta) could be doing more harm than just added a few extra (unwanted) pounds around our midsections. For some Black women, foods that are loaded with carbs could be the reason for serious food addiction.

I knew this was going to happen. As soon as I got word that Viola Davis, Goddess of the Universe, walked the Academy Awards red carpet without her signature wig, I was positive we would see article after article about the politics of her choice. And we have.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. The actress made a bold decision. A decision, that I couldn't be prouder of because of what it means to so many Black women.

Viola's appearance was an important moment for us. I missed the red carpet live, but I've taken several moments since Sunday to soak in the gorgeousness of it all: her chocolate brown afro, luminescent complexion and remarkable stature. I see myself in her, and I feel powerful.

Contrast that emotion with the hopelessness I experienced as a little girl navigating the world without similar models. I needed her then.

Read: UnPretty: My Personal Battle With Vanity and Insecurity

This has been a long, contentious awards season for black folks, but the unignorable presence of outspoken, brilliant Black women at these traditionally monochromatic awards shows has made the infighting worth it. Witnessing tremendous talents like Viola Davis and her co-star Octavia Spencer celebrated provided much needed respite from the usual barrage of attacks.

African American women must seize this moment. Embrace fearlessness by shedding unnecessary accoutrements if only for a day.  I've just begun to regularly forego the heels and the makeup. It was just as difficult as I expected but more rewarding than I imagined.

Our personal guides for aesthetic liberation need not be famous women. Do you have a Viola Davis in your own life? Maybe you are someone's Viola Davis.

Groups whose identities have been stigmatized partake in Coming Out Days to celebrate their true selves. The LGBT community has one; as do feminists. Pick your own Coming Out Day to leave the house without all the stuff--I'm talking external and internal--you think you need.

Perhaps we can prevent another woman's self-loathing spiel like the one Wendy Williams gave on her show following the Oscars.

Viola's hair belongs to her. She owes us nothing, but no doubt she paid it forward on Sunday. Let us follow her lead and do the same.

Kimberly Foster is the Editor and Publisher of For Harriet. Email her at Kimberly@ForHarriet.com with comments or find her on Twitter.

Marie Denee of The Curvy Fashionista recognized the potential in blogging and seized every opportunity that's come her way. Now she's well on her way to building a new media empire centered around her passion for plus-size fashion.

Marie understands the importance of branding in the crowded online space, and she graciously answered a few questions about how she created her own space.

How long have you been blogging and why did you start?
I have been blogging for three years and a few months now! I started my blog as first an outlet for my findings while in grad school. I knew that blogs were going to be the next best resource or outlet and I used this to show and share all the jewels I found in plus size fashion. It was more of a gathering place of resources!

Do you blog full time? How did you make that transition?
I do, I do blog full time! It started as a side hustle, but then… Interestingly enough, I lost my job on Friday the 13th of March 2009. My blog was just starting to pick up and I was getting my little groove of things. Having a great support system, my friends and family did not let me wallow in my woes. I threw myself into my blog- full speed ahead and have not looked back since!

Your name is very closely associated with your brand. How did you make that decision?
You know, I never really thought about doing otherwise! I knew I wanted people to know this was my baby, my project, my thoughts. From there it had evolved into something else entirely. It’s funny, many people think that Denee is my last name…

How has blogging shifted the fashion world's approach to plus size fashion?
You know what? Blogging and social media both have given the plus size woman a voice to speak up and out about what we want, need, and love about what is available to us. Beyond that, blogging has given the plus size woman an outlet and resource to commune with other like minded Fashionistas!

I feel that through blogging, designers, media, and Fashionistas have a new found approach and respect for the coming together of plus size and fashion. Blogging has helped shed those notions and stereotypes that have oft shrouded the plus size woman. She is confident, bold, daring- all things that for the longest, plus size women were never celebrated to be.
Times are changing!

You've witnessed the explosion of the blogosphere. Is the space getting too crowded? 
Never! I think the diversity brings about newness, diversity, a freshness, and a development of ideas to push fashion further!

Your digital brand has afforded you many offline opportunities. Which have been your favorites? 
Ahh… I have to say that working with Chevy as their Fashion Cruzearati has definitely been a life and game changer for me! This was the first time that I realized the potential of my brand and that really gave me credibility to other brands!

Another moving moment for me is being on the production team of Full Figured Fashion Week which takes place in New York and Los Angeles! (www.fffweek.com) Through the mentorship of Gwen DeVoe, I have had the opportunity to work with and meet some really amazing and innovative women within the plus size fashion community!

What's the best thing your blog has given you?
Freedom to be and do what I want and how I want to. I have been working since the age of 15, playing and adhering to the rules and limitations of others. I think even beyond freedom, it has given me courage to think bigger, dream greater, grow further than I could ever imagine myself to!

I have learned just how strong I am. You know, you never know your own strength until your back is against the wall… this journey as a blogger has afforded me the chance to grow as a woman, friend, advocate, lover, and sister in ways I could have never thought. I am beyond grateful.

Though yours is not a "black blog," how has support from African American women helped you in your bogging life? 
Ohhh… where would I be without them? Seriously, dubbed my Fairy blog mothers, I have had the pleasure and grand opportunity to look to Gwen from FFFWeek.com, Kathryn from The Budget Fashionista, Patrice from Afrobella, Nichelle from StyleMom, and Claire from FashionBomb, all of whom who have selflessly given me advice, direction, insights, and feedback that I honestly know have shaped and developed me to where I am now!

They give me the strength, support and moxie to step out! I think in business and blogging, it definitely takes a village! Because of this, I make sure to humbly pay it forward!

What advice would you give to someone looking to start a blog?
Such an open question… I would have to say to be honest as to why you want to start your blog, find your own voice, do your research, and have fun.  I cannot stress enough to have fun and enjoy your life. While I am a business, have obligations, and responsibilities, I try my darndest to have fun!



Visit The Curvy Fashionista and follow Marie Denee on Twitter.


Join the Black Girls Blogging community to connect with other bloggers and learn how to blog better!

I don’t know that there are any happy writers. But I don’t know that there is any happy person either. A happy person, to me, would seem to have the unique ability to shut out unpleasantness of life. I think happiness is something you run into from time to time. That’s why people take drugs and such. Happiness is not a natural state. If it were a natural state, there would be no word for it. You’d just sort of bump into it in the dark.

I think I consider myself a pessimist. Which isn’t to say that I give up, but I think ‘Oh, it won’t work out’, but then I do it anyway. I don’t know if that’s a pessimist, but I feel I am a pessimist. It doesn’t stop me, but I am a pessimist. I didn’t think I would have success as a writer, but it didn’t stop me.

Let's get this out of the way. I adore Viola Davis. I adore her gravitas, intellect and fearlessness, but above all, I adore her prodigious talent. For her merits, Davis deserves to be named alongside screen legends like Meryl Streep and Robert DeNiro. But alas the black, female body she inhabits prevents her from reaching the professional heights she so deserves. Ms. Davis as a radiant, 46 year-old woman, only came close to fully realizing her potential on film 3 years ago in her limited but remarkable role in Doubt. In a part so small it could nearly be called a cameo, Viola Davis wrought a compelling performance that earned her an Academy Award nomination.

Last year, Davis' lauded work in the film adaptation of The Help propelled her back into the spotlight. The magnificence of her portrayal of Aibileen is unquestionable though the film itself has been poked, prodded, and picked apart particularly by concerned black audiences and academics.

Pushback against the film forced Viola to take the defense.  In an interview, she told Tavis Smiley all the way off saying his disdain for the film was a mindset that's "killing the black artist." Davis was nothing if not beautifully eloquent in her assertion that "the black artist cannot live in a revisionist place." You couldn't help but nod along as this brilliant Black woman argued her case.

Davis, of course, fails to take into account that Aibileen occupies the most loathsome of revisionist locales. Historians have noted that the tale of Minnie and Aibleen are not even close to accurate depictions of life in the Jim Crow south.

The most intelligent criticism of the film is based not on the fact that the women play maids but that they play mammies. Maids, you see, are real women whose stories deserve to be told with dignity and without shame. Mammies are fictive martyrs whose love for their white employers eclipses the economic and often sexual exploitation domestic workers endure(d). The Black women of The Help are the latter. (Melissa Harris-Perry explores this in our book club pick, Sister Citizen) The critique is a rejection of the ways white filmmakers have manipulated our stories to assuage their guilt or to suit their interests.

Related: Black Women Should Come Out of Hiding In Honor of Viola Davis

The story of The Help is appalling; the acting is sublime. Both Black and white filmgoers loved it which makes criticizing the movie in any manner like navigating a minefield.

I wanted so much to side with Davis during her showdown with Smiley, but she sidestepped the primary point.  There's no doubt that film critics overwhelmingly celebrate the debasement and pathology of African Americans. While the more than 94% white and 77% male Oscar voters award the varied, complex performances of white actresses, it seems Black women are only visible when we are playing out our most damaging cultural mythologies. Smiley makes it clear that his frustration lies with the racist Hollywood system that dictates what makes it to theaters. Conflating that criticism with a dismissal of the actresses is misguided.

This is all none of Viola Davis' or Octavia Spencer's concern really. We place an unfair burden on black actors by asking them to constantly justify their professional choices. They are actors not activists. This is their craft, but it is also their job.

So when those of us who understand and appreciate the importance of media representation express our frustration at the film, its fabricated history, and the racist film industry it signifies, it is really, truly not personal. We want black actors to flourish and to explore the depths of humanity in new, untold stories. That is our tribute to great Black artists who spent their entire careers encaged, and that is the battle we all must continue to fight.


Kimberly Foster is the Editor and Publisher of For Harriet. Email her at Kimberly@ForHarriet.com with comments or find her on Twitter.

Only recently have I come to appreciate my quiet, suburban upbringing. My single mother worked tirelessly to provide her kids a safe, secure childhood unlike the one she'd known.

The choice to live in affluent, predominately white communities was mom's attempt to help my sister and I overcome the trappings of life in black, female bodies. But of course she couldn't shield us completely. We never feared for our safety, and we always attended great schools. But being one of only a handful of African American kids submersed in a sea of whiteness had its own pitfalls.  The often overt bigotry I endured left a stain of insecurity and self doubt on my nascent consciousness. That is the reality of my early existence.

When people like Daisy Barringer of XOJane.com speak of an idyllic childhood in which they never had to encounter racism, I simply cannot relate.She writes:

"...it wasn't until I went to college at NYU that I began to learn there were derogatory terms used to insult entire races, religions, and ethnicities."

Must be nice.

Men and women of Color don't get to be blissfully unaware of racial pejoratives. They have their innocence stolen early by hatefulness. It's an awful, unavoidable reality.

A reality I sometimes assume the majority of competent beings of all ethnic backgrounds have acknowledged. Then I see a blog post like "Do We Really Think That Headline Was Intentionally Racist," and I'm quickly reminded that willful ignorance of the lived experiences of People of Color persists.

"The Headline" is the one in which Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks was referred to as a "Chink in the Armor" by Anthony Federico of ESPN.com. Federico was rightfully fired over the incident, but Daisy thinks the outrage toward the writer was unwarranted because she, herself, had never heard the term used as a slur.

How is that possible? You ask. Apparently Daisy lives in a utopic bubble wherein you can completely avoid the inconvenient nastiness of a society built on oppression.

Fact of that matter is, as I’ve gotten older and somewhat wiser, I’ve made a conscious effort not to learn what these words  mean. I can't help but know they exist, but if I don’t ask what they mean or who they're about when I do have the unfortunate chance of hearing them,  I’m not inviting the ugly thoughts and stereotypes into my life. 

Again. Must be nice.

It's ok to not know things, but these sentiments evidence a refusal to listen to and trust those whom racism affects daily. I understand it's difficult for many who've always been explicitly catered to to understand this, but it's not always about you.

White people get to claim naïveté while simultaneously perpetuating the silencing of minority voices. Because how could they ever have known about the complexities of an existence so far removed from their own?

Cluelessness is a cover for flat refusal to self-educate on white privilege. This is, of course, where the Magical Minorities are expected to swoop down, play professor and graciously teach about the damaging racial constructs that have wreaked havoc on POC communities for hundreds of years in this country. I, however, reject that expectation.

Because she managed to publish her blog, I am sure Daisy has access to this incredible thing called the internet which facilitates access to countless resources for those who desire to acquire knowledge. The writer obviously has no such yearning--citing an unwillingness to "invite the ugly thoughts and stereotypes" into her life. Here's the thing, Daisy: POC cannot escape that ugly.

It gets worse.

Daisy not only revels in her admitted ignorance, but she blames POC for raising the issue of Federico's racist words. In the classic game of white privilege called "It's Not Me, It's You," she asserts those who recognized the racist double entendre were the racist ones. (Heard that one before?)

Once I realized that everyone was, in fact, livid about the usage of the word "chink," despite the fact that the phrase "chink in the armor" accurately described Lin's first real sign of weakness, I couldn't help but think that perhaps it was everyone else who was racist, not the writer.

It couldn't have been that when one is constantly beseiged by micro and macro aggressions one becomes adept at spotting them. Nope. We're just oversensitive whiners.

Quite frankly I'm amazed by Barringer's audacity in telling POC what they should be offended by, but let's say, for a moment, Federico really did make an "honest mistake." Then at the very least he's an incompetent who still deserves to lose his job for the oversight. If he can't catch a racist pun in the middle of the onslaught of coverage about the implications of Lin's ethnicity, he's grossly negligent. People have been fired for less.

Most offensive is Barringer's contention that outrage over Federico's insensitivity is "just as horrible as racism." This is how you know Daisy Barringer truly has no grasp of what racism actually is. Racism keeps ethnic minorities underpaid, underfed, undereducated, and underemployed. That icky feeling you get when someone calls you out on your bull doesn't even come close.

Structural oppression persists because of the unwillingness of those with privilege to step outside of themselves.

Please excuse me if I'm unmoved by the incredulity of Daisy and others who struggle to figure out how racism works. I've never been afforded the luxury of being so naive.


Kimberly Foster is the Editor and Publisher of For Harriet. Email her at Kimberly@ForHarriet.com with comments or find her on Twitter.

It’s in many of the foods that are closely connected to our family traditions. After all, what would Christmas be without Mama’s baked macaroni and cheese? Would Thanksgiving really be the same if you didn’t have your favorite aunt’s sweet potato pie? Well, it turns out, these holidays could be much more enjoyable for you if you experience stomach pain, fatigue, or even a slight skin rash after eating the foods you love so much.

It's finally here! For Harriet's official book club, Black Girls Love Books, will kick off next month! Each month we'll pick one non-fiction and one fiction book to read and discuss on Twitter and Facebook.

Literature provides us necessary opportunities to examine real and fictitious images of ourselves. This is an exciting chance for Black women to come together to discuss these portrayals. As a general rule, our selections will be books written by Black Women.

Book discussions won't officially begin for another week and a half, but if you start reading early, tweet your reactions with the hashtag #BlackGirlsLoveBooks or #BGLB! Book talk will be ongoing on Twitter and each week we'll post discussion questions on Facebook for longer, in-depth dialogue.

Take a look at March's picks.

“So when are you getting married?” the mother of one of my long-time friends abruptly asked me in the midst of our small talk one day. Caught off guard, I replied: “One day soon I hope, but not right now. I have things I really want to do before all that.” She smiled, “Ok, just don’t wait too long.”

Her statement, loving yet firm, among other things has led me to think over what it is that I feel I need to do or accomplish to be ready for marriage and settling down. Of course, a yet-to-be-identified qualified suitor is essential. But for many other reasons, marriage is not a high priority for me right now, and her words made me question whether I was putting it on the back-burner. At twenty-three, I’m not quite where I would like to be in every aspect of my life--as is to be expected--but was I chasing an elusive pre-marital to-do list?

After nearly a week of coverage on blogs, the story of Too Short encouraging middle and high school boys to sexually assault their female classmates has yet to makes waves in mainstream media. Fortunately, there are plenty of diligent voices online who have lined up to do the work of speaking up for the girls who would be victims. Thanks so much to Joan Morgan, Dr. Mark Anthony Neal, Raquel Cepeda, Carolyn Edgar, Yaba Blay and others for their work. Here is a transcript from tonight's Twitter chat.

This discussion is only a first step in addressing these issues. We'll keep you updated on the story.

Social media provides Black women opportunities to define who we are and what we hope to become. Black Girls Blogging is a new feature on For Harriet that explores the ways Black women share their voices and build community online.

At first glance, you'll assume My Vicarious Life is a typical fashion blog but Katrice Mines' stirring commentary sets it apart. The Editor-by-day found the perfect balance of the aesthetic and the intellectual. She shares her inspirations and motivations with us below.


What made you decide to start MVL?
I started MVL in 2010 as a space for me to chronicle my self-imposed challenge of getting to know the city – restaurants, boutiques, attractions and everything in between. The challenge was inspired by what felt like constant explaining to people what I enjoy about being single and to prove through my posts that life is what you make it.


You edit a print publication. How has that impacted the way you approach blogging?
My career as an editor helps me to provide a very curated approach to content – choice and presentation. Although MyVicariousLyfe.com is a light and airy lifestyle blog, I take care to offer crisp writing and well-considered posts. And it has also helped me to stay true to my editorial scope, which is very much centered around insight on the things that I love and only what I believe worthy of coverage. When my readers leave MVL, I hope that they feel as if they have had an experience with me.


MVL began with more of a lifestyle focus, but you now seem to focus on fashion. What inspired the shift?
The shift happened organically. I love fashion {and shopping} and so I tend to gravitate more to what gets my attention in that realm. But, my aim this year is to be more diverse with my content. You'll see more commentary, more travel and more of me in my professional life. In short, I'm fighting the "shift" because if you talk to me, you'll actually get so much more. I'll be chatting you up about a World War II documentary or something along those lines.


What's the best thing your blog has given you?
My blog has essentially given me – me. I launched hoping that it would inspire others. MVL has, in fact, inspired me. I have learned to accept my voice and to take myself seriously, and I realize that through my blog, I become more of myself everyday.


What have you learned about yourself through blogging?
Two things: That I am obsessed with excellence and with the opportunity to enliven others. If I learn something, I can't wait to share it. I receive something, I can't wait to share it. I'm trying to live my best life so well that others can't resist doing the same.


In what ways has your blog enabled you to connect with Black women online?
I did a post in October titled, “How Blogs are Bringing Black Women Together,” and it was simply to say thank you to the women who have become a community, of sorts, for me and for us. Blogging has somehow allowed us to take down some of the barriers that we place up out of socialization and to realize that we are not each others enemies. I have connected with so many brilliant women that I now consider my sisterfriends on Twitter and Facebook – and met many of them in person because of our online introductions. So many women that I didn't even know lifted me up when I was just getting started and so unsure of myself and my blog, and that has made all the difference.


What advice would you give to women looking to find their voice online? 
I would say take some time to carefully consider what exactly they want to bring forth and to be authentic -- above all else. Two things that can make establishing yourself difficult in the sea of content is being unsure and trying to be all things to all people. Decide your thesis and stay true.

Visit MyVicariousLyfe.com and follow Katrice on Twitter

Join the Black Girls Blogging community, and learn how to blog better!

Last week, rapper Too Short, born Todd Anthony Shaw, offered some disgusting "fatherly advice" to his viewers at XXL Magazine's online home. Shaw explicitly advocated the sexual assault of preteen and teenage girls in a video.

"When you get to late middle school, early high school and you start feeling a certain way about the girls... I'm gonna tell you a couple tricks," Too Short said in the video. "A lot of the boys are going to be running around trying to get kisses from the girls... We're going way past that. I'm taking you to the hole."

Then, the 45-year-old rapper, whose real name is Todd Anthony Shaw, asks women off camera to "cover their ears" to avoid being offended. Short then describes a scenario in graphic detail. "You push her up against the wall," he continued. "You take your finger and put a little spit on it and you stick your finger in her underwear and you rub it on there and watch what happens."

Whie Shaw is giving his graphic "advice," upbeat, child-themed music plays in the background. Source

The question is not why the man would say such horrific things. (Vile people regularly say and do vile things.), but why did the magazine provide him a platform? The minds and bodies of black girls are continually under attack. Those in charge at XXL, particularly Vanessa Satten the magazine's Editor In Chief, value the security of young black women so little that they chose to trade it for pageviews. Let them know that we will not sit and watch while they wage war.

TAKE ACTION!


1) We are circulating a Twitter petition calling for Satten's resignation as editor of XXL. Please sigh with a tweet to spread the word.
2) Email Vanessa Satten: vanessa@harris-pub.com
3) Contact XXL's publisher Harris Publications directly via phone: (212) 807-7100
4) Sign this petition!
5) Here is a list of XXL's most recent advertisers. Contact them directly with your concerns.


We've done it before. We can do it again. Black women deserve better.

Update: XXL Issues A Statement


There has been some recent controversy surrounding a video interview with Too $hort that posted on XXLMag.com last week. Many readers found the tone and content of the interview to be offensive and were angered that it was allowed to post on the website. "I agree with their perspective," says Vanessa Satten, XXL Editor-in-Chief. "I do not see all content before it goes live. When I saw this video, I was truly offended and thought it crossed the line. I had it taken down immediately. I am disappointed that an employee decided to post it and I am putting internal procedures in place to make sure content like this does not go on the site. The video goes against my value system and represents poor judgment on behalf of the individual who posted it."

XXL apologizes to anyone who was offended by the video and assures readers that the brand does not condone this type of content posting on the site and it is making internal changes to avoid any similar content being posted in the future.

Too $hort also responded to the video in a statement sent to XXLMag.com.

"I want to apologize to anyone I may have offended with the XXL video interview I recently did," $hort stated. "When I got on camera I was in Too $hort mode and had a lapse of judgement.I would never advise a child or young man to do these things, it's not how I get down. Although I have made my career on dirty raps, I have worked over the years to somewhat balance the content of my music with giving back to the community. Just coming from a man who wants to see young people get ahead in life, I'm gonna do my best to to help and not hurt. If you're a young man or a kid who looks up to me, don't get caught up in the pimp, player, gangster hip-hop personas. Just be yourself."--XXL Staff

Vanessa Satten has issued another apology. Read it here.

There will always be debate about what defines a feminist. While conservative women like Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann attempt to misappropriate the term and negate its progressive origins, Black women struggle to embrace it and see our place within the movement.

Feminism (or Womanism if you please) is a Black woman's birthright. We had no choice but to question the racist, sexist power structures that define Western culture. Black feminism has enabled Black women to define ourselves for ourselves in a world that would have us reduced to caricature. For this reason--and many more-- I embrace Feminism fully. Its messy history of exclusion has not deterred me from recognizing the importance of feminist ideals in the quest for the equality of all people.

The past week has been an important one for digital advocacy. In a matter of days, two major organizations, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and CNN, were forced into decisive action by the feminist and LGBT communities respectively. Supporters used Twitter, Facebook, blogs and message boards to rally their proverbial troops. Proving, once again, that the power lies with the people, and when we choose to lift our voices, we can prevail.

They make it look easy. Under duress Komen reversed its decision to indefinitely defund Planned Parenthood, and CNN placed commentator Roland Martin on suspension for homophobic tweets. Each of these results were achieved within days of a concerted outcry.

It seems as though Black folks are the only interest group who can't coordinate digitally to effect change. When black communities are attacked--which happens daily--why do we have so much difficulty spreading an effective, unified message? We rarely wield the power to force anyone's hand.

These social media successes were not flukes, they were facilitated by existing structures embedded within the communities. Structures that African Americans simply do not have. Or perhaps we have them, but we have not yet figured out how to use them to our best advantage.

Much discussed has been the digital divide which explains disparate access to the internet's wealth of resources in communities of color, but we have yet failed to address how men and women of African descent have not fully tapped into the power of digital spaces and social media to address malicious media misrepresentation and corrosive public policy.

Yes, there exist startups like ColorofChange.org, but Black communities lag behind in response to offensive onslaughts. We're in a new age, where those who cannot make their voices heard quickly will be swept under the rug just as we've always been.

When Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced it would no longer provide over $600,000 in funding to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screenings, the feminist blogosphere swooped down with its unmistakable fury. Pro-choice bloggers and tweeters quickly organized a well-coordinated assault, overwhelming the organization's official social media pages with calls to action. All the while, top feminist blogs were continually updated with the mission's progress.

These actions worked because top Komen officials did a terrible job of handling the controversy in the first day, and the furor shook the organization to the core, prompting the resignation of one of its conservative VP of Public Policy.

To be certain, this was a groundswell. The Planned Parenthood cohort crosscut many groups. There was no Feminist Boule gathered in a dark room plotting strategy.  The amorphous feminist blogosphere occupies enough territory to disseminate the message quickly. Supporters know when to act and how to do so with speed and fervency because they had a single goal.

The Komen case should be a model for African American reaction to policy decisions that negatively impact our communities. The trouble, it seems, it that we are so diverse in opinion that we cannot decide on a single goal.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) spearheaded suspension of Roland Martin provides another example of coordinated, effectual digital activism. After Martin's controversial tweets, the group responded to  him from their official account almost immediately. In contrast to the previous case, this was a top down operation. When GLAAD strikes, a community follows.

With remarkable speed, they drafted a petition for Martin's firing and a press release about the incident which resulted  in several media hits and sparked discussion.

Unsurprisingly, many African Americans rushed to Martin's defense insisting that he had been unfairly  targeted. Whether you agree or not, at the end the day GLAAD did its job. I'm sure the next time a moderately successful social commentator gets the urge to spew homophobia, they'll think twice.

Time is of the essence in the 24 hour news culture, and Black America's national clearinghouses always seem to be a step behind. Though the bounds of Blackness are far too expansive for a single agenda, there are boundless opportunities for us to strike back because everyday there are policies passed that adversely affect the lives of Blacks in America and abroad.

Communities of color must use both grass roots and organizational responses to counter the constant attacks on our rights and persons. Instead of being critical of "gay mafia" or "feminazis" who can pull together a digital demonstration effectively, we need to be build our own organizations and networks that can do the same.


Kimberly Foster is the Editor and Publisher of For Harriet. Email her at Kimberly@ForHarriet.com with comments or find her on Twitter.

I used to read bridal magazines. From the time that I was old enough to understand what a wedding was, I knew that I wanted to experience that for myself. I wanted it all. My wedding would be an extravagant event that everyone who attended would remember for the rest of their lives. I’d flip through the pages of various publications pointing out to my mom which dresses I loved as well as those that I thought were hideous.

Lately, I've become overly aware of little black girls between the ages of six to eleven years old. Little black girls with thick, short or long braids. Sometimes in their hair, they have a dozen rainbow colourful clips or multicolored beads, or tiny braids corn-rowed tightly into beautiful masterpieces. Their hair parted four million little ways with heavily greased scalps. They have thick beautiful lips, flat cute noses, and soulful big eyes. Their chocolate brown skin glistening, yet often they have forgotten to lotion ashy elbows or knees.


These little black girls remind me of myself. And I look for me in them--search to find myself. When our eyes meet, I smile. If they smile back, I often compliment them on their beautiful hair, or tell them what a pretty smile they have. Mostly they seem shocked that someone has even acknowledged them, much less dared to call them beautiful! And the darker their skin, and the thicker or shorter their hair, the more shocked they seem that someone has called them beautiful. They coyly look away and I know that they are questioning if I am indeed telling them the truth. Is it possible? Are they really beautiful?

In their various, shapes, sizes and shades that range from cinnamon brown to blue black, I loudly declare and express how beautiful they are. I tell them that they are beautiful because I vividly remember when I was their age how I wanted someone to call me pretty, or beautiful. How I ached for someone to just see me. How I wanted someone, anyone, to just notice me. That attention, if and when it came, was unwanted because it was from grown ass men who should have known better than to stare at my budding breasts. I wish that someone would have told them that there was no need to keep their lingering hands on the small of my back for so long. Their hugs seemed to crush my small body while their probing eyes left my nine-year-old self feeling naked and confused. No amount of baby fat could protect me from these men...

Related: UnPretty: My Personal Battle With Vanity and Insecurity

Yet I was eager to rush out of puberty to lay with men who whispered to me during unemotional, robotic sex how beautiful I was. In my own need to be desired, wanted and told that I was beautiful, I stayed in beds that were not safe spaces for me. I stayed in "relationships" that did not feed, or nurture me. Showed up more bruised and fragmented than whole, begging for someone to patch me back together -- who would do this without asking for my soul in return. Desperately, wanting someone to hold all my jagged edges in their hands, hold onto me even if i made them bleed? I was bleeding and needing to be loved.

Thus, I wish I could declare a state of emergency. Little black girls are in need of critical care! Our care! I often wonder why as womyn and especially black womyn, we cannot see that little black girls need our approval and our attention. Black fathers, do you tell your daughters that they are beautiful? If not, I will warn you without any doubt that another man is dying to whisper something in her ear. Our little black girls need to be praised, honored and admired. They should be told daily that they are beautiful, and if they are given those messages early and often enough, they may start to believe it.

Because if you are told that you are beautiful, and if you are held with the upmost care, I believe you may not be so eager to jump into bed with the first person who tells you that you are beautiful and that you are loved...

So that is why when I see little black girls I smile, look them deeply in their eyes. I want them to know that someone could love them. Love them unconditionally. Love them as they are. Love them safely. My wish for them is that they don't have to stand in front of a mirror longing and wishing for lighter skin, a straighter nose and smaller lips.

I want them to know that they don't have to have "good hair" in order to be valued. I want to hold all their jagged pieces in my hands, to let them know that they are beautiful and loved. I see you.... because i see me...

I love you. I love you fiercely because I am learning to love me and I sometimes ache to gently kiss your ashy elbows and knees.

trey anthony is an actor/comedian and the acclaimed writer of "'da Kink" TV show and hit theatrical play. trey is an established motivational speaker and the founder of Girl Doing Better, a professional virtual, mobile, life coaching service for womyn, with a special focus on womyn of colour. For more info check out www.treyanthonystudios.com or to contact trey, please email trey@treyanthonystudios.com.

Through the years it has been corporatized and commodified, but Black History Month is a time for self-reflection and meditation. A time to remember those men and women whose boldness and bravery left a mark on our collective consciousness. A time where individually each of us must take stock of our talents and think about what we will do to lift as we climb.

I am a foul-mouthed woman. Despite the fact that I did not grow up in a home where swearing was encouraged--or even tolerated--once I got to be about 13, my friends would be hard pressed to hear me in conversation without dropping the f-bomb or the s-word. (I say friends because I was diligent about refraining from the language in front of my elders lest my mom come down on me with her unmistakable fury. She didn't play that. Ours was a Christian household.)

Now, a decade later, an encounter with me without a vulgarity is rare. For the moment, I'm off the sauce, drugs are bad, and I don't fornicate with nearly enough regularity, so the questionable language provides my release. It's good, not-so-clean fun.

I've contemplated giving it up. But why? Is my propensity for cuss words a poor reflection of my character? Fuck no.

According to some, women like me are a scourge on society. Our crude language and racy humor are corroding the moral fabric of America, a fabric which women are expected to mend.

Georgea Kovanis of the Detroit Free Press finds the rising acceptance of potty humor among the fairer sex offensive. She writes:

It's not that women are new to swearing or telling off-color jokes or repeating brutal gossip or engaging in bad behavior...It's just that now, many of us are loud and proud of it. 

Natural biological functions and anatomy are apparently off limits too.

The piece opens with a series of recent scenarios meant to elucidate the depth of the problem. Joan Rivers mentions tampons on a morning show! Isn't that disgusting? Tina Fey and Jane Lynch make a dick joke at the Globes! How dare they? Miley Cyrus takes a picture with a penis cake! What about the children?

Women did not, as Kovanis concedes, just discover swear words and dick jokes. We have delighted in them privately since the dawn of time, but only recently has popular culture reached a point wherein women can indulge publicly and avoid life or career ruining social stigma. That's a good thing. With each generation, it gets better.

The dismantling of Victorian ideals provides cause for concern.

Being ladylike, it seems, is a thing of the past.

Oh, Georgea. How laughably anachronistic of you.  The author and others of similar ilk conjure up an idyllic, imagined past where women provided the panacea for bad taste.

Yes, let's go back to the good old days when the broads knew their place, and all was right in the world.*sigh* I blame The Help.

We can move beyond the desire to be "ladylike." Hopefully, we're approaching an age of female self-definition. In which women feel free to define their womanhood for themselves and not by antiquated dictates of acceptable behavior.

Comedians like Kristen Wiig, Margaret Cho, and Mo'Nique do not relinquish their rights to womanhood because they dare to be lewd. Asserting such is sexist and ridiculous.

In truth, I'm not a huge fan of that particular brand of humor, (That's why I've avoided watching Bridesmaids despite the rave reviews. Watching someone move their bowels in the middle of the street is precisely what I don't need in my life.) but I loathe shallow, restrictive gender norms even more.

Not simply because they're largely nonsensical but because they're so unevenly applied. Is it a coincidence Kovanis' disappointment resides with the misdeeds of white women?

As a black woman, I could have surmised that screed wasn't directed toward me. Women of color have not historically  been expected to adhere to the same standards of decency as white women. (Though, for better or worse, the Age of Michelle Obama may be changing that.)

Handwringing over the declining morals of society reveals an indictment of the increasing agency of formerly oppressed classes. Women are stepping out of the culture of shame. Misogynists find this to be problematic.

The question isn't why so many women are now comfortable using coarse language, but why are so many men and women intent to maintain the status quo that diminishes our liberty?

Women who express themselves in an "unbecoming" manner are not "following in the footsteps of men" as Kovanis writes. They are embracing their fullest, freest selves.

It's time to stop perpetuating faux concern about the dissolution of feminine morals. Women are getting fouler because we are getting freer. Deal with it.

Note: I do not ever refer to myself, or other women, as females in conversation. The title refers to Kovanis' original post.

Kimberly Foster is the Editor and Publisher of For Harriet. Email her at Kimberly@ForHarriet.com with comments or find her on Twitter.