by Renee Simms

Dear Rachel,

You are doing a very good job of testifying in the Trayvon Martin murder trial. Taking the witness stand to talk about the death of your friend, reliving the last time you heard his voice by answering endless, probing questions in front of strangers, must be unimaginably hard. But you’ve presented yourself with grace and dignity. This is no small feat when the defense attorney is attempting to tarnish your character and the character of your friend who was killed.

by Kiara Lee of TheBlackerTheBerry

After watching the television premiere of Bill Duke’s “Dark Girls” documentary on OWN, not only do I feel enlightened by the provocative testimonies, but I also feel proud. Proud that our people are starting to open up the conversation on colorism in a larger light. However, as a colorism and self-esteem activist, I can say with all certainty that colorism isn’t an issue exclusive to dark girls alone; our light-skinned and brown skinned sistas face the ills of this form of discrimination too. And in order to start the arduous task of healing, we all must work together – light-skinned, dark-skinned and in-between – as it is a problem that effects ALL sistahs. To coin colorism a one-sided issue for black women is a dire mistake.

A new study has revealed that African-American infants are more likely to be born with low birth weights, die before their first birthday and be preterm. Low birth weight infants, those who are born weighing less than 5lbs. 8 oz., are at a high risk of illness, death and lasting health problems.

Africa is in vogue. Again. African print clothing and accessories are re-emerging so rapidly, it’s somewhat difficult to believe the vibrant patterns and colors weren’t always so popular.

Several are credited with bringing African-inspired clothing into the commercial fashion spotlight. Algerian-born fashion legend, Yves Saint Laurent is probably the most renowned among them, as the first to design African-inspired clothing for the runway. Laurent’s 1967 African Collection and his collaboration with supermodel Iman in his African Queen collection, are considered fashion landmarks.

by Indira Samuels

Danielle Powell was a semester short of graduating in 2012 when she was expelled from the university she attended for violating university standards. In 2011, she began a lesbian relationship while still registered as a student at Grace University in Nebraska. For those unfamilar with Grace, it's a conservative Christian college in the state that strictly forbids any "sexually immoral behavior" including homosexuality, “prolonged hugs,” and all acts that could be linked to sexuality.

by Jordan Hamilton

As I sat on the couch with my eyes glued to the OWN Network, I watched four very beautiful black actresses of different walks and statures interview with Oprah. I was excited to see such great woman come together and speak on touchy subjects they had kept mum for some time. Unfortunately, I was one of the few people who thought all four of the woman were worthy of sitting amongst one another. There sat, Phylicia Rashad, Viola Davis, Alfre Woodard and then there was Gabrielle Union.

by Jordan Hamilton

We all know that one man who is a deadbeat; whether he be a father, husband or boyfriend. The man who impregnated a woman and didn’t live up to his fatherly duties, or the man who cheats in his relationships. I’m sure as you read those first two sentences someone popped right in your head. The person brings back memories and reminds you how much you hate black men. Do you really hate them or do you just hate the mistake a black man you once knew made?

by Bre Scullark of Sincerely, Flawed

As I assume most of us were last night, I sat Indian style in front of my television screen. I nodded my head and wiped my tears for an hour and a half, while I related to the stories that unfolded during the documentary “Dark Girls.” First let me start by saying how grateful I am to the OWN network for releasing such a raw wound for the world to recognize; not just as a cultural issue, but also as a global infestation of destructive and fatal thinking. These women were so courageous to share their pain with us viewers. I commend them.

by Denise J. Hart

Yes, the secret to maintaining your momentum is to take a break. Or, "get somewhere and sit down," as my one of my good girlfriends likes to say. Here's the thing, if you're too busy to eat, go to the bathroom or stop and have a meaningful conversation with your kids you might need to do the absolute most important thing you can ever do to maintain your success momentum, stop and take a well deserved break. Maybe a short one or maybe even a long one, but a break will do you far more good than continuing to move a break neck speed ever will.

In the last few months The Oprah Winfrey Network has changed its direction in programming. The change, which has focused on African-American Women, has allowed OWN to become the number one viewing choice for the very same community on Saturday nights, but why did this change take so long to occur?

by Stephanie Gates

My mother lay curled up in the bed watching TV, or maybe like me—the TV is watching her. As the sounds of the church program drone on in the background, my mother looks to be deep in thought. I look at her fragile form cocooned in the center of the bed—her favorite place to be—and my mind takes me back to one of my favorite stories that she used to tell.

By Alana Seixas

While White Feminists have fought diligently for reproductive rights including coverage of Birth Control devices under Obamacare, Black Women are split between the fight to liberate their sexuality and threats that devices like the pill posed to the Black community in the past. For Black Women, the choice to use Birth Control does not fall into a decision of conservative versus liberal but is instead a complicated political decision based on years of racist control of minority family planning.

A couple of weeks back, the national spotlight was briefly on suburban Isle of Wight County, Virginia because of racist emails sent by one of the county’s school board members.

Herb DeGroft, who is white, sent several emails to colleagues with condescending messages about First Lady Michelle Obama. These messages were obviously racially charged.

In one correspondence, there was a photograph of a group of half-clothed African warrior women, and the picture included the caption – “You guessed right. Michelle Obama’s high school reunion.”

Among some of the more vocal opponents of Mr. DeGroft’s continuance as a school board member is the Isle of White County NAACP.

Afro-Latina, Epsy Campbell Barr, is seeking the Costa Rican Presidency. If she wins she will be the first Afro-Latina to serve as President of a Country. Her bid differs from any other attempt from previous female candidates because she has the possibility to run as candidate of the top opposition party.

Epsy Campbell Barr, born in 1963, is of Jamaican and native Costa Rican descent. Her grandparents were a part of the great migration of Jamaican immigrants in the 1900s. She grew up in Costa Rican primary schools and attended the University of Costa Rica and Regional Headquarters of the Limon province to obtain her Bachelor’s Degree. Around this time she also became a mother. Campbell Barr holds a Master’s degree in Development Cooperation.

 
Aasha Davis once said, “You can still be your true self, even if you are different.”

While acting in her role as “Racey” on popular web series the Unwritten Rules, Davis made this thematic aside in addition to 10 other “Unwritten Rules” for black people—in a predominately white work environment—to follow.

by Eris Zion Venia Dyson

Late last night I read Serena Williams’ comments in Rolling Stone on the Steubenville, Ohio rape case:

“Do you think it was fair, what they got? They did something stupid, but I don’t know. I’m not blaming the girl, but if you’re a 16-year-old and you’re drunk like that, your parents should teach you: don’t take drinks from other people. She’s 16, why was she that drunk where she doesn’t remember? It could have been much worse. She’s lucky. Obviously I don’t know, maybe she wasn’t a virgin, but she shouldn’t have put herself in that position, unless they slipped her something, then that’s different.”

This post is sponsored by Okllo

Harriet Tubman epitomizes the fortitude and bravery of black women. She’s the definition of strength, character and resolve in the face of danger and injustice. Though she may not get her due, Harriet is an American hero.

For a year and a half I watched my mom dying without realizing it. I was 10 years old when my mom passed. I wonder if Paris Jackson too watched her father dying for years without realizing it. She was 11 years old when Michael Jackson passed.

Several civil rights organizations have filed a judicial misconduct complaint against U. S. Federal Judge Edith Jones for allegedly stating minorities are “predisposed to crimes” and other biased comments.

According to “Edith Jones, Federal Judge, Made Racists Remarks, Claimed Minorities “Predisposed to Crime”: Complaint” by Will Weissert for HuffPost Black Voice, Judge Edith Jones, who serves as the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, allegedly made these comments at an event at the University of Pennsylvania Law school on February 20th.

Originally posted at Black 'n' Bougie

By definition above, I've always considered myself a feminist. I'm about Girl Power and sisters getting ahead, women helping themselves, equality in financial and social strata. In my mind wanting and advocating an equal playing field where gender is not a detriment equates to feminism.

by Indira Samuels

In recent months, I’ve gotten a dose of Miley Cyrus and Amanda Bynes that I never asked for and honestly, never expected. Both of these women have dynamically come back on the media scene as they have morphed into new likenesses that are undoubtedly their attempts at climbing ladders out of obscurity into the land of getting on my damn nerves, one twerk video and bad wig at a time.

by Remi Onabanjo

Loving. This two-syllable combination of sounds is inextricably tied to the description of a positive relationship between two human beings. Normally, when describing a certain ‘Loving Day’, one would assume that the occasion in question is Valentine’s Day. However, when this day falls in the month of June, the focus is on a different Loving—namely Richard and Mildred Loving, the interracial couple whose fortuitous name not only acknowledges the nature of this sentiment at its core, but also celebrates a certain facet of American history.

by Jeanine Russaw

“This was meant to disprove the southern contention that black people did not work simply because they did not want to,” was the tail end of a sentence I proclaimed while rehearsing for a reenactment of Freedom Summer in preparation for the 2012 Presidential Debate.

It was a mistake.

by Tania L. Balan-Gaubert M.A.

Tatyana Fazlalizadeh is getting a lot of attention from the streets. A Brooklyn-based oil painter and illustrator from Oklahoma City, her art project, "Stop Telling Women to Smile," has raised eyebrows on the frequently discussed but seldom addressed topic of gender-based street harassment.

A study by the University of Chicago discovered that a high percentage of African-American Women with Breast Cancer have an abnormality in at least one of 18 genes previously linked to the disease. This discovery may have finally answered the question why African-Americans are more likely to develop “triple negative” breast cancer, and will also lead to early diagnosis for many.

by Denise J. Hart

This week, I want to share my thoughts on something I've been noticing in the web-a-sphere. Maybe you've noticed it and been impacted by it as well. I call it the take action rampage. I've been guilty of it myself at times and it caused me to take a step back, examine myself and to remember to make conscious deliberate adjustments. Read on, and you might see yourself here as well...

by Jolie Doggett of justJOLIE

Dear Jamila,

First let me thank you for taking the time to research (I use that term loosely) and write your article. You provided eye-opening insight into your thoughts and the thoughts of others. The "issue" you wrote about, however is not as black and white as you made it appear.The idea that black women must somehow "choose" between education and marriage is absurd as if the two are mutually exclusive.

The remains of a Baltimore nun, who started the world’s first black Catholic Order, have moved to Our Lady of Mount Providence Church as one of the first steps in potential sainthood.

According to “1st Order of African American Nuns Pray Its Founder Will Be Made Saint” for CBS Baltimore, the Oblate Sisters of Providence welcomed the remains of their founder, Mother Mary Lange, to their home church from a cemetery in Baltimore.

Lange was born Elizabeth Clarisse Lange circa 1784 in Cuba. In the early 1800’s, Lange moved to Baltimore, Maryland, a safe haven for Catholics, to be with fellow French-Speaking Catholic Refugees. Upon moving to the United States, Lange recognized the need of education among refugee children of color, and on July 2nd, 1829 Lange along with three other women founded the order. The Sisters while educating the youth, provided homes for orphans, sheltered the elderly and took care of the terminally ill. The order also found St. Frances Academy, which is still in operation today.

by Tonya Ladipo, LCSW

The Washington Post article by Alexandra Petri “Sorry Megyn I am pretty sure you're a feminist” is a perfect example of why I am not a feminist. In the article she commented on a television interview and declared Megyn Kelly a feminist. This is after Ms. Kelly very clearly said that she was NOT a feminist. What gives her the right to label or create an identity for someone else? What makes her think that she has the right to tell someone else who they are?

by Evan Seymour of Moi Naturale 

(NEW ORLEANS) -- The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office has positively identified the body found in a local bayou as that of missing 2nd grade teacher Terrilyn Monette, 26. Authorities performed the autopsy early Monday and made their findings public through a statement released in the afternoon.

by Stephanie J. Gates of Stephanie's Epiphanies

Sitting at the table making small talk with the manicurist as she meticulously paints my nails a soft, slightly iridescent shade of pink; I am caught off-guard when she asks The Question: “So, how many children do you have?” This forty year-old mother of three and grandmother of two is inquiring about my mothering status.

by Kriste Peoples of Honey Help Yourself

Instead of having a gentle mother-daughter conversation about the birds and the bees, I got a fire and brimstone sermon: You think this feeling is love, but it ain’t. Love comes through Jesus. Those knuckle-headed boys don’t want nothing but to ruin your life and the only reason they come around acting like they like you is because they want to get in your pants. They don’t like you. They don’t want you either. And once they get what they want–after they’ve used you and taken something you can’t never get back–where will you be?

by Evan Seymour of Moi Naturale

It may soon be a lot easier for teen girls who want to avoid pregnancy to get their hands on the drug Plan B One-Step. The U.S. Department of Justice announced in a letter late Monday that it was withdrawing its appeal to a district court ruling allowing non age-restricted sales of the emergency contraceptive.

by Tania L. Balan-Gaubert

Black women have historically been excluded from political activism and resistance movements. Yet despite the prevalence of intersecting oppressions like racism, classism, sexism, and heterosexism in their lives, notable black women have made their own way and left indelible marks on history. One such woman is leftist writer, orator and organizer Lucy Parsons.

Lucy Parsons was born in 1853 in Waco, Texas, during a crucial moment in Unites States history. Western expansion by white Americans spurred negotiations on the continued legalization of slavery and the future of Native American territories. Violence and lynching against people of color were also on the rise through the creation of white supremacist organizations like the Ku Klux Klan. Parsons would write later about her experience, witnessing lynchings and other acts of violence.

I dreamed of attending Harvard since I was 12 years-old. Back then I knew fairly little about the university beyond its most discussed attributes: old, storied, and prestigious. That was enough for me. In middle school, I devised a plan to get there by any means necessary. It wasn't until I arrived on campus, that I realized what a true privilege it is to spend each day sitting beside and learning from some of the most brilliant minds in the world.

Ask a Harvard grad, and they'll likely tell you the best part about Harvard is the people. They'll amaze and inspire you everyday. Ellie Hylton is one of those phenomenal people. A member of the Harvard College Class of 2013. She was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Society in the fall, and she graduated summa cum laude with a degree in sociology and the highest GPA in her class. For that distinction, Harvard awarded her the Sophia Freund Prize.

Talk of the "You Can Touch My Hair" art exhibit/social experiment dominated digital discourse this weekend. The exhibit which placed three Black women with three different textures of hair in New York's Union Square Park with signs that read "You Can Touch My Hair" clearly strikes a nerve by looking at the strong reactions it stirred. But why? Three of our staffers discuss the project as well as its implications.

Just two years ago, Serena Williams battled for her life fighting pulmonary embolisms in her lungs. Since then she's made her way back to the top of international women's tennis.

Today, she won the French Open for the 2nd time in her career. She beat Maria Sharapova 6-4, 6-4 at Roland Garros.

Williams won her first French Open title in 2002. At 31, Williams became the oldest woman to win a major title since Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon in 1990 at age 33. Her 11-year gap between Roland Garros titles is the longest for any woman.

This is Williams' 16th major title, and she is now one of only four women to win all four tennis majors twice.

Harvard University's reputation for academic excellence and seminal scholarship attracts some of the most promising students from around the world. But within the ranks of those who choose to attend, a few students rise to the top.

In May, Ethel "Ellie" Hylton graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Sociology. Hylton was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Society last fall.

Hylton won the Sophia Freund prize which is given to the student with the highest overall GPA in her graduating class.

The Hylton family clearly prizes academic excellence. Her mother and father graduated from Harvard Magna Cum Laude in 1982.

Next year Hylton will work as a public policy research associate. Congratulations, Ellie!

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Kimberly Foster is the founder and editor of For Harriet. Email or Follow @KimberlyNFoster 

by Kristie Kennedy 

As a first generation entrepreneur I have experienced a gamut of amazing adventures in pursuit of my purpose and passion. In retrospect, I see glimpses of what I was predestined to become in this world. I remember having a vivid imagination as a child. My childhood friends and I had our own shoe store called the Kangaroo Company.

Each year on the 4th of July, Americans across the country and the globe celebrate the anniversary of the United States’ Independence. While this summer occasion is usually associated with fireworks and outdoor picnics, recent news has established that an additional, more contentious, event will be taking place on the 4th of July. This date marks the day when Grammy-award winning singer Alicia Keys’ will perform at the Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv, Israel.

On May 29th a study by the Pew Research Center revealed that 40% of households with children under the age of 18 now have mothers who are the sole or primary source of income for the family. The study also revealed single mothers, who make up 25.3% of the 40%, are more likely to be young, less educated African-American women.

by Christin Webb

Before I begin, I want to make it clear that I have nothing against women that choose to wear their hair natural. In my past life, years before the mass transition of black women going from processed hair back to natural hair, I wore my hair natural for a span of five to six years. I loved my natural hair. Its lush curls I’d learned to train and nurture became my signature and pride. At some point, however, I decided it was a bit more work than what I wanted to put up with and darted back to the world of processed tresses and permed my hair.

by Ashley Payne

Dr. Monnica Williams reports in Psychology Today a change in the diagnostic criteria of PTSD allowing for a more broad application and treatment. Currently, racism (according to the current version, DSM-IV) can only cause PTSD if it is related to a specific inciting incident, i.e. assault. This is quite limiting, as you can imagine.

by Monique Matthews

Celibate dating is a lot like regular dating except for the obvious: no sex is involved. But, no sex need not equate to no fun. Quite the contrary, dating without sex, or sex-free dating, allows two individuals to really get to know each other without being sidetracked by the “terrible twins” that are way too often birthed from non-committal intercourse: the crazy chick, for ladies, and *sshole, for men.

Few of us could fill First Lady Michelle Obama's shoes and handle the hurdles she faces as the first Black woman in the East Wing of the White House with such grace.

Detractors on the Right and Left hurl baseless, nonsensical criticisms at her family, but the jabs directed at the First Lady are often the most vicious and the most ludicrous. Everything from her appearance and wardrobe to her character and mothering choices come under fire daily.

As the world connects more through advancements in science and technology, conversations on the prevalence of race and racism are also growing. In the public imagination, ideas like post-racialism are gaining popularity as a possible solution to the question: what will/should our future look like?

It was the first day of fourth grade and I was the new kid. With my shoes shined and my hair tied with pink bobbles, I walked in proudly, ready to learn. As I eagerly sat with my fellow classmates, my teacher started reading the roll call. Breezing through Rita Anderson, Matilda Brady, and Jameson Connelly, she checked names off her list with gusto.

by Melissa Mackey

I was the only little black girl on my street. I wore pink foam rollers to bed and slathered my knees, elbows and ankles with Vaseline in the morning. Each day I squared my shoulders and stepped outside, bracing myself for the onslaught. In their infinite wisdom, Quaker had created a new ad campaign around their “iconic” Aunt Jemima figure and the catchy jingle provided the perfect sing-song ammunition for the stupid white boys on the block.

by Evan Seymour of Moi Naturale

Rosaline (Rhonda) Lee pulled out of her driveway on May 25, her family never imagined it was the last time they would see her alive. Lee had left her family home at approximately 3:00 in order to get something from the store for one of her children. That’s when her trouble began.