Somebody almost walked off wid my stuff. Not my poems or a dance I gave up in the street, but somebody almost walked off wid alla my stuff. From For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf (1975) Ntozake Shange Barstool Divah wants to know what do…

In a recent #LinkedIn post about an #NPR story by @Carmen Drahl, “AI was asked to create images of Black African docs treating white kids. How’s it go?” , my #blackanthropology colleague, Dr. David Simmons, reminded us of the real danger of #AI; he notes: …AI still relies on humans…

GUNCLES WON-Ranked #1 by USA TODAY ! Mobile is known for many things: it is the birthplace of Mardi Gras, despite New Orleans vast marketing enterprise; it is the oldest city in Alabama, founded by the French in 1872; and it is an oyster lover’s paradise — anyway you want…

Dear Reader, Back again, and here to tell you that African spiritualism (worship of traditional African spirit culture) is ever present and an integral part of everyday life in Brazil, especially for women who are viewed as keepers of these spirits. Beliefs in the power of the Orishas can be…

Recently, I was reading a back issue of the #AARPMagazine and was delighted to see that at age 77, actress #HelenMirren is getting roles in a series, just as #Merylstreep is also getting TV roles in popular series like “Only Murders in the Building” (https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/meryl-streep-only-murders-in-the-building-season-3-hulu-1235489810/) at age 73. After my…

Photo Opt: Irma (C) with Dr. Yolanda Moses, first Black President of The American Anthropology Association, (R) and originator of the Race exhibit idea, and Dr. Arlene Torres (L), at 1500sf RACE: Are We So Different exhibit on Capital Hill for the Black Congressional Caucus. Circa 2010 Thirteen years ago…

Dear Reader, I recently discovered that in Portuguese the word, Irmã, means “sister.” It is the same way that my name is spelled. And, I’d like to think they are connected since my trip to Brazil was a journey of sisterhood — both within my travel group and with the…

“Old pirates, yes, they rob I/ Sold I to the merchant ships/ Minutes after they took I/ From the bottomless pit/ But my hand was made strong/ By the hand of the Almighty/ We forward in this generation/ Triumphantly/… Won’t you help to sing/ These songs of freedom?/ ’Cause all…

Here in Plateau, Alabama, the group stops at the entrance of the Africatown Cemetery and one elder Black woman shakes her head. She speaks solemnly: “Something is not right; the ancestors are not happy.” She tells us: The ancestors are speaking; they say: “We are calling you. Listen.” When elder…