Author Archives: LaShawnda Jones

Book Review: Defining Moments of Black History by Dick Gregory

My short summary is: Gregory was an insensitive jerk of such magnitude, it’s impossible to wrap my mind or sensitivities around the thought. He comes across as a know-it-all-name-dropping gossip riding the coattails of historical figures in order to position himself in prominent historic incidents a la Forest Gump.

Severance: The Attractiveness of Character and Performance

I see Severance as men being men in varying relationships and situational dynamics. The sacredness and universality of men embodying manhood through emotional vulnerability. Undiluted maleness that’s not in doubt or watered down; that’s not commercial, shallow, or one-dimensional. Most importantly, it’s about everyday manliness that’s not predicated or framed by physical violence.

Obsolescence by Mick McConnell

Chapter 8: Obsolescenceby Mick McConnell I’ve been called seasoned. Experienced. A mentor.It’s a compliment.It’s also code.Code for: you’re not the future anymore.This is what obsolescence actually feels like. Not a door slamming shut, but a quiet shift. Your name starts disappearing from the cc line. The brief goes to someone else. You’re still respected, butContinueContinue reading “Obsolescence by Mick McConnell”

Poem: 65 Years Ago Today

Hmm, sixty-five years ago today,You entered this world.Twenty-nine years agoyou left far too soon.Up ’til then, I knew you my entire lifeyet, I’m still learning you more each year.This last year, I dug up painful,crushing information.Confirmed details.Connected dots.Formed a picture of a childhood that wasn’t.Saw the end of a truncated adolescence.Now I’m speculating,wondering when thoseContinueContinue reading “Poem: 65 Years Ago Today”

Severance: Am I Severed?

One of the first existential questions I asked myself after rewatching Season 1 following the first few episodes of Season 2, was, “Am I severed?” The second question was, “Aren’t we all severed?”

The unexpected joy of this series is the unending layers of meaning, creativity, symbolism, and nuance.

Poem: Diluted Melanin

Rest assured, they may have succeeded in diluting the melanin of the Countless and the Uncounted,but there is no dilutingthe Blackness of those who remain.Not only do we absorb light,and convert energy,we are the flow of oceans,seeds of the Earthflung far and wideto populate and cultivateevery continent we arrive upon.We are the wind and theContinueContinue reading “Poem: Diluted Melanin”

Opium-fueled Fruit Farms

Spending time behind the curtain of self-proclaimed racist cyberstalker trolls has been truly underwhelming. In their attempts to be edgy and profanely free speaking, they present as severely stunted in all ways important for human development.