Year: 2010

DIARY OF A FIEND: A FAST-FOOD JUNKIE KICKS THE HABIT
By Dawneka Akins
This entry is part of my 31-day journey giving up some of the unhealthy eating habits I’ve had for most of my life. Fast food is everywhere – on every corner, on TV, and on huge billboards all over the city. For me, eating well with a low income, no car, and limited time is difficult. Dodging bad food – all I’ve known for 21 years – has become one of the biggest challenges of my life. […]

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“No, I am not taking these off.” Momma was doing more pleading than pushing during one of our nightly battles as I changed her disposable underwear. “You cannot take these from me! They are not […]

My 3 siblings and I often become fictional or rearranged members of Momma’s imagination. Momma once told my youngest brother that he was “found by grandpa at the poker game.” I loved it when she […]

Last week, Momma and I visited Cousin Bernadette, who is in a nursing home suffering from ailments associated with dementia.  It was a pleasure to see her, even though Momma really didn’t quite comprehend the […]

By Jo Ann Bell Hurricane Katrina left Louisiana and Mississippi with memories of utter destruction. It’s been a month since those and other Gulf states marked the fifth year anniversary of the storm, and the […]

By Tyrese Johnson OAKLAND, CA – Many would argue that music is essential to a full life. It makes us laugh, cry and think. It is this idea that musicians at the Oakland Green Youth […]

By Peace Harmony OAKLAND, CA – A new habitat for female artists was born last November. Valerie Troutt started The Shepeople’s, a collective of female vocalists, musicians, poets, dancers, filmmakers, visual artists, craft makers, foodies and […]

By Ida Hancox OAKLAND, CA – For most of Shawn Vasquez’s life, he’s been in trouble with the law. He started ditching school to sell drugs before he was a teenager. He hit the ninth […]