The Vanguard Black

There's a paradox - that as one begins to become conscious one begins to examine the society in which he/ she is being educated ~ James Baldwin

[lovealexisley-blog]

the Love/Art Memoirs EP

by 

Alex Isley

http://www.audiomack.com/album/alex-isley/the-loveart-memoirs-ep

[thevanguardblack]

Fantastic 

[thevanguardblack]

Emanuel AME shooting is not Black and White

I woke up today feeling like I time travelled back into the early twentieth century, where church bombings of African America churches took place. Then I quickly realized that its 2015 and America still have a race problem, and racism against people of color – predominately Black people in this case – is still the largest pink elephant in the room. No one wants to address how white supremacy,…

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[thevanguardblack]

Conqueror Fear, Dream Big, Then Walk It Out: How I Overcame My Mental Prison With Christian Faith

I used to live in fear. I used to be afraid to dream big. One of the reasons why I lived in fear was due to my low esteem of myself. I never saw myself as a person of value, and I was critical of myself all the time. I would critique myself to oblivion and worst, I would judge and critique others in the same manner. I did these self-assassinating acts out of self-hate and believing negative words…

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[micdotcom]

17 Twitter reactions that point out the utter absurdity of the Rachel Dolezal interview 

4 words said it all, “I identify as black.” Reaction online was swift, with many people unforgiving of Dolezal’s justifications and taking to the Today Show’s official #OrangeRoom hashtag to share their opinions. One particular insightful tweet nailed the unfortunate likely outcome of all this.

[thevanguardblack]

All of this

[thevanguardblack]

Faith, Race, and post-modernity: Why my Vanguard Black must include Christianity

In the age of post-modernity where humanity is free falling, I have found Christianity to be my rock. Listen, I’m not talking about Christianity that is steeped in patriarchy, white supremacy, and colonialist dogma – please. That’s not Christianity; it’s dogma – I.E. something held as an established opinion (according to Webster Dictionary). In other words, those versions of Christianity are lies…

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[thevanguardblack]

Black in drag

In light of the Rachel Dolezal’s situation. As a refresher to what Rachel Dolezal did, Dolezal got caught in a bold face lie – kind of. She was masquerading as being a Black woman. The reason I said kind of, is because race is a social construct, therefore, on a micro level, a person could switch up their racial identification. Nonetheless, Dolezal Black persona became a NAACP president of the…

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[thevanguardblack]

Hypervisible Bodies: Protesting White Supremacy Whilst Racialised

[thevanguardblack]

Love hate with blogging

I love blogging, unfortunately I don’t think I’ve found my blog voice. And that is irritating because I don’t know what to write half the time. I journal daily, but I don’t think those thoughts are Internet ready, meaning, I am not ready to be that vulnerable online. While on the flip-side, I believe the things I go through as an individual and a person of color can be beneficial. One of my goals…

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[thevanguardblack]

The Blacker The Berry The Sweeter Juice/ I Say The Darker The Flesh, Then The Deeper The Roots ~ Tupac

Kendrick Lamar done open up a can of a Colorism Delight with his engagement to his racially ambiguous fiancé. Personally I’m like, congrats, but many of my sisters are like, the hell.

This brother who discussed the plight of dark skin women with Blacker The Berry, and unpacked the nuances of black women– to the best of his abilities – in Tammy Song, and Keisha song. K-dot (aka Kendrick Lamar) is…

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[thevanguardblack]

Privilege comes in many shapes and forms - if your sane then you're experiencing privilege

Lately I have had the pleasure of being in a state of retrospection. What I have learned from this experience is that mental illness is real. I have lived in a state where I did not hope, could not dream, and success was impossible for me to achieve because all I possessed was negative thoughts. And so, when people say success comes from hard work and persevering, I laugh – not because it isn’t…

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[thevanguardblack]

When beauty fails in the eyes of the beholder

It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but what if the beholder does not see beauty but ugly. What if I, the beholder, when I look at myself in the mirror, I am disgusted and lose the power to hold my head up; what if, these negative thoughts of that the beholder hold against themselves, are validated by people who verbally abuse them because those people are hurting people.…

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[thevanguardblack]

When Wage Inequality Roost during An Elementary School's African American Heritage Program

I had an awesome evening. This evening I had the pleasure of supporting my local elementary charter school’s African American heritage presentation. We had spoken word, a reciting of Maya Angelou’s Still I Rise, African dance, and a history lesson about school integration. And the most poignant event of the evening was the auction of eighth grade artwork that was inspired by black artists. There…

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[thevanguardblack]

The Film Selma Helped To Make Me A Teacher And A Student For A Day

It’s been a long time since I’ve been inspired to write something. Most of my days are empty of excitement. But today I had the chance to teach and be a student. Today I accompanied seventh and eighth graders to see the film Selma. First off, the movie left with me with so many emotions – a testament to Ava DuVernay directing and film making skills. The film was an opportunity to bring to light…

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[thevanguardblack]

The ‘New’ Side Chick: I Was Her Beautiful and bold truth

[thevanguardblack]

Can we talk about racial progress in America?

Can we talk about racial progress in America?

blkandcomplex:

I like it….

Originally posted on Blk & Complex:

Quick side notes: The image above is the cover of a text that I encourage everyone to read. Excellent writing on the accounts of racial domination of people of color (POCs) by whites.

I understand that racial progress is slow – I get that – but lets understand that the only people progressing is the oppressors. The oppressors must…

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[thevanguardblack]

Can we talk about racial progress in America?

Quick side notes: The image above is the cover of a text that I encourage everyone to read. Excellent writing on the accounts of racial domination of people of color (POCs) by whites.

I understand that racial progress is slow – I get that – but lets understand that the only people progressing is the oppressors. The oppressors must empathize with those they are oppressing to end their oppressing…

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[thevanguardblack]

◤ WHITE PEOPLE + THE #Fergusondecision ◥ Yasss!!!!