On Salon I found a wonderful coming out essay written by Jean Melasaine in which she recounts the multiple communities she has grown into during her life. She was born to Samoan parents who immigrated to the US. Her parents speak … Continue reading
{Editors Note: The dialog between Jameel and Alfonso was taken from my unpublished novel Sin Against the Race.} He knew Hegel. He knew Marx. He knew Lenin. He knew Trotsky. He knew Mao. He knew Ché. He knew Cleaver. He … Continue reading
This story could be called a love letter to the Duke Ellington Orchestra. I wrote it around the time I fell head over heels for all things Ellington and started listening to his music 23 out of 24 hours in … Continue reading
I love photographic exhibits. One of my favorites was a retrospective of California based 20th century photographers at the Oakland Museum of California some years ago. It featured the works of Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, and other masters of that … Continue reading
1985. UCLA. Sophomore year. I fell into the swell of anti-apartheid protests that engulfed the campus that year and began to live the life of the “activist student.” My mother made a suggestion.
“You should start writing a journal.”
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