Today I was at an event at my niece’s school and of the 75 people gathered, there was only one other sister in the yard. We sat a row apart for two hours, she didn’t even acknowledge that I was there. No eye contact, no nod and definitely no ‘how are you?’ Of course, everyone around her spoke while she sat silent. I find this both annoying and sad when these things happen (and they don’t happen very often). Three things go through my mind: either they don’t think they’re black, they don’t want to be seen talking to another sister or they’re mad because they want to be the ‘only one.’ Read the full story

Breast cancer has been in the news a lot in the last couple of weeks. First, there was the New York Times article on how the shift to digital mammograms is resulting in a greater number of follow-ups. However, the upshot was that this new technology is worth all the extra trouble. After reading it I wondered, do black women know that they should be getting digital mammograms? If not, who is going to tell them? A lot of insurance companies operate in the don’t ask, don’t tell mode so sisters may not know that they should be quizzing their doctor or facility about what type of mammograms they offer before they make an appointment. Read the full story

A couple of days ago I stumbled upon a casting for a new reality show that went up a few months ago. The show is called, The Black Woman’s Guide to Marrying Well and the executive producer was looking for sisters betwen the ages of 20 and 65 who are educated, available and looking for the right mate. My first thought was, this has got to be a joke. Read the full story

This weekend, I was running around doing some errands when I saw a disturbing scene: a sister walking down the street in a short, down jacket, some blue pajama bottoms with sheep and clouds on them stuffed in some boots, and her hair wrapped up in a scarf. She had a plastic bag in her hand as she leisurely walked down the street. Nothing seemed to be the matter with her but as I reflected on that sight for a few days I realize that something was indeed out of whack in that sister’s life. She had stopped caring about the image she projected to the world. Read the full story

We have a complicated relationship with water when we’re not using it to bathe in or clean with. If water is offered as part of our recreation plans it gives us pause. It’s one thing to sit by the pool or wade waist deep in the ocean, but a full immersion isn’t on the top of many of our lists for a few reasons: Read the full story