Uptown Notes: Blogs You Should Read

Through this series of notes, I will share links of Blog posts and/or websites I’ve found that I see as being too great to keep to myself.

These resources will come from a variety of areas of service and interests, with the common theme being a focus on issues related to diversity, inclusion, equity, and social justice.

Some of them will be websites that I regularly look to for information and inspiration for my own personal growth, advocacy, and professional development, while others will be resources that I may have just discovered and want to get the word out.

Today’s Note highlights the blog Uptown Notes.

The Link

uptownnotes.com

Why I like it

Written by Dr. R. L’Heureux Lewis-McCoy, I see this blog as a great example of combining academics with activism. Although he also spends some of his time writing about social justice issues for ebony.com, Uptown notes remains one of my favorites.

A sample post (or posts) from the site that I’ve read, and think you should too.

Title: “I’m for Gay Rights But...“.

“So for the past few years I’ve been jousting with my family and loved ones around the issue of same sex marriage and repeatedly found my argument falling on deaf ears. In fact what I most often heard was, “I am for gay rights but…” and what would follow would immediately sweep away any indication of actual support for the union of two people from the same sex. As a service to myself and those with whom I will soon have this discussion with, I’ll provide some statements and my rebuttals. Instead of taking our 45 minutes on spinning wheels, let’s work and see and if we can cover some different ground.

“…Once again, what’s up with the us and them type of thinking. Gay Black folks have been around for a long time, to act as if they are not us is to deny part of ourselves. In fact, the most prominent voice and architect of the Civil Rights Movement was Martin Luther King Jr. His work centered on non-violence which he derived from Gandhi but he learned from Bayard Rustin who was a queer Black man. Gay, Lesbian, Bi and Queer Black folks have been at the center of our movement for rights as well as our cultural and social uplift, why try to write them out of history now? Or rather why not acknowledge the central role they’ve played in the collective Black struggle which should include lgbtq brothers and sisters?”

Continue Reading I’m for gay rights but…

Title: “Yes Virginia, There is Black Male Privilege“

“The hidden and overlooked nature is what is crucial for understanding privilege. It is the careful analysis of the social fabric of our world that will make privilege visible, even to Black men. I am not suggesting BMP explains all gender and race inequality -that would make it a perfect explanation- I am saying BMP has a significant contribution to gender and race inequality- thus BMP is a partial explanation. I am most concerned with the Black community, so I have discussed BMP as it relates to Black men and Black women. I’m not making an argument about BMP relative to White Male Privilege. If you want to do that, do so at your own risk ;) . BMP is akin to White privilege in that it is often invisible to those who benefit from it the most! It is the accumulation of these unearned advantages that matter but are often dismissed as inconsequential. These advantages are often thought to be insignificant, unless of course you are on the receiving end of the oppression.”

Continue Reading Yes Virginia, There is Black Male Privilege

Ubuntu,

From Aspiring Humanitarian, Relando Thompkins, MSW

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