I buried my friends in childhoodand I was never free to mourn. There was always school,and homework,dishes that needed washing,and a beating I had earned. There is no space to grieve loss,when it is never ending,when you are slowly being killed. So I mourn now.Because I’m safer as an adultthan I ever was as a [...]
Author: Nina Monei
I advocate for Black children first, last always.
I write. I vlog. I podcast about race, gender, sexuality, spirituality, healing from trauma, Black media, art and culture and what it means to show up for and to shape a better world for Black people and Black children. I'm learning out loud and in public.
“Cuties” (and Its Supporters) Failed Black Girls
There’s been a lot of controversy over the Netflix film Cuties, with it being categorized by some as encouraging pedophilia and others as a Black feminist critique of the sexualization of girls, without much in between. If I’m being honest, my personal response to the film upon initially seeing the trailer was disgust. However, many [...]
I’m Not a Perfect Abolitionist, and I’m Okay With That
I believe in prison abolition. I am not a perfect abolitionist. I believe that it is not only ideal but essential to our survival as Black people that we defund police, close prisons, and implement practices within our communities that are divorced from carceral systems. And while I am still struggling with what that entails, [...]
Sometimes I Have Hard Feelings.
Yesterday, in a fit of anger, my daughter snatched her canapy down from the ceiling and walls. We've had several talks over recent weeks and months about her habit of destroying things when she's angry and why it's a habit we need to break. And yet, it remains her default response when told "no", seemingly [...]
We Are Failing Black Boys
I keep seeing this argument being made that black boys are being "coddled" and that this is why many of them grow up to struggle as men. What confuses me most about this argument is that it's most often used in conversations about black men who have criminal records, histories of violence, low education and [...]
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