The SistaGurl Blog

By Felicia Clark Black girl magic!  Black girl magic? What the hell is it? From the very first moment I heard there was even such a thing, that was the question that circulated in my head. The ‘magic’ it seems, is portrayed as some sort of gold stardust. Have you ever asked yourself, at  what cost is spent with this “magical” perception? Being black in itself is a hefty price, but add woman to the title and increase the magnitude.   The concept of strength. Black women are so STRONG. So much so that we’re at times perceived as inhuman. And when you’re strong, you are often targeted. To be penetrated, broken down, like an adversary or villain.  When we cry, it’s not alarming. No one runs to us to give us a hug, or even a damn kleenex! The lack of understanding and compassion for black women often times leaves us feeling alone and not cared for. Unloved . When we try explain or express whatever is plaguing us, the very sound of our voices are considered too harsh or

       Photo Credit: Ave Boss IG: @frontlinemediaempire Content is very important. As a people we tend to ingest what we see, and emulate what's in front of us. When given the opportunity to be a producer, Alana Blaylock chose to develop content that educates and inspires.  Sista Gurls, we all know that it's rare to meet someone who's age does not reflect their natural maturity. I   was able to speak with Alana Blaylock, Emmy Award-winning producer of CNN's  "United Shades of America", hosted by Kamau Bell.   Still in her 20's, Alana has experienced the spoils of success as well as the benefit of breakthrough! She has lived to tell her story on the importance of hard work, faith, self-care, and mental health wellness.   One of the main reasons I wanted to do this feature with Alana is because we often correlate success to the end of trouble. When in fact, success is merely the footnote to our perseverance. We all go through things, we all have re

So ladies, we have a tendency to get advice from women about MEN far more than we should. So I have a special treat today. We're going to get some advice on how to entice, encourage, and exalt a man from you guested it.. A MAN. I picked one, who speaks with the sole purpose to educate. So some of his language may be a bit harder than you're used to but.. you will not be disappointed. Capt SistaGurl Out!  Introducing Tikko Brohey  Ladies do you feel like “dudes ain’t shit” or “dudes don’t act right?” Have you ever thought about the things you do that contribute to that? The answer is probably not.  Now granted there are dudes out there who just ain’t shit, and that’s just what it is. Majority of men are good men. But his partner can often determine just how good he'll actually be. Every woman deserves to be treated like a queen, as every man deserves to be treated like a king. The disconnect comes from when there’s an argument all the King and Queen shit is out the

Hey SistaGurls!  We have a special guest post from Nero! He wants to share his thoughts on how our community tends to label unique individuals that aren't "Black enough".  There's been disparities in our community when it comes to how "Blerds" only receive our recognition when they reach the national stage. Actors like Donald Glover didn't get our attention until he became "Childish Gambino", would we have checked for Taye Diggs PRE-Stella? Did yall rant and rave over Michael B. Jordan in "That Awkward Moment". Yall still don't give Kamau Bell no play. Then we get mad when these types of guys end up with white women. So.. Nero, is a lot nicer than me, so let's see how he articulates it! Xoxo Capt SistaGurl. Check it out. Take it away Nero! I hate that I actually wrote it to be totally frank with you. I love writing but the fact that I have to write about subjects like this is a pretty damning indictment. Now

By Felicia Clark  The first time he got me, was 20 years ago...over a bottle of Boone’s Farm. I was 15 or maybe even 16 years old. There was this guy that lived on the block that we called Sleepy. He had a thing for me, but not I for him. Honestly, I was not very attracted to him . I loved the attention that he gave me every time he would see me walking down the street. He would make it his business to stop whatever he was doing to make sure I got in the house safe when I made it home from Bible study. He would always tell me how pretty I was. And he did it in such a way that all I could do was blush. I mean all teeth. I typically hid behind my hands because I have pretty big teeth! Our paths more than crossed outside on the block; we were in the same house at the same time. A friend of our’s mom was at work. Therefore, it was a perfect time for a get together. There I was, at this particular friend’s house getting one hell of a contact from weed and a glass of Boone’s

By: Dawn Michelle Hardy Like many people, finding my professional passion required a bit of trial and error. After a promising stint in visual merchandising, I switched career tracks and found myself working with authors.  I literally started from the bottom—I had a part-time gig assisting a best-selling author—now I’m here. I’m a full-time publicist, a literary agent and book consultant.  I love my career, especially during April-October, because it’s the industry’s peak season. Summertime is when everything goes down in the book industry. Authors are busy attending writing conferences, tours, and appearances at large scale gatherings like Essence Music Festival, BookCon, LA Times Book Festival and the Brooklyn Book Festival, which means agents and publicists are running around too. I offer two services. As an agent with Serendipity Literary Agency, I champion for writers to receive publishing deals.  Since publicity is such and integral part of project’s success, I use m

By Rapmusiq  ‘Coffee/Tea with David’ the message said. ‘Yay! I hope he’s dope and recognizes the dopeness in you’ was my response. ‘No expectations’ she said. That’s bullshit! was my final deliberation four days later as I recalled the conversation. No assumptions, no expectations, that’s a thing people say when they want to avoid disappointment and its more intense older brother; suffering. If we’re honest with ourselves, the entire human experience is built around expectations and assumptions. Fear is often the result of what happens when we don’t have them. This is the reason why a significant portion of the population is afraid of death. (They don’t know what to expect).     Think about it. We base the majority of our lives on previous experience. When we wake up in the morning, we expect to open our eyes.  When we put the key in the ignition and turn it forward, we expect the car to start. When you sit in a chair you expect it to hold your weight. We wouldn’t eve