Author Archives: Adia Kamaria

“Our schools are not an equalizing force, because White parents take them over and hoard resources,” this quote from the introduction of episode four sums up Nice White Parents, a podcast from Serial Productions, a New York Times company. The quote is about Horace Mann’s idea that public school would be the great equalizer of AmericanContinue reading “A Black Mom’s Perspective of Nice White Parents”

As the pandemic drags on keeping concert venues and other entertainment shut down, thousands of people log in to watch artists “battle” each other week after week on Verzuz. On Tuesday, August 11th I was doing my morning check of social media handles when I came across a post from Sharon Burke, President of SolidContinue reading “Billboard, Verzuz, and How Dancehall Influenced Hip Hop”

This is what I would do if I wasn’t afraid, a memoir… London. What if she pursued her master’s at an English university? Or left Florida to its sun and swamps, and feasted her eyes instead on historic towers set against overcast skies? What if crossing the ocean was the path to a brighter future?Continue reading “Yellow Tulips & Red Buses”

I was sitting at the gate at the airport on my way to Boston for a job interview. I was looking out the window at Ft. Lauderdale’s bright sky and thinking about how much I really didn’t want to trade in warm days, bright skies and beaches for slush, rust and an annoying accent –Continue reading “One of the Lucky Ones”

I’ve been asked twice in the past month what impact I want to leave on the world. My answer was that I don’t. I want to impact myself and then die. The first person who asked me this looked shocked at my response. The second person said I sound defeated, deflated and like I justContinue reading “The Simple Life”

I spent two days in Liverpool, England last week. While I was there two of my friends and I did The Liverpool Slavery History Trail. As I expected, the tour was interesting and I learned a lot of new things. Towards the end of the trail, the guide took us to the front of aContinue reading “Still Holding You Down?”

I spent the weekend with a girlfriend. As always, girl talk involved men and relationships. At one point in the conversation I said something about someone who I regard as my heart, even though what we have right now is at best a complicated situation.  She asked me how I could feel something so strongly forContinue reading “Chemistry & Commitment”

I was recently driving with a friend while she told me about a terrible thing that had happened to her the day before. “…and then Justin texted me and I felt so much better, but isn’t that bad?” she asked. “What? Why?” I asked her. “Because, I should be able to make myself feel better,Continue reading “Disconnect”

It’s festival season in London, the season for celebrating arts and culture outdoors. Last Sunday, June 30th, marked the end of the 2013 Glastonbury Festival. A four-day music festival that has been happening in the United Kingdom since 1970. I had only heard of the Glastonbury Festival because when Beyonce performed there in 2011 itContinue reading “United We Stand”

I’ve been studying in London for the past six months. The best part of this experience is the cultural exchanges I have with my classmates and other students. For obvious reasons, I’m particularly intrigued by the African students I meet. The one thing that a lot of African students I meet or see all haveContinue reading “Not Who I Am”