Aja Barber

Recently I went through another round of unfriending on Facebook. It keeps things tidy, the arguments thoughtful and my head from exploding. This time around I just got rid of any white person that felt passionate about "certain political topics," but wasn't showing up for people of color, as we watch the meteoric rise of fascism in America and police violence. I’m not obligated to educate anyone for free, especially if they don’t appear to be absorbing what I’m saying or having the tough conversations on their wall with their peers.

Marc Jacobs claims he doesn't "see" color, but people of color beg to differ. Whether he recognizes it or not, Jacobs is part of the cultural appropriation problem, turning black natural hair into his own "trend."

Welcome to #RavsWriters, an opportunity for you to get to know some of the outstanding human beings who fervently type to make Ravishly the aw

I watched again and again, as reporters asked President Trump news related questions, and repeatedly rephrased their questions, in hopes of receiving anything close to a credible answer. As he continued to discredit the press by telling them their questions weren’t “nice,” I felt more and more as if I was living in some bizarro universe where the President is actually a huge baby.

In 2015, to be a woman (and a black woman at that) among the general public means having to keep your defenses up.

How does one advertisement go so magnificently wrong, managing to center whiteness in the story of the battles of marginalized people, while playing down the horrific effects of police brutality and concluding in a white savior grand finale?

I refuse to write some sort of inane rubbish about how sweatshirts are the new sweatshirt.

Have we all been problematic in the past? Oh hell yes. I know I have.

If Lena Dunham wants to be a part of the movement in a constructive way, I’d recommend stepping down and quietly supporting women of color with dollars.

Can we all agree that whether in public or private spaces, don’t put your feet in other people’s spaces and keep your shoes off the furniture?