Are Blacks Dangerous for Japan?
The latest #BlackEye for The Japan Times is up and atcha! This time around we respond to the alarming increase in racist SNS content aimed at the presence of people of African descent living here in...
View ArticleFrom the US to the UAE to Japan: This Brother be Ballin’!
Samir St. Clair, the subject of this month’s #BlackEye, started his basketball coaching journey on a humble, helping his friend run a team of pre-teens. Little did he know his love of leading and...
View ArticleCould ‘Black Panther’ Change Japanese Perceptions of “Blackness”?
After a one month hiatus (the reason for which is explained in the article) #BlackEye is back! Yay, right? Thanks for all the love and messages of concern. My soul is on the mend. Thanks in part to the...
View ArticleNothing But Love for THIS Love Hotel!
One of my favorite areas in Yokohama is called Shin-Yokohama. It doesn’t have a lot to offer, but what it has, it has in spades. For one there’s the ramen museum. Y’all know I’m big fan of ramen! (You...
View Article“Mannnn! You Come Right Outtavah Comic Book!!”
Seven-year old me sat in a rat infested cat patrolled theatre with my brothers, eating stale popcorn and sipping watery sprite, watching Chinese men have their eyes ripped from the sockets by other...
View ArticleThe One-Eyed Black Jew Who Changed the World!
When I was a kid there was a TV show I watched every sunday called Wonderama. I really only remember a couple of things about the show…the songs mostly. One song in particular was performed by a black...
View ArticleIs This How The World Views Us? Part 3: Furious Styles Packs A .357 Magnum
If you haven’t read parts ONE: Loco in Cap-Haitien and TWO: Image is Everything check them out. To me, the true point Chris Rock made in his stand-up routine (purposely or obliviously) is this: Just as...
View ArticleTheories on Racial Profiling Discrepancies in Japan
Been getting so many comments on today’s #BlackEye article that I believe I’m going to have to do a follow-up. Perhaps even something investigative, either on my blog or on my column. haven’t decided...
View ArticleHow to NOT Get Racially Profiled in Japan…if You’re Black
The latest #BlackEye is coming at you right now! Interviewing a brother by the name of Jesse Freeman who finds himself on the business end of police harassment way too often. In this interview he makes...
View ArticleOn Trump’s Inaugural Speech: Speechless, Sleepless and Shook!
Last night I couldn’t sleep. I had received a lot of requests from friends and fam to boycott the Inauguration by not watching it. But I went ahead and did it anyway. You might as well be telling a...
View ArticleGaijin Hygiene
One of my favorite things about Japan are onsens (hot springs). I was introduced to onsens on my first visit here, before I decided to relocate. I came to visit a friend and stayed with him for a...
View ArticleHow to Avoid Becoming a Stalker
So, last night, I was out in Yokohama stalking random Japanese people using my fearsome physique and menacing mien to threaten them with bodily harm or worse…actually I was headed to my friend’s house...
View ArticleWas Dr. King’s Dream Deferred? A Birthday Message to the Good Doctor
Dear Dr. King: In 1951, long before you made your “I have a dream” speech, the great poet Langston Hughes wrote the following poem, called “Harlem”: What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up...
View ArticleTraumatic Reminiscence at a Japanese Cat Cafe: Neko in Yokohama
When I mentioned to one of my students that I liked cats, she recommended I check out this new Cat Cafe in Kannai, Yokohama called Cafe Miysis. So I made my way over there today to check it out. I’ve...
View ArticleIs This How The World Views Us? Part 2: Image is Everything!
If you haven’t read part 1, Loco in Cap-Haitien, HERE you go! I wasn’t in Japan long at all before I came to learn that here, particularly for non-Japanese, you are what the image of you portrays you...
View ArticleIs This How The World Views Us? Part 1: Loco in Cap-Haitien
In the past two weeks I’ve had the pleasure of watching two remarkable films, both of which have gotten deserved acclaim: “Fences” and “Moonlight”. I won’t be spoiling anything so don’t worry if you...
View ArticleWhat’s The Status of Black People in Japan?
I received a Troublesome question on Quora about a term I’m not very fond of: “Social Status”. But unfortunately it is a reality we all have to live with and so I’ll answer this loaded question to the...
View ArticleLet’s Get Ready to Rumble…with WWW Diana!
Last month’s #BlackEye featured Roni Nicole, AKA Big Bang Nicole, a a model, actress, dancer and , yes, Professional Wrestler doing her thing here in Japan. Here’s an update on her schedule. She’s...
View ArticleJapanese Speak Up on Blackface in Japan
日本語でのコメントが下に掲載されています Happy New Years to all! #BlackEye is back! To begin the year I’m gonna do something I began last year: I’m gonna let Japanese people talk about Blackness in Japan. After all, when...
View ArticleThe Seven Principles of Kwanzaa Illustrated Pt. 3: The Land of Ujima
The third principle of Kwanzaa is Ujima, and I’ve seen Ujima best illustrated, surprisingly, here in Land of the Rising Sun, which I’ve rechristened for the purposes of this post: The Land of Ujima....
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