Economic Security

I don’t really know what Middle Class is. As far as I can tell it is this wide sea of individuals and families between those that qualify for food stamps and those that live in mansions with enough financial wealth to have their children look forward to their death. I may be somewhere in that sea.

Both my wife and I have been employed full time for the major part of the last decade. Between us, we have a comfortable house in a comfortable part of town, two cars, and three beautiful children. Every now and then, we close our eyes, damned the budget, and indulge a family vacation. We give to charity, we go out to eat just because we don’t feel like cooking, we send money back home…few dollars in a money market account, college savings, 401K plans…you get the idea. My wife doesn’t go to church much, and I have hardly been to a mosque since coming to America, but every day we thank our gods for this life we live. (more…)

I was born in Guinea, to a strict family in a devout Muslim community. If you have followed my writing for any length of time, you already know this. But it bears repeating here. I was about 15 when I came to America. In the few months before starting high school, I learned America from soap operas. “All my Children” was my favorite, but “One Life to Live” is where I learned that gay didn’t just mean being happy. As you can imagine I was shocked, and to be completely honest, disgusted. As a practicing Muslim, I thought it an abomination. (more…)

It seems there is a documentary about Bob Marley every few years, and yes, by now if you are half interested in the man, you probably know all there is to publicly know about the man and his music. Well, there is not very much new in the recently released documentary, “Marley”. Except—at least for me—the time he spent at a clinic in Bavaria, Germany. Looking at pictures of the reggae star—sick and frail without his signature locks, the boy from Trench Town wading through knee-deep German snow—was heartbreaking to say the least. I don’t cry at movies, but I got misty eyed looking at those pictures. Why do humans go to such desperate lengths to keep death waiting, knowing at the end he still wins the war? (more…)

I know who is going to win the next election. Come the day after the elections in November, the next president of the United States is going to be….a millionaire male politician! And after the inauguration in January, in February your life is probably not going to be any different. If it does, it won’t be because of the ceremony in Washington the day before. That’s elections for you. In the immediate sense they don’t change anything. But in the long run, they change everything! (more…)

I swear I am not cheap. I shop at Target (instead of Wal-Mart), Cub Food (instead of Aldi). I even have membership at Seward Co-op. When it comes to wear, though I sometimes stray into Marshalls when I’m at the Mall of America, and I thought TJ Maxx was an high-end boutique during my college days, these days it’s Guess, Studiiyo23; hell, I’m a Banana Republic Voxx member for crying out loud! (more…)

I am from Africa. No, not that Africa. I was not destitute. Not this Africa either. I am not next in line to any throne, nor am I a son of a politician. I am of that middle group that is too blind to notice they are dirt poor, and know better than to care. If you asked me, I would tell you I came to America to go to school. And that is the truth. But if you boil that down, I came to America for a better opportunity. For the most part, I have found it. College educated, gainfully employed, home owner, blah blah blah. I don’t (or rather shouldn’t) have anything to complain about. (more…)

I’m not a financial expert by any stretch of the imagination. But whenever I read an article about personal finance, I always feel like saying duh, I knew that. So I thought, maybe I know a little more than the average person. If so, maybe I should share. So here we go. (more…)

I share my poems with the world. On here and elsewhere. When it comes to critiquing the form, I keep my opinions to myself. I figure to each his own; eventually, we all arrive at a comfortable place, and in one’s own eyes (and my opinion) that is always the right and best place to be. But…

There is no right or wrong way to write a poem or give a spoken word performance. That’s a matter of fact. As a matter of opinion, there are bad poems and awful performances. (more…)

They are protesting in Egypt. And there is a long line to a soup kitchen in Minneapolis. What is the relationship between the two? (more…)

I am not one of those Black people that see a racial undertone to everything happening in America vis-a-vis a person of color. Far from it. It may be the African in me, but I believe when something goes wrong, the first place anybody needs look is in a mirror. The hand of racism is not as big as it is made out to be. It has never been. Yes, it has been bigger, a lot bigger; but its shadow has always been bigger than the actual.

Lately however, listening to comments from people on the right, I got to thinking: Has some people found a new way to call a Black president, nigger and do so openly? I think so. (more…)