As noted in the last post, Daily Derrick closes today. But if you wish to read future work and continue following, DerrickClifton.com will open on Tuesday, May 28, 2013. Hope to see you come on over that way! Recap: – This blog has closed. – The writer/editor behind it is still writing stuff, just somewhere … Continue reading »
This isn’t the end of a journey — or even an end for DailyDerrick.com. It’s only a transition. Continue reading »
This piece originally appeared as the cover story in the May 15, 2013 print edition of The Windy City Times. Photo credit: Rafi Letzter. If you attempted to count the number of Chicago congregations led by openly gay, Black ministers, you’d probably struggle to get to 10. However, a new church in the South Loop … Continue reading »
This piece has also appeared on The Huffington Post Gay Voices, Huffington Post Impact and In Our Words Blog What in the world could be wrong with this picture? It’s all over Facebook and Twitter right now as part of a wider social media campaign for marriage equality. If you’re especially savvy, you’re aware that … Continue reading »
We often forget that black youth have important viewpoints and ideas to offer during critical discussions about issues directly affecting their lives. With a narrow focus on the perspectives of the “adults” in the situation, black youth voices are routinely rendered invisible. It’s a dilemma that the documentary feature Woke Up Black addresses head-on. Continue reading »
Once I realized that the flow of life (a divine message, the universe, energy, whatever you wish to call it) was essentially asking that I pause for a moment, I had no choice but to listen. And I’m glad that I did. Continue reading »
Here’s a brief look at some highlights from around the web today — a mix of four thought-provoking articles and commentary that’ll give you whiplash from shaking your head. Here goes: Te’o Controversy: Where’s the Coverage on ND Football Sexual Assauts? – Salon.com I know many of you are enthralled by the craze surrounding Notre … Continue reading »
It’s not easy being a religious queer person. It’s even harder while part of a congregation that spews homophobia in pulpits and prevents LGBT people from attaining positions of leadership. Other churches go as far to deny sacraments like communion or other religious rites because of what they deem as “deviant” and “ungodly” lifestyles. And … Continue reading »
Despite attempts to position the book as a story of triumph over homophobia, The Cross and the Closet creates an illusory interpretation of how many gays experience Christian communities and everyday life. Continue reading »
This post was also featured at NextGen Journal, prior to their disbanding. Click here to view. It’s hard being a female leader in a male-dominated society. Following the culmination of the Chicago Teachers’ Union strike, I’m sure Karen Lewis would agree. What started as weeks of debate mostly confined within Chicago’s city limits became a … Continue reading »
While stumping in his home state of Michigan yesterday, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney addressed the crowd and made this cringe inducing statement: “No one’s ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place where both of us were born and raised.” Clearly he’s referring to the Birther controversy that … Continue reading »
Rape is rape. No exceptions, no qualifying words, no lengthy diatribes can escape what rape means to everyday people. That’s unless you’re like Congressman Todd Akin (R-Mo.) and vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan. Ever since vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan introduced the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” these odd distinctions between “rape,” “forcible … Continue reading »
Some of you have wondered and some have even asked why I’ve been so quiet recently. It’s a question even I couldn’t answer, until now. Continue reading »
I was roughly nine years old when I first considered joining the Boy Scouts of America. But it just didn’t seem like a place a kid like me could ever fit in. Continue reading »
You see, even as a child I had issues asking for help from others. For some reason, I gleaned some odd message that being a “grown up” meant being 100% independent, always able to take care of everything on your own with very little-to-no help from others. Continue reading »
You see, Romney wasn’t speaking to the annual convention to extend that ever elusive Republican olive branch to black voters in attendance. He was speaking at them. Because the real audience is the one that I wagered Romney would actually address: a flock of tea party sympathizers who, for the most part, happen to be white. Continue reading »
Sophie Hawkins, the 90s one hit wonder behind “Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover” decries Obama on LGBT issues during an interview about her new album. She wants all your love and attention, except she’s going about it all the wrong way… Continue reading »
From where I’m sitting, there’s another queen’s jubilee underway. Elizabeth II, eat your heart out. And you too, Ms. Aretha. Beyonce recently sashayed back onto the scene, proving she’s still as fierce as ever after birthing her first child. But don’t call it a comeback; she’s been at it for years. Dazzling audiences in Atlantic … Continue reading »
Perfectionism and overachievement are aspects of college life and beyond, and the MyNUResume tool created by Northwestern’s undergraduate admissions office isn’t doing students any favors. My reflections on it all in my column for The Daily Northwestern’s graduation issue… Continue reading »
Dear Friends of Daily Derrick, I just wanted to send a quick note and let all of you know that I’ll be on a brief hiatus from original posts for roughly the next week (in addition to some of the past few days) due to finals and related preparation. Life still goes on for me … Continue reading »
President Lincoln once said it’s better to remain silent and thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt. Dare I say it, I disagree with ‘ole Honest Abe. Silence isn’t as golden as it seems. Continue reading »
It’s about time more Northwestern community members, especially faculty, join diversity dialogues. At Monday evening’s Faculty-Student Speak Out event, roughly 60 students and faculty gathered for small-group discussions, featured speeches and attendees “speaking out” about proposed diversity initiatives. Members from NU4DiversityNow organized Monday’s event following the release of a joint faculty-student petition titled “Creating a … Continue reading »
There’s yet another elephant in rooms around Northwestern these days, now that instances of racial and other harassment (and even bullying) have come to the forefront. That untamed animal? Victim blaming and shaming. It’s pretty self explanatory. X commits a crime by bullying or Harrassing Y. While X is the offender, Y gets all or … Continue reading »
Dear Chet, I can only imagine how amazing it must feel to be an infamous up-and-coming rapper consistently mocked in pop culture as an ambassador of NU. I’m sure you enjoy all the press, both good and bad. After all, there’s no such thing as bad publicity, right? That’s until I read your tweet about … Continue reading »
Institutional racism is still alive and well, even in a supposedly “liberal” American media. Indeed, it’s a reality both in national publications and perhaps even here at Northwestern. For those who don’t understand institutionalized racism, here’s a bit of a primer. It’s different than racial prejudice, through which people’s learned and oft-premeditated social attitudes translate … Continue reading »
“It was the sincerity of hurt that you could see. You could see the pain on his face on what he had experienced.” It’s the raw emotion that resonated with McCormick senior Ben Shorofsky as he remembered the Ski Team’s conversation with Weinberg senior Kellyn Lewis following last weekend’s Beer Olympics. In an interview early Wednesday morning, Shorofsky noted that … Continue reading »
Congratulations to Campus Crusade for Christ on making Markwell famous at Northwestern University in 2012. Or infamous, depending on who you ask. If you thought your days of glaring peacefully at a blank sidewalk on campus had returned after the Associated Student Government elections, and the recent spurts of rain, you were wrong. With videos, … Continue reading »
It’s a common racial stereotype: black people love eating fried chicken. Now I’m not going to pretend that it isn’t true for me. You’ll catch me every once in a while in line at Chicken Shack or in the Popeye’s drive-thru (not soon before a long session at SPAC). I eat my fried chicken wherever and … Continue reading »
Mary, Mary, Mary… two words: I can’t. Burger King partnered with Mary J. Blige as part of its efforts to advertise the chain’s expanded menu options, which includes the new crispy chicken snack wraps. I’ll let you watch this before I say anything else: Citing licensing issues, Burger King pulled the commercial from the airwaves … Continue reading »
RuPaul’s Drag Race isn’t exactly known as a show that’ll take you to church. But in a matter of weeks, one of the queens has managed to whip up an unlikely revival in the workroom. That queen would be Latrice Royale. Even casual references of RPDR among friends invites regurgitating RuPaul’s cheeky ‘ladyboy’ puns, shade … Continue reading »
