BlackLifeAndLove

Reblog if you've formed a meaningful relationship with someone you met online.

Wed, 22 May 2013 01:40:03 -0400

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Wed, 22 May 2013 01:31:42 -0400

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Sun, 19 May 2013 15:01:23 -0400

fyeahpocredcarpetfashion: Monique Calhoun at Kanye West...

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:01:15 -0400

fyeahpocredcarpetfashion:

Monique Calhoun at Kanye West S.H.O.W.S. Up Benefit 2009

Her skin & this mini dress are giving me LIFE!

mrchanginglives: but i can’t…until #poetry #jeanclervil

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:30:29 -0400

mrchanginglives:

but i can’t…until #poetry #jeanclervil

"Kiss me with your eyes. Peer knowingly into me, test my heart and weigh its virtues and faults. Give..."

Fri, 17 May 2013 01:01:44 -0400

“Kiss me with your eyes. Peer knowingly into me, test my heart and weigh its virtues and...

fuckyeaafricans: Ghana I need this whole everthing. Bag,...

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:00:49 -0400

fuckyeaafricans: Ghana

I need this whole everthing. Bag, dress, hair, melanin. All.

"Real Love shares its darkest fears, its closest insecurities, its deepest faults & reaches out..."

Thu, 16 May 2013 01:08:00 -0400

“Real Love shares its darkest fears, its closest insecurities, its deepest faults &...

I just don’t believe we’re wicked. I know that we...

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:57:45 -0400

I just don’t believe we’re wicked. I know that we sin, but I do believe we try. We all try…

You and I try, try. We all try.

(I think this could honestly be an American hymn.)

On the Pinnacle - Change ain't for the weak

Thu, 16 May 2013 00:46:00 -0400

So…. There’s a lot of transition in my life at the moment. Much of it (honestly, a...

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Thu, 16 May 2013 00:32:08 -0400

sourcedumal: blackwithflowers: blackwithflowers: I think...

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:00:42 -0400

sourcedumal:

blackwithflowers:

blackwithflowers:

I think Black people are not afforded the luxury of existing without being pigeonholed into an aggressive state of being. Many times Black people are displayed as hyper-aggressive and because of this display we create a mentality that were stuck with hyper-aggressiveness.

That isn’t to say that being strong, tough, or aggressive are bad things, they come with our survival. But the vulnerability pain, and gentleness that Black people reveal are not present many times in the media or even in our homes. The luxury of intimacy with other people is so small in comparison to the thousands of images of us being strong and “animalistic” (by intimacy I mean without guards, barriers, being invested with other people without a facade to what you are or layers you create.)

Similar to the phrase ”carefree black girls and boys”, I wanted to give a safe space to vulnerablity of Blackness to be on display

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Genteel, Romanctic, Poetic, Ethereal, intimate and vulnerable imagery of Black people.

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Submissions are highly welcomed!

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1.Jourdan Copeland|Source

2. Men by Eric Nehr | Under The Influence Magazine | Source

3.Jessie Adore|Source

4. Solange Knowles by Dominic Hayden-Route for Oyster Magazine | Source

Signal booossttt ??

Yes.

Genteel.

A word never used for Black people.

We need this

brianmichaelbendis: Donald Glover talking about the comments he...

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:30:42 -0400

brianmichaelbendis:

Donald Glover talking about the comments he received during his campaign to be the next Spider-Man.

queennubian: hugsandheartslauren: imjustmygodgivenname: dollfa...

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:01:01 -0400

queennubian:

hugsandheartslauren:

imjustmygodgivenname:

dollface-galactica:

phazon-vuitton:

epitomeofphresh:

Me and my brotha Kuri at graduation…I had to tie his bow tie for him. #honored

this deserves 100k notes and more

Black men graduating! Black men winning! More pix like this should be spread around the net!

LOVE

We thank God for educated black men…

Lort Gawd Awmighty that beard though

Good morning...

Tue, 14 May 2013 08:45:22 -0400

Good morning sunshine!!

dedalusex:

vouslalala:

youngblackandvegan:

turtandmamalivingfree:

Nature hunt.

Today we went on a ”nature” hunt in the back garden. Turt just loves being outside, we go to the park all the time. But we very rarely venture out into the garden because well, that’s Coco’s territory. He was barking at us the WHOLE time we were out there; I think he hides food in the back garden so he gets all territorial (LOL).

But anyway, Turt grabbed her bucket and begun to fill it with leaves, stones, rocks, weeds and sticks. We couldn’t really find any ”wild life” so to speak, so next time I think we’ll go to the park and do it better and Turt can play with insects. Never the less, Turt still had fun and cried when I popped inside to get a drink as she thought it was time to go inside. So we ended up staying out there for two whole hours. It wasn’t freezing but it wasn’t warm either. LOL

Turt plucked weeds for mama and examined each one before placing them in her yellow bucket.

As long as Turt enjoyed it. She was getting really involved, sticking her hands in the mud, putting everything she could find in her bucket, putting them in, emptying her bucket and putting them back in again. As she showed me each item, I named it to her, she clapped and placed it in the bucket.

I think it’s important for every child to have a strong connection with nature and so did Maria Montessori:

”if for the physical life it is necessary to have the child exposed to the vivifying forces of nature, it is also necessary for his psychical life to place the soul of the child in contact with creation, in order that he may lay up for himself treasure from the directly educating forces of living nature. The method for arriving at this end is to set the child at agricultural labour, guiding him to the cultivation of plants and animals, and so to the intelligent contemplation of nature.”

Maria Montessori.

I just love Sundays.

Indeed“Place the soul of the child in contact with creation”.

this is just beautiful! #inspirationforfuturemommies

I want a baby…later. but still a baby.

So I almost cried

yellowblowngreener: thepanduchessofshade: negritaaa: sourcedum...

Mon, 13 May 2013 22:51:17 -0400

yellowblowngreener:

thepanduchessofshade:

negritaaa:

sourcedumal:

dstroym:

Bras we have known.

(via LOL, DAMN!)

LMAO. Heavy lifter is the BEST

THE GREAT DESCENDER THO LMAO

The Work Horse, The Bat Bra, and The Deceiver are all one bra for me….. LOL

Having trouble breathing lol

thickthighsnolye: Stevie Wonder - “Send One Your Love” …cause...

Mon, 13 May 2013 22:40:06 -0400

thickthighsnolye:

Stevie Wonder - “Send One Your Love”

…cause every day is the right mood for some Stevie…

…especially on his birthday.

Salutes to the Legend and fellow Taurean!

Happy birthday Mr. Wonder!

mellowedmesh: crazylittlemixedupgirl: Tip!

Wed, 08 May 2013 20:30:25 -0400

mellowedmesh:

crazylittlemixedupgirl:

Tip!

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Wed, 08 May 2013 00:15:16 -0400

ourafrica: African Parent’s view on child: My child is a...

Tue, 07 May 2013 14:00:45 -0400

ourafrica:

African Parent’s view on child: My child is a straight A, science-math-business, student who has never had sex, never heard of sex, and does not even look at the opposite sex. He/She loves the Lord/Allah and will never think of even kissing!!!!
My friend asked me “What do you wish you were told about boys while growing up?” I am usually quick in responding to questions pertaining to social life, but this question had me digging deep for a response. After minutes of repeating the question in my head I finally realized that I wish someone told me EVERYTHING about boys. Growing up in a strict society like Nigeria where parents believe all of their children are virgins and know nothing about the opposite sex, there was no chance of me ever finding out the complications that come with boys.

Most ethnic parents (non-white) often shun the much needed discussion about relating with the opposite sex. This is how parents expect children to learn about the opposite sex:

You are born: You can shower with boys and girls because you are innocent.

You attend elementary school: During this time parents warn you that members of the opposite sex are like siblings. If you look at them, you will get pregnant.

You attend secondary school: During this time parents start telling different genders different stories. For girls: If a boy touches you, you will DIE! For boys: Just be careful not to impregnate anybody.

You attend college: For girls: Face your studies and husband will come later! For boys: Please don’t impregnate anybody.

After college the boys and girls are them supposed to magically have found the beloved spouse to marry.

Ethnic parents, to me, are just not realistic when it comes to discussing sex and everything that comes with it. The only sex discussion I have had with my mom was her telling me “Morenike, get your degree then you can do “anything” you want.” That was it! She did not say much but she sure meant a lot of things with that random phrase. I am a whole 21 year old and my mother is under the impression that I know nothing. She changes the channel when a kissing scene comes up in a movie!

I am not saying parents should start talking to their children about the opposite sex at a tender age, but at least by secondary school they should have said something! The fact that our parents pretend that children aren’t indulging in sexual behavior will only encourage younger children to partake. In secondary school, I would hear 11 year olds talk about how they were “fingered” in the science building by a 13 year old boy who claims he loves her and bought her a “donut to show it’s real”. Or I would hear that a 13 year old is having sex with a 16 year old because he bought her minutes on her cell phone. The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear these kids is “I didn’t even know what fingering meant at 11!!” The rate of growing up in kids today is increasing every day. With each passing day children are trying to become adults faster and with no one guiding them, how are they ever going to figure out what sex is supposed to mean?

Wouldn’t life be so much simpler if your parents just said to you on your 13th birthday: “Honey, we know you talk to boys/girls. Let me know if you want advice and I won’t kill you.” Those two sentences would make a world of difference. As prideful as I am in the African culture, I believe there are a lot of things we can learn from the western culture. Western parents are open about dating with their children. I am not saying we should start buying condoms and birth control pills for children, but we should stop acting like more and more children aren’t engaging in sex at a younger age. Parents need to stop that nonsense of never talking about sex. They just give birth to children, send them to school, and marry them off without ever discussing the essentials.

If parents were more open about discussing sex with their children, maybe they would even be able to offer advice that would help their children avoid dating mistakes. When you turn 25 (for women) and 30 (for men), you are magically supposed to have found your soulmate, wifey, hubby etc. But the problem is no one ever guided you or taught you where to find one or what to look for.

It is ridiculous that as a 20 something year old, I can’t get decent advice from my parents or aunts or uncles on dating because I should be “studying” or “focusing on my studies”. (As if I will marry my studies one day!). In a nutshell if you are a young 20 something African trying to date, you’re expected to get all your advice from TV, the bible, and your peers. Good luck to all of us!

By Renny Vonne