The Potty Mouth Granny

  • Hoard Park: Known as the Da Park

    Tourists will never find Hoard Park in a guidebook. It doesn’t have Buckingham Fountain or the grandeur of Jackson Park. It’s just a small neighborhood park tucked away on 72nd and Dobson. But for me and my childhood friends, it was our treehouse. Long before I knew anything about urban renewal or city planning, I…

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  • Kenwood: Where Chicago’s History, Culture, and Grace Meet

    On Chicago’s South Side, nestled between Bronzeville and Hyde Park along the shores of Lake Michigan, sits one of the city’s most elegant and historically significant neighborhoods: Kenwood. It is a place where stately mansions stand beside vintage apartment buildings, where tree-lined streets invite long walks, and where nearly every block seems to whisper another…

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  • A Requiem for Soul Survivors

    The term soul survivor is often used to describe the last person left alive after a catastrophic event. But there is another kind of soul survivor—one rarely acknowledged. They are the people who become the last living member of their childhood family. The final witness to the laughter, the arguments, the holidays, the whispered secrets,…

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  • Whatever Happened to Honey Magazine? The Publication That Spoke to a Generation of Black Women

    There are magazines you read, and then there are magazines that become part of who you are. For me, Honey was the latter. Founded by Kierna Mayo and Joicelyn Dingle, Honey debuted with a preview issue in 1999 featuring Lauryn Hill. It blended fashion, beauty, music, politics, relationships, and culture through a distinctly Black feminist…

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  • Mary Jane Richardson Jones: The First Lady of Black Chicago

    Long before Chicago became known for towering skyscrapers and bustling streets, there was a woman quietly building something far more enduring—a legacy. Her name was Mary Jane Richardson Jones. If you’ve never heard of her, you’re not alone. History has a habit of overlooking Black women, even the ones who helped shape cities. But without…

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  • The Many Ways in Which the United States Ain’t Shit

    I was sitting here thinking about America, a country that is often described as the greatest nation on Earth. It is a nation that has accomplished extraordinary things. It has sent human beings to the Moon, produced some of the world’s greatest innovations, and given birth to cultural treasures such as jazz, blues, gospel, and…

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  • Bye Bye Baby Cat🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛😢😢😢

    On May 17, 2009, a tiny black kitten entered the world. For the next seventeen years, he filled one family on the South Side of Chicago with more love, laughter, and joy than anyone could have imagined. He ruled the house with the confidence of a king, entertained them daily with his endless shenanigans, and…

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  • Why Thou Hate Women So Much Fellas?

    According to social media, women are somehow responsible for everything from declining birth rates to rising housing prices, poor customer service, and probably bad weather. If a woman chooses marriage, she’s criticized. If she chooses to remain single, she’s criticized. If she has children, somebody has an opinion. If she doesn’t have children, somebody has…

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  • Humanity’s Centuries-Old Fascination with Whores

    Let’s be honest: few figures have occupied more space in the human imagination than the whore. Kings wrote laws about them. Priests preached sermons against them. Artists painted them. Writers filled novels with them. Politicians condemned them in public and sought them out in private. Entire civilizations have spent thousands of years obsessing over women…

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  • If I Was Black and Male For A Day

    First of all, before I write this essay, I would like to state that I love being a Black woman. I love the beautiful brownness of my skin, my hair which is a crown that has anointed me Queen of my universe, my full lips, slanted eyes, and the strength of my ancestors who endured…

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