Aja Barber

It’s going to be a very frugal holiday season in 2017. Let’s get crafting and make homemade holiday presents for everyone!

I've been really trying to think about every purchase I make and its overall impact on the world. However, I recently broke code and indulged in the Marimekko for Target collection.

How does one advertisement go so magnificently wrong, managing to center whiteness in the story of the battles of marginalized people, while playing down the horrific effects of police brutality and concluding in a white savior grand finale?

We can never get enough handy gift guides, so we asked our lovely writer Aja what she has planned for her holiday shopping this year.

The TJ Maxx beauty section is lit right now, and I made you a full list of the products you can currently find on their shelves — basically, what I bought last Sunday.

Have we all been problematic in the past? Oh hell yes. I know I have.

In 2015, to be a woman (and a black woman at that) among the general public means having to keep your defenses up.

Recently I went through another round of unfriending on Facebook. It keeps things tidy, the arguments thoughtful and my head from exploding. This time around I just got rid of any white person that felt passionate about "certain political topics," but wasn't showing up for people of color, as we watch the meteoric rise of fascism in America and police violence. I’m not obligated to educate anyone for free, especially if they don’t appear to be absorbing what I’m saying or having the tough conversations on their wall with their peers.

Marc Jacobs claims he doesn't "see" color, but people of color beg to differ. Whether he recognizes it or not, Jacobs is part of the cultural appropriation problem, turning black natural hair into his own "trend."

Hiiiiii people! These issues aren’t going away. And neither am I. So scroll on by if it bothers you.