It’s a hot Saturday, and there are many places I could be, in theory, on the unofficial start to the summer. June was dominated by colder-than-normal weather here in Southern California, but I’ve grown weary of the late — and long — SoCal summers. I have little doubt by November I’ll be crying about the heat again, begging for the winter. In the meantime, I’m enjoying the A/C within the safe and comfortable confines of the conference room, watching the flow of traffic moving along another street likely named after a U.S. president. Feet away from a tinted window with the shades half drawn, I feel concealed like a corvus as I bend backwards in my reclining chair, testing the limits of my spine. I don’t mean to seem so stealth today, but I knew I needed more air and real estate than my office affords me as I put pen to paper, so to speak. I know there are people who would kill for a sunny Saturday outdoors versus a corporate box, but just like where I’m sitting, it’s a matter of your view.

Today, I’m proud to be inside quietly celebrating the 1-year anniversary of BLKNewsNow.com. I officially launched the blog July 1, 2022 using an austere layout and concept, shunning video and all social media — for different reasons that made sense at the time. Needless to say, I’ve made some compromises since then. I actually started the blog in late April of last year, but I didn’t know where it was going, or where it would take me. I had this big idea though: why not offer more content from different Black perspectives about what’s happening in pop culture and lifestyle related topics. It can’t be ignored that these “pressing” matters on television and film need to be addressed, like who wore what, and why that story is so controversial right now, etc. I hadn’t completely sold out, I just believed there is room for more discussion about what’s happening today, not just the moment but our era as we get through life together. I never really set out to create a hard news blog, but it’s almost inescapable… that vibe is omnipresent when you are dishing out daily racism, some of which are stories about violent acts of crime. Injecting opinion, even scathing humor, isn’t enough to put a filter on the most of the *real* Black news of the day.

In short, I did a lot of experimenting with the first year of BLKNewsNow.com, and I found a comfortable place for the blog that I hope readers will appreciate moving forward. I called this blog BLK News Now! for a reason, and it’s more clear to me now why that’s important — and hopefully, you the reader will feel the same way about being abreast of the significant stories and subjects that matter. There are plenty of avenues for frivolous entertainment and solicitous gossip. I would love to continue making concessions on my journalistic values if I knew it would invoke change and provide a platform for discourse that effectively sparks the fire we need to progress as Black people, but it’s not realistic — nor a tradeoff I particularly enjoyed. Apparently, readers also felt the same way, if my analytics were correct.

All of the toying with the blog last year, toggling between multiple editorial decisions, had an unexpected, and perhaps positive side effect though: time slowed. It’s the first time in more than a decade of my life that I could look back on a year of work and say an experience felt as slow it really was. And that’s refreshing.

I have many plans for BLK News Now! that I would love to gush about, but if there is one thing I can honestly espouse from this past year’s experience, there will be time for that… God willing.

Make no mistake, my mission with BLK News Now! is clear: spotlight examples of racism, bigotry and social injustices that hamper the progress of Black people. With progress being the goal, it must be said that anti-Black trespasses are only part of the picture. These often violent and abhorrent examples of racial division in America and abroad are not limited to the historic Black and White chasms of “these yet to be United States of America,” per James Baldwin. Within Black America, we have our own divisions, and it’s only fair that the light is shone on all of the issues hiding in the shadows.

But BLK News Now! does not simply exist to be the Black bearer of bad news. I have made a real effort to diversify the conversation. We couldn’t control the news but we could offer some balance to the dismal fodder. There are many Black achievements, past and present, that deserve attention, and I will continue to emphasize this, as with our Black Icons interview transcripts, for example.

There is plenty of negative news, and I wish I could say my fingers aren’t responsible for sharing it, but it is important remember that these are examples of real prejudices that have dire consequences when we look away. Black people are moving forward, and the progress comes with work. This blog — my work — is a contribution to elevating Black consciousness and awareness so that we can inspire each other — and our allies — to reach true parity in this country.

I’m thankful to everyone who helped me get BLK News Now! off the ground over the past year. There were several unpaid hands involved and my gratitude for them helping the blog become — and stay — a reality is extended to them as well as BLK News Now! 2.0 gets underway today.

It’s real work, folks, and I’ve decided to double down on the commitment I made moving forward.

BLK News Now! is about us, living in the present, and it will always be. I’ve arrived at a place in life where I can honestly say I can’t think of a better way to spend my time.