#72: Take It or Leave It
A weekly drop of things I love
Take It or Leave It is a weekly highlight series for paid subscribers. Pretty much every Friday, I share a quick hit of things I’m loving.
Most of my writing is long-form and requires time for research between essays. Hopefully, this helps fill in the gaps for you with new finds (or things you want to revisit).
If not, all good. Take it or leave it ✌️
Before we get into it, for those seeking information on the fires in the Los Angeles area, please click the link below for access to resources and mutual aid:
I don’t really know what to say about 2025 right now other than we’re here. Ohio State won last night and is headed to the College Football National Championship, so I’m waking up with a little more glimmer than I’ve had this past week. However, I’m grieving the death of a beloved Columbus community member, Ernest Levert, Jr.
Through my involvement with Black Men Build, I’m grateful my path crossed with Ernest’s for a time. His light shines on in the lives of everyone who knew him and even the people he impacted without them knowing. To extend some extra care to his family and the communities he adored, please tap below for ways to support:
As some of you may have noticed (or didn’t even realize), I took off the last few weeks of December from publishing any newsletters so I could meddle in mindlessness to finish out the year. Maybe I should’ve taken a break sooner because, days before the new year, I hit a personal milestone of 2,000 newsletter subscribers.
Thank you all for helping make that possible. This milestone is yours as much as it’s mine. I’ve said it before, and I hope to never stop saying it: I’m not self-made. I don’t believe any of us are. Anything I’ve ever earned is a result of the people who helped me get there and encouraged me to keep showing up. That’s all of you.
Nearly two weeks into January, I’ve started knocking on your inboxes again. For my first newsletter of the year, I wrote about returns — Saturn returns, the Kacey Musgraves album I returned to, and returning to center. I share more about my journey of turning 30 and learning to get over myself.
Saturn is Somewhere
I got everything I worked for over the past year—and more. But a little over a year earlier, I didn’t even know I’d still be working here by this point.
Then, for the third year in a row, me and my homies
, & wrote love letters to each other. Two years ago, in our first installment of the series, we penned notes to each other about growing up as Black men raised by Black men. Last year, we wrote about departure albums. This year, we’re exploring musical lineages.Cypher Pt. 3: Alex, Koku, Julius & Cole
Writing Boys — Alex Lewis, Koku Asamoah, Julius Tunstall & Cole Henderson — is a community focused on writing for ourselves and each other.
Hopefully, you’re taking the time and space you need to rest this weekend. If either of these pieces can be enriching for you as you heal, thank you in advance for making the time. It’s a gift whenever any of you make time for my work. May we continue being each other’s returns throughout this year. Much love.
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