Originally published on March 18, 2023 on robfields.com We’re at a moment, y’all. I don’t say this to be alarmist, but things feel ominous here in the United States. There’s the danger of rising fascism and the attacks on Black voters and Black history, immigrants, women, and the LGBTQ community…

Sometimes it feels like we’re living through one big dumpster fire. I could easily make the case that the world is a whole mess of intractable problems: Poverty, food insecurity, inequality, climate change. And add to that the fact that we’re seeing things crucial to the functioning of this country…

What will it take for Black arts institutions — culturally specific institutions led by Black arts professionals — to not only survive, but to thrive and continue to be vital resources for the communities they serve? What will enable Black arts organizations to be resilient over the long haul? The…

Originally published on January 10, 2021. A new year usually means a fresh start. The beginning of a year is like unwrapping a brand new notebook: All those unblemished pages hold such potential. But the reality is that today is defined by our past decisions and actions, personally and nationally…

I’m someone who has a problem with commitments. There’s definitely a gap between the person I tell myself I want to be and the person I am. Here’s what I mean: I say I want to be that person who reads regularly. I’m impressed by people like my Mom who…

This piece was originally published on my site here. We’ve come to that moment: It’s Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving here in the States, and it kicks off the holiday shopping season. We’ll all find our inboxes flooded with “deals”. …

NOTE: I originally posted this piece on Boldaslove.us, but thought it could serve as a useful perspective to the readers here. Honestly, I have no idea. We are truly enmeshed in the Chinese curse of living in interesting times. One on hand, in the words of the Hamilton song, “How…

photo credit: Foundation by Paul Goyette This article originally appeared on Forbes.com on Monday, November 30, 2015. In their McKinsey article, “What ‘digital’ really means,” the authors Karel Dӧrner and David Edelman ask a simple question: Yes, companies are racing to become digital, but do they really know what that…

Afropunk should be a wakeup call to marketers that they have to approach black consumers differently. Anyone who still thinks the keys to connecting with young black consumers are hip hop and basketball would’ve had a rude awakening at this year’s Afropunk Festival. The festival, which hosted 60,000 predominantly black…