Em-URGE-ing Voices

Lailah

Major: Journalism Minoring in Fashion Media and Public Relations
Hometown: Gaithersburg, Maryland
Favorite writer: I don't have a favorite writer but, I love Kanye. he makes music so he's technically a writer. It's Kanye. My favorite writer is Kanye.
Favorite Sex Scene from a movie/tv/book: My favorite sex scene is from "Higher Learning" where Tyra Banks and Omar Epps have a love making montage!
Hidden talent: My hidden talent is the ability to make bomb playlists.

Posts By: Lailah Berry

Nobody Cared About Opiates Until It Started to Affect the Soccer Moms

One night, I sat with my friends as we watched the news. We sat and listened to what officials were being elected and what events were coming up in the city. They stopped on the topic of opioids as the news anchor looked sternly into the camera to talk about the latest parents who had overdosed on the drugs, neglecting their children. “They didn’t care about Black people when crack hit, now these opioids are invading the suburbs and suddenly it’s a problem,” my friend shouted with a mouth full of Cheerios. I thought about it, and I realized it was true. Never had I seen so many outcries for rehab centers.  People didn’t say “addict” or “crackhead” when talking about those that used heroin and other opiates. They called… Read more »

Our Lives Matter and Howard Demonstrations Prove Protest Isn’t Dead

After the Black Lives Matter protests, and all of the “Hands Up Don’t Shoot” marches, I began to lose faith in activism. I started to believe that maybe it truly was a passive way to get someone’s attention and that the method was dead. Back in the times of Martin Luther King Jr. and Huey Freeman, things like sit ins and protests and speaking engagements outside of serious public buildings were a force to be reckoned with, but as times changed, so did the system. Recent events have changed my mind.    It’s certainly a time to be alive as we, young people of the larger population start to listen and open our eyes to things that affect us. We need to vote more and we need to make sure… Read more »

March for Our Lives Showed Me Solidarity Isn’t Real

There is no such thing as solidarity. I used to think that statement was unheard of, and I couldn’t understand why people couldn’t just stand up and fight for one another in hard times and band together through tragedy. I watched the students in Parkland and all over the country march out of their schools to fight for the stricter gun laws. I saw all of the hashtags: #neveragain #marchforourlives #protectkidsnotguns. It seems like students all over have had enough of the country they live in not protecting them. However, even though the high schools had all kinds of rallies and marches, there were no participants at the college level. In college, we’re taught about ALICE that tells us to fight back, barricade doors and escape at all costs. Grade… Read more »

I Don’t Expect Cardi B to Fight for a Cause, She’s Making Too Much Money

Cardi B has captivated me ever since her videos on Instagram. From “ A hoe nevah gets cold” to being a stripper and about her “shmoney”, Cardi has shown me the true meaning of faith meeting opportunity. The champion story of Cardi makes me teary eyed every time I think of it. Her reflective song “Everything” where she highlights the struggles of her life really makes you think about how those without have to live. Cardi stripped her way into the entertainment industry and landed her spot on Love and Hip Hop. Portraying a hood- ratchet girl, she gave the show a lot of depth and ‘reality’, but I didn’t like to watch her on the show because I felt like it didn’t highlight her better characteristics. She was always… Read more »

The Valentine’s Day Holy Trinity: Condoms, Consent, and Lube

The mood is set. You’ve got a lovely significant other and they just texted you saying they’re on the way. You’re fresh out of the shower, that food you ordered is on the way and you realize the drawer in your nightstand is barren. No condoms. What do you do? Dig in your wallet for ol’ reliable, the condom you got for getting an HIV test? Call your loved one and ask them to drive to a gas station and pay for overpriced condoms because all the stores are closed? I beg you, whatever you do this Valentine’s Day season, don’t go unprotected. When I was younger, I used the free condoms from my doctor’s office because I could get as many as I needed and just keep them. The… Read more »

My New Year’s Resolution Fell Apart, What Now?

It’s the end of January and it’s been a year since President Trump has been in office. Every day he’s done something off the cuff and we’ve all been watching in terror. In 2018, we promised ourselves we would be more politically involved. We’d turn out for every ballot, we’d stand in line and sit in city hall meetings and find out who our representatives are. We promised we’d be proactive so we wouldn’t be railroaded by random policies and actions that we, the American people, didn’t consent to. My question is, have you kept your New Year’s Resolution? I’ll be honest, when it comes to New Years Resolutions I’m the worst. I can make goals and design vision boards like nobody’s business, but when it comes to just consciously… Read more »

WOMEN DOMINATING IN AN INDUSTRY CONTROLLED BY MEN REMINDS ME DREAMS DO COME TRUE

After Billboard’s Women in Music Awards show made us remember how many powerful women there are in the music industry, I realized the business of music is still run by men.  From CEOs to executives and lawyers, music boasts some amazing female talents whose careers are puppeteered by their counterparts. The ‘assaultgate’ in Hollywood, and allegations surrounding actors, public figures and politicians is overwhelming but I can’t help wonder if it ever seeped into the music industry? The same industry where we sexualize and objectify women to ensure the sale of records has yet to have an explosion of victims come forward, and while I hope there isn’t corruption, pop star Ke$ha’s story tells a different tale. We all remember the civil suit Ke$ha filed against her producer Dr. Luke, the… Read more »

Do Microaggressions Bring Out Your Inner ‘Dear White People’ Voice? Me Too.

Dear White people, I don’t have an attitude, this is just my face. Last summer I worked for a deli. Making sandwiches was fun, and there were a lot of Indian people that worked and lived in the neighborhood so the culture was cool to watch and learn from. One day I walked past the assistant manager, a white woman, speaking to another worker about the other employees: “I wish they’d just speak English!” It stopped me in my tracks! I was really disappointed that she thought that way. I realized although there was no excuse for her words, she probably didn’t think she was wrong for saying it. Microaggressions are dangerous because they force a prejudice thought onto another person. It’s like chipping away at ice, one knick at… Read more »

PHARRELL TRIED TO SAVE THE OCEANS AND WE DIDN’T HEAR ABOUT IT

Last year Pharrell Williams added fashion to his cache of talents.  Having done many stints in fashion such as collaborating with Louis Vuitton on eyewear and jewelry, Pharrell was already a trend setter. The music producer and fashion mogul collaborated last year with G-Star, a denim label, to create a line called Raw from The Oceans. This was Pharrell’s line that was made from recycled ocean plastic. The idea is so Pharrell: genius, creative, and has a strong impact. Not only did he collaborate with them, he’s now co-owner of the denim label. When talking to Vogue magazine, Pharrell expressed how happy he was to be on board; “G-Star is an independently minded and forward-thinking company,” said Williams. “I believe they will be the definitive jeans brand of the 21st… Read more »