I was a little conflicted about writing this, because people often assume that when you proclaim your love for one thing, you are simultaneously stating your hate or dislike for another. But, the article written by Lashaun Williams forced it out of me. She wrote an article entitled. "8 Reasons to Date A White Man." I don't disagree with the premise; I am open to more than just my own ethnicity/racial background. But the "reasons" she listed are an explicit summation of gross, hyperbolic, and racist generalizations about a rather large demographic.

Here's a brief overview of why Ms. Lashaun Williams believes Black Women should date White Men (direct quotes!):

Whew. Is your blood pressure up? Mine is! But despite what Mrs. Williams thinks, I was raised to fight ignorance with eloquence and a touch of wit.

So here we are...

5 Reasons A Sister Should Date A Black Man.
(Or at least not be opposed to the idea)

As the child of two parents in the Army, I've lived in several states and overseas. I went to high school in the booming metropolis of Boiling Springs, a suburb of Spartanburg, South Carolina. (Sidenote - we were just in the news!) I went to college in DC, spent over a year in Los Angeles, a summer in Chicago, a summer in Philadelphia, and visited a lot of major cities in the U.S. (Minneapolis is extremely underrated by the way.)

I think it's safe for me to say that I know a little bit about places in DC and outside of DC. I've come to the conclusion that aside from Los Angeles, Washington, DC might be the coolest place ever. And the only reason LA trumps DC is because LA is not susceptible to things like Snowpocalypse and Nike boots.

Why does DC rock? So glad you asked.


1) The diversity of the nightlife here. On any given night, yes, including Monday - Marvin Mondays!, you can find live music, spoken word, an open club, several bars, 24 hour diners, great food, and a stimulating conversation. The South has great sweet tea, but so does Eatonville on U Street and Horace and Dickies in NE.

2) It is the cheapest place to go on a great date. And when I say cheap, I mean FREE. Especially in the summer. Between Screen on the Green, (free movies on the National Mall, Jazz in the Gardens, countless exhibits in the many Smithsonian museums (there is not one Smithsonian, tourists, the Smithsonian is an Empire of Museums), cute coffeehouses and cafes in every other corner, the monuments, and parks galore just begging you to lay out a blanket and whisper David Banner and Ying Yang Twin tracks into a lady's ear, DC is the winner for free things to do.

3) It's a college town. And who doesn't love a college town? They bring a certain vitality to any city and ensure that there are always drink specials, impressionable men and women with the desire to change the world, and a free "intern" to make copies at your office. Just kidding.... (I love you Sarah! Just leave them on my desk, I'm at lunch.) The colleges include American, Catholic, Georgetown, George Washington (with an Ivy League price tag for reasons I don't understand), Howard, Gallaudet, and the University of the District of Columbia. There's also a few others just outside the District like the University of Maryland and George Mason.

4) Barry and 'Chelle's live here. Excuse me, the President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle live here. I can call them Barry and 'Chelles 'cause we're neighbors.

5) Driving is a luxury you don't need. Public transit here is great! Even though the trains aren't 24 hours, many of the buses are 24 hours, and plus... I'm glad they shut down the train system to clean it. It's pretty safe - even the cursed Red Line- and it goes almost anywhere you need to go. Everyone rides the trains from engineers to lawyers to students.

6) It's a big small city. Similarly to LA, DC is made up of a lot of smaller neighborhoods. Eastern Market, the U Street Corridor, Dupont Circle, H St Corridor, Chinatown, Capitol Hill, the Waterfront, Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan, Georgetown, etc..... The difference is you could walk from one neighborhood to another without catching a charley horse. DC is pretty small, geographically speaking, which makes it convenient when meeting up with friends. (Try telling someone in Pasadena to meet you in Santa Monica... they'll look you at like you're crazy).

6b) Everyone knows everybody. Or, everyone knows someone who knows someone. I doubt that there are more than 3 degrees of separation between most folks in DC, outside of the hermits and members of the Secret Service who aren't allowed to make friends. This is goo, if you like to network but bad if you're promiscuous. You will get caught.

My name is Crystal Marie, and I'm a BlackBerry-aholic. I have 6 email synced to my phone, 200+ BBM contacts, and I tweet more from my phone than anywhere else. But I am not alone. One of my friends, owner of the G1 (I pity her) consistently cries, "Where's my phone?!" and all the while it's in her hand. I know people who can pick out the sound of their phone's ping amidst a riot at a live rock concert.

A few days ago, I left my charger at the office, and because my phone died, I was essentially without a phone for a full 16 hours and 32 minutes. I reminded myself that for the vast majority of humans' existence, we survived without telephones, and cell phones only as of late became a "necessity." I should be just fine! And yet, like the Internet, flat screen TVs, and Starbucks, the cell phone has changed the way we do a lot of things. I've listed a few that came to mind during those 16 hours:

1. How did you coordinate picking up someone at the airport without a cell? Few things are as unpredictable as flight-related changes. Gates change, flights are delayed, luggage goes missing, baggage claim gates are moved, and the list goes on. Without a cell phone to instantly communicate this to the driver, what did we do? You may say, "use a pay phone, duh!" Well... what if your driver is picking you up from Dulles airport, which is the most inappropriately placed airport in the country, and they're fighting traffic on 66 when you realize that you're actually going to be at Gate ZZ34 versus A23? You're calling an empty house!

2. What did awkward/asocial people in the club/lounge do without a cell? We all do it, but some are worse than others. We're out on the town, and conversation with your cohorts is almost impossible unless you want to ensure that you'll have no voice the next day. So, you scroll through your phone, send a tweet, write a text, and update your Facebook. Every time I go to a certain venue on 14th and K NW, I see members of the 9-5 crowd with their eyebrows furrowed as they tap out a supposedly extremely important email in the corner. I don't really understand why people go out amongst people to talk to a completely different set of people. What a waste! But I've digressed... What did we do with our hands in the club when we had no telly?


3. Speaking of the club, how did you ensure that the number you received was actually the giver's number, without a cell? How many times have you exchanged numbers with someone, and one person said, "Alright, I'm going to call you right now, just to make sure I have it." This method has certainly deterred a lot of fake digits and ousted many former "555...."ers.

4. An idea like Twitter or Foursquare would have never skyrocketed without the smartphone. I rarely use the Web for Twitter and at any given time, scrolling through your timeline, you see statuses that list, "via Ubertwitter, Twitter for iPhone, Twitter for BlackBerry, Twidroid, echofon, etc"

5. What was our getaway before the cell phone savior? Say you're on a first date and you realize... "This guy/girl is mentally insane!" What do you do? Fake an emergency of course, via a phone call, and you're saved by the ring! Note to those who do this: If you're going to pretend your phone rang, make sure you have it turned on silent, so that in case it does actually ring during your fake convo, your plan isn't foiled. I've been there. Smh.

What else do we absolutely need our cell phones to do?