When I first started writing for Model Behaviors, I’d recently gone through a breakup, which forced me into one of the most transitional and transformative periods of my life. I tossed myself into my work at the University of Kansas...
The following are the words that were spoken over me when I first entered the world. “I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad (SAW) is His messenger.” Malika, they named me. It means “queen” in Arabic. “Bulaong, if...
I am a Black American woman born Muslim. I am weary, I am frustrated, and I am disappointed with the selective memory and selective compassion of many of my fellow Americans. I’ve watched videos of Black men shot by police, and I’ve...
With the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement in conjunction with the upcoming presidential election, more and more people seem to be paying attention to what candidates are saying about the issues disproportionality affecting Black...
Yesterday was the first day of September, a month that will transition us from summer to fall. This also means it’s time for a new Word of the Month. Our featured Behaviorist is Bulaong, and she’s chosen...
Courtney: We’re talking about hair. And we’re talking about race. Two things that might not immediately strike someone as being related. But lately there’s been a lot of discussion about the natural hair movement and white people...
When I was first asked to write about the topic of the confederate flag, I was thrilled. Then after some time, I started thinking, “What would I write that hasn’t already been said?” From Rep. Jenny Horne’s impassioned and tearful...
In honor of Model Behaviors’ Ethereal Summer, I had to share this earth-loving, goddess-praising song. Puerto Rican artist Destiny Frasqueri, out of New York City, does the vocals on Princess Nokia, whom she describes as being her alter ego....
It began in high school—actually before that—but my my first organizing effort was done senior year of high school. Speaking out against things that seemed unjust has always felt natural to me. I had this deep understanding of what I...
A new show on A&E, “8 minutes,” follows a retired cop-turned-pastor Kevin Brown and his team of volunteers and advocates. Their mission is to provide resources to “possible victims of sex trafficking.” Kevin and his team set up in...
