What is the Modern Afro-Framework & why did I decide to blog?

Hi, I'm Armani Hamilton: the founder, writer, and editor of the Modern Afro-Framework blog.

"Tell me more about yourself ..."

- I'm an African-American female, and I'm fourteen years old. I reside in Stone Mountain, Georgia (if you're not acquainted with that, you can just say that I live in Atlanta, Georgia :) - its close enough).

"Why did you start this blog?"

- As I began to mature, you can say that I grew into the passion your parents always told you you'll eventually have for something. And for me, that something was my culture - my BLACKNESS.

I don't want to go all political - on the FIRST blog - however, I wanted to create something that would allow me to express what it means to be black in modern America. Not from the desk of a history textbook, CNN News, the movie "the Hate U Give", or even "The Shade Room" . But from the desk of me - a regular black girl from the suburbs of Atlanta who witnesses life just as every other person in America.

I quickly grew tired of witnessing "the man" attempt to ploy my culture into defeat. So one day, I grabbed my laptop and a notebook and began to flatter the pages with ideas. & It all adds up to what I've created here ...

"Why and how did you come up with the title"the Modern Afro-Framework" ?"

- There's a catch to the title, I promise.

I essentially started this blog to discuss being black - in modern America. I then used the term "Afro" to replace "African" to illuminate the true power within my culture. I mean, realistically speaking, whether you choose to call us black, African-American, negro, nigger, or nigga, they're all just names in my opinion. So why not refer to my culture with a prominent feature that is commonly associated with my culture (A.K.A - the "fro") ?

With that being said, it further lead me to calling my blog a "framework". A framework is similar to a foundation for a concept or system. In this sense, the concept is black culture and the system is the cycle of cultivation within the black culture. I wanted to build a foundation or "framework", per se, that would allow me to frankly connect to not only my peers or my culture, but to the world. I want to share my feelings and hear the thoughts of people from all different backgrounds on the same topic. There's so much discussion awaiting to be uncovered, and I refuse to let it become dull.

This is what I've created to free all of my caged notions about the definition of "being black in America".

- Armani Hamilton