I can’t remember the first person who linked to this blog or shouted out one of our posts. The feeling is a jolt, that fizzy, writerly mixture of pride for being acknowledged and neuroses about whether you just said something really dumb or really poorly. It still feels that way, maybe more so as the number of readers ticks upward. And lately, that number has been climbing much more quickly. I’m amazed — and humbled — that people hit up this jawn, which I started kind of half-seriously.
The pretext for all this unseemly musing is us nabbing the Best News/Political Blog at this year’s Black Weblog Awards. But as it happens, the blog is closing in on its second birthday (the very first post was about you-know-who) and our 10,000th comment — a confluence of events that sets up a perfect and completely arbitrary opportunity to tip a fitted cap to some people.
This humble little endeavor has made me a better-read writer and a more thoughtful person. But the biggest takeaway are the blindingly smart, witty people with whom I get to collab: Shani, Jamelle, Joel, Isabelle — none of whom I even knew before this thing started — and Monica, Tracy, Stacia and Alisa, who have been my squad for a minute now. This point should be belabored: y’all are the shit, and I’m honored that I get to run with y’all. Thank you.
Then there’s our ballooning universe of play-cousins: The famous and awesome Jay Smooth at IllDoctrine, Ta-Nehisi Coates at The Atlantic; Keeks & Angela at Propertalks; Adam Serwer of The American Prospect; Ann Friedman of The Prospect/Feministing; Leigh at Poverty in America;Tedra, Ding and the gang at Bitch PhD; Alyssa Rosenberg of, well, everywhere; Ari, Eric and Scott at Edge of the American West; Jill & Lauren at Feministe; Jeremy Levine at Social Science Lite; Chris MacDonald-Dennis at Bryn Mawr College; Joe Shahadi at Vs. The Pomegranate; Cindy at Loteria Chicana (with whom I look forward to running with this weekend!); our homie Winslow, who is in China somewhere and incommunicado; Lemu at GakCity, Steve Logerfo for patiently letting me pepper him with questions about the legal system; Molly for all the links; and hustlin’-ass Latoya Peterson at Racialicious, who is in a different city every other day and who never, ever sleeps.
Like the man said: y’all coulda been anywhere in the world, and you’re here with us. I appreciate that.