Goodbye, Racialicious

After writing for Racialicious since 2007, when Carmen Van  Kerckhove asked me to come on as a Special Correspondent, I’ve decided that it’s time for me to end my time with the site. It was certainly a difficult decision for me, having been invested in its mission since my first read in 2006 after Carmen came to speak at NYU about race in the media. I remember realizing that when I agreed to write regularly for the site, I was signing onto something amazing, something that would certainly change the way Americans think about and discuss race, ethnicity, and many other factors of our daily lives through an easily accessible, though analytical, lens. Indeed, my realization was right.

Writing for Racialicious opened up many opportunities for me and helped shape the way I personally view race in America by allowing me to flesh out my thoughts with words for public consumption. I had an amazing time working with all parties involved in making the site what it was and has become, and I am forever appreciative of all the feedback, be it critical or full of praise from the readers here.

Though I am saying goodbye to Racialicious, I am not disappearing into thin air or becoming a hermit. In fact, I still write, though in a completely different facet. Focusing on the love affair between music and fashion, and in particular, music as a soundtrack of our lives, I now channel my thoughts and energy through the content of my own site Retail DJ. On Retail DJ, I post music from DJs all over the world and conduct interviews of designers, musicians, DJs, and even fashionistas right off the street from my own backyard (NYC) and other parts of the globe (I have interviews and photoshoots of folks in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, the UK, and Brazil on the way!). It’s a truly exciting venture—my baby, if you will—of which I am very proud and honored to share with everyone.

Despite my new direction, however, I still think about race, gender, sexuality, and all those –isms that many of us know well because, quite frankly, I live them. At least now I have had Racialicious as an outlet through which I could try to gain more understanding of what all those aspects of my identity and those of others even mean. Let’s just say, “it’s been real.” I will miss all of you and wish you continued success in both writing and taking the risk to discuss this thing we call race.

- Wendi Muse