A Love Letter to Martin Luther King Jr.

A Poem in Progress – I’ve been writing more poetry lately and I witnessed a very uncomfortable MLK tribute at my improv show last night so I wanted to write something about MLK (and process the microaggression cause whew, it was a lot).


Sometimes I imagine what your face would have looked like as an old man.
When would you have gone gray?
Where would the wrinkles in your face be?
Would you be happy with how the world looks today?
How would you have evolved the world more?

Sometimes I imagine what your face would have looked like as an old man.
I try to imagine how the world would have needed to change for you to retire
I try to imagine a world where you felt your work was complete
I try to imagine world in which you are allowed to rest.

Sometimes I imagine what your face would have looked like as an old man
I see my father, a handsome chocolate man
I jokingly call him Black santa for his white hair and beard and his bowl full of jelly
A highly educated man who had a different life than he planned.

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Have You Met: Pervis Taylor

Let’s start at the very beginning – Who Are You?
Pervis Taylor, III – I help people to flourish. CEO of Averent Wellness, Coach, Speaker and Author. I have over ten years of experience in coaching and counseling with a niche in black men. I love what i do.

What makes you dope?
What makes me dope is I’m me. I’ve been through a ton of challenges and I still show up as my authentic self and I still have a zest for life.

Who was your first inspiration and how did you first learn about them?
My first inspiration besides of Michael Jackson was Sean Puffy Combs. I loved how he transformed sonically the landscape of music and shifted culture. I originally wanted to work in music and moved to New York. 20 years later, I’m still here in NYC pursuing my dreams.

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A Love Letter to Quinta Brunson

I have been rooting for Quinta for a LONG time. She never fails to make me laugh or smile when I see her face. One of the things I think she does so beautifully is that she gets us to laugh with her. Quinta IS the joke but not in a butt of the joke kind of way. She is Black girl magic personified in a fun size package and I love watching her win. Quinta Brunson is a comedian, writer, and actress from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was formerly best known for her comedic skits and videos on social media platforms such as Instagram and YouTube but she is quickly becoming a household name thanks for her newest project, “Abbott Elementary”. She has changed television with that show and it’s only 2 seasons old. She is a force that I know I will one day meet and work with but that’s a story for the future.

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A Love Letter to Megan Thee Stallion

Dear Megan,

You deserve so much more than I can offer you but let me offer you a bit of love from a fellow Black woman. From the moment I heard your music, I was hooked. You are the voice of a generation with rhythms the flow like honey and your lyrics that speak to my soul and experience as a Black Woman. Every time I hear you perform or speak, I can’t help but feel a deep connection to you.

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New Series Coming in 2023

DCFunemployment is the blog that started it all. Can you believe I started this page 11 years ago this past October?? Where did the time go?!?! (Should I plan a party?!?) I am super excited to return to this space with a fresh new perspective and inspiration. I took some time over the last few years to write for different sites, expand my voice and write about different topics. I have missed yall and recently I ran into someone outside my friend circle who’s read the blog. Not only read it but is actually a fan and she talked about being so excited the site is back and it made my whole day! Sometimes I wonder if anyone’s actually reading this but moving forward I’m choosing to assume that EVERYONE is reading this and I’m leaning into my status as “The Plug”. I recently met an awesome human on a trip to Mexico and somehow despite both growing up in DC and having mutual friends, we had never met before. How Sway?!?! (OMG why did I just finally get that reference – but not going down that culture hole, just glad Sway is finally getting his credit for being right). It was the reminder that despite the world being small and it feeling like we know each other, there are a lot of dope humans that I know and care for or cheer on that you don’t even know exist. So allow me to introduce them to you.

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Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself

Hey everyone!! DCFunemployment just turned 11 years old and it seemed like a good time to reintroduce myself and talk a little about what I am doing these days!!

Morgan Charlotta Fykes is my full name, I used to not share my middle name with people, until I learned where I came from (Shout out both the wonderful Charlottas who shaped me, my grandmother Charlotta Colley and my great great grand aunt Charlotta Spears Bass. I have learned through studying where I came from that many of the things I am great at are similar skills to my ancestors.)

Avi8ted Moments
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An Update and Next Steps

DCFunemployment is a continuously growing passion of mine because I love celebrating dope women. But I am human, and I get tired. I am a champion for self care but sometimes we preach better than we do and I spent a lot of Q1 examining and catching up on some much needed self care. I kept saying I was going to be ready to relaunch and get back to this project next month and then I looked up and it was Spring and I realized that I have been hibernating. And that is just what I needed to be doing.

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Being Funemployed in 2018

Wow is it really almost 2019 already?!?! Does anyone else feel like the time is starting to move more quickly?! When I started this project a few years ago, it was a passion project created on a whim to hold on to my little corner of the internet.  I had no idea how people would respond to my request for an interview or to the questions I had come up with.  I was blown away when not only did women say yes but they were reporting back how much they enjoyed the experience!! It has been a lot of fun but also a fair amount of work.  Sometimes we need people to remind us to celebrate ourselves and need someone to hold space so we can cheer for ourselves and that is something I love doing but I had to take a breather to reconsider how I was doing it!

Hard to believe this was 3 years ago (Savannah of Authentic Portraits

Looking Back to Move Forward
Back in 2013, I did an interview with the Washington Examiner called the 3 Minute Interview.  At the time I identified as a D.C. blogger and stylist and one thing that definitely hasn’t changed is I was connecting with people.  I’ve only recently begun to realize what a gift connection is along with the ability to bring people together.  I have friends of all stages (some of my mother’s friends also read my blog), and I love it!  So I’m going to keep doing it for myself and for those looking for their space in this place.

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Conversations: Create and Cultivate Presents Resistance Rises Pop Up in DC

Last week, I had the pleasure of seeing some of my favorite folks speak at a panel called Resistance Rises at The Line DC.  Create & Cultivate did a series of pop up with Amazon Prime Video and it’s hit show The Man In The High Castle which is about this very discussion topic of resistance.  

Resistance is defined as “the refusal to accept or comply with something; the attempt to prevent something by action or argument” and these ladies embody that definition.  Alex Elle, Katalina Mayorga, Randi Gloss, Brandi Chantalle, and Brittany Packnett are the resistance and it was wonderful to be a fly on the wall as they had a encouraging conversation.  We are living in strange times right now and we all need to treat each other better.  This conversation was a reminder that there is more work to be done! 

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The Funemployed: Emelyn Rude of Eaten

DCF: Who Are You?
My name is Emelyn Rude and I am a D.C. native and the editor-in-chief of Eaten, a new magazine dedicated to food history. I’ve spent the past few years working for celebrity chefs and cookbook authors, writing a book on the history of chicken, and backpacking through almost thirty countries. In addition to publishing Eaten, I am also a graduate student at the University of Cambridge in the UK.

DCF: Why do you love what you do? What makes you funemployment?
ER: I am fascinated by food and history and love that I can spend my days reading about both.

EMELYN HEADSHOT 1

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