Baye McNeil - The Japan Times

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Baye McNeil

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives

Feb 21, 2016

In Japan, don't just celebrate black history, be black history

There are a number of annual celebrations of Black History Month here in Japan. I've attended dozens of them over the years. Have even spoken at several, and in fact will be speaking at one later this month. And more often than not, I'll be asked the question, "Why?"

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE

Jan 17, 2016

'Being black can be more fun than being gay'

A look at the experience of two black men in the LGBT community in Tokyo, a 'minority of a minority of a minority.'

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE

Dec 20, 2015

Celebrating success with catfish and cupcakes

A look at two power couples of African descent who have focused their skills, talents and wherewithal on introducing tastes of the West to Eastern palates.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE

Nov 22, 2015

Bring back that Kobe feeling, 'cause it's gone, gone, gone

From the moment I stepped off the shinkansen at Shin-Kobe Station, I could feel a subtle difference between the Yokohama-Tokyo area and this city.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE

Oct 18, 2015

Dan teaches us how to be 'the man' in Japan

Every time I turn around, it seems, people are always asking me, "Do you know Dan Smith?" Or, they'll assume I already know him — what with his being black, working in the media and living in Japan for, like, forever and all. Sometimes I nod that I do, sometimes I even front like I know him ("Oh yeah,...

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE

Sep 20, 2015

'Don't sell your soul for a Japanese man'

Having overcome isolation and a loss of self-confidence in Japan, one American mother now finds herself doling out advice to women seeking Asian men.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE

Aug 23, 2015

'Are you serious, God? An Asian dude? Really?'

When I approached Tara Kamiya — a 38-year-old housewife, mother of three biracial kids and self-professed workforce dodger — about being interviewed for this story, explaining to her the goal not only of this series (about black women and their Japanese guys) but of Black Eye as a whole, she was...

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE

Jul 19, 2015

Women of color bound to Japan by love and family

Part 1 of a series looking at the black women who have taken vows binding their fates — and sometimes that of their children — to Japan, for better or for worse.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE

Jun 21, 2015

One year in, issues and inspiration are still driving Black Eye

Last week's killings in Charleston show that ignorance and fear over race are still driving people to violent extremes.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE

May 17, 2015

Black filmmakers 'find their edge' in Japan

This month's green-tinged Black Eye focuses on black filmmakers in Tokyo — a group of brothers forging their dreams into reality, getting it done here in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / BLACK EYE

Apr 19, 2015

Meeting Miss Universe Japan, the 'half' who has it all

Progress occurs when people of substance assume the mantle of leadership, and it appears Ariana Miyamoto is equal to the task.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE

Mar 18, 2015

From a minstrel no-show to a black beauty queen, in a week

From preventing a blackface TV broadcast to the nation embracing a black face as the embodiment of Japanese beauty, it's been quite a week.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE

Feb 18, 2015

Time to shut down this modern-day minstrel show

If Fuji TV airs the modern-day minstrel show it has planned for next month, it will shine a national spotlight on Japan's extreme ignorance about issues of race and discrimination.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives

Feb 1, 2015

Bringing a 'cesspool to sushiland' life to the stage

"Coming to Japan was the best decision I've ever made," says Stefhen Bryan, loud and enthusiastically, contrasting with the frown he was making a moment earlier at the miso-flavored ramen he'd ordered and just tasted. "Should've gotten the salt-flavored."

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE

Jan 14, 2015

African-American community gets a voice in Tokyo

The African American Youth Travel Program NPO, which organized a recent demonstration in Tokyo in response to the Ferguson case, brings black U.S. youths to Japan to broaden their horizons.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE

Dec 17, 2014

Japan and others gain from Jamaican brain drain

In the last part of this series on Jamaicans in Japan, Baye McNeil speaks to a teacher, author and poet in Yokohama and an attorney in Tokyo.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE

Nov 28, 2014

A world away from Ferguson but feeling the flames

I went through an entire day in Yokohama without a single person mentioning that my country was on fire. Of course, they knew, but what could they have said, anyway?

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE

Nov 19, 2014

Jamaican sisters come bearing victuals and vibes

Baye McNeil profiles two Jamaican women who have built thriving careers for themselves in the Land of the Rising Sun, half a planet away from the Land of Wood and Water.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE

Oct 22, 2014

Another island nation, idolized and imitated: Jamaica and I

Only in my 30s did I learn that I, too, had roots, or at least branches aside from my mother's, which only extended to some cotton plantation south of the Mason-Dixon line.

Japan Times

COMMUNITY / Our Lives / BLACK EYE

Sep 17, 2014

Ex-NYC graffitist scratches the surface in Osaka and declares it 'dope'

Father of three Roler Miles, who grew up defacing walls and subways in New York, now runs a thriving spray-paint business, teaches Japanese students art and leads a team of artists at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka.

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.

Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.

The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'

By Tomoko Otake

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