Invitation to Discomfort
For the first time since the slaughter of the children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, hearing news made me cry. Make no mistake there has been a nonstop […]
Tag Archives: institutional racism
Blindspot
Watching the students who survived the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School become activists has both been beautiful and heartening. Seeing their grief and outrage evolve into a […]
Job vs Career
When I tell the story of my career path I often use the image of a mosaic. I sometimes use the words “Once upon a time…” to help bridge the […]
The Sum of Our Parts
I live in a segregated neighborhood. That may seem like an odd way to describe my corner of our racially and socio-economically diverse inner-ring suburb, but the truth is I […]
Reposting because everyone should read this
I Fit the description… This is what I wore to work today. On my way to get a burrito before work, I was detained by the police. I noticed the […]
How Bias Works
I discovered years ago that when my thoughts are racing too fast, and for too long, that I lose complete touch with my body. I become a head in a […]
Burning Down the House
While I was facilitating a discussion about race this week it came up that some people “didn’t want to get into it” because black people are “always so angry.” There’s […]
The Right to Be Right
The comment was “Anyone who doesn’t think we are living in a police state is deluding themselves.” It was made in response to the video of the public defender who […]
Claudette Colvin, Rosa Parks and the Brutal Truth of Video
There is a moment in every public discussion of race where the topic is no longer the justice or injustice of an action, the existence of structural discrimination, or lack […]
Check Your Head
The neighborhood I grew up in appears desolate and broken. Ten miles from where I live, its at least ten years since I’ve driven down those streets. I made the […]
10 Things I Learned in 2014
I recently saw a picture of Cinderella’s slipper with the caption “If Cinderella went back to pick up her shoe she wouldn’t have become a princess.” Whatever your feelings about […]
Now What?
I knew the Ferguson grand jury would not indict officer Wilson. I’m not cynical, just familiar with history. I knew I would feel like shit hearing the outcome, but I […]
Bias and Believing
Thank god for cell phones. The images of the protests and police reaction in Ferguson, Missouri over the past week are grotesquely similar to images from the civil rights confrontations […]
No Duty To Retreat
An uncomfortable truth is hidden under the national discussion about music being played too loud, and the hoodies that criminals wear. Racism is not going anywhere. I feel this observation […]
Hoodie
I have been struggling to write about the George Zimmerman verdict while I got my thoughts together. Unfortunately, even though this post has been in draft since 7/15, my thoughts […]
