When I turned eighteen– a few years after my mother died, my grandmother sent me an album– a homespun genealogical record of sorts, full of family photos and notations. At the back of the book there was a pocket full … Continue reading Igniting Change Through Story
My uncle James was a decorated veteran in the Air Force and he was my father’s oldest brother. James and Eugene (my father) were very close and my father trusted James dearly. Every summer, I was put on an airplane … Continue reading Myths in America
She was petite, smart, reserved, and fit the obnoxiously bigoted stereotype of a “China doll.” She was hardworking and compliant, and her grades in school were outstanding. Oh, and yes, she was also great at math. But everyone already knew … Continue reading Perfect Secrets
The man’s conversation was basically a set of talking points. He presented them to me in the form of questions and what at first sounded like concerned observations. They were focused on his perceptions of Black people. Not his exact … Continue reading Talking Points
Jump into my Hummer, where old spirituals take on new meaning. Continue reading Swing Low, Sweet Hummer EV
It is very difficult to learn how to love people who hurt you, and hurt you repeatedly, and rarely change, if ever. It is difficult because all we can see or feel in our injured state are our own wounds. Continue reading Peace On Earth Begins In Me
Carnal fasting He was running everywhere. He was running from home to school, running from school to his afterschool job, from his job back home. Running while wearing extra clothes, a sweatsuit under a sauna suit. Or was the sweatsuit … Continue reading Empathetic Fasting
An excerpt from The Place We Make: Breaking the Legacy of Legalized Hate We don’t know what we don’t allow ourselves to know. But when I began to know—after I’d picked my jaw up off the floor enough times to wonder … Continue reading Imagining My Way In
The dictionary defines Emotional Intelligence as the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. As human resources professionals, we have been trained to express high emotional intelligence. EI (as … Continue reading Being Actively Empathetic
Three-Fifths 