Sins and Diseases: Looking Back at 2020
Something shifted in May 2020. Suddenly, everyone was seeing racial injustice. Everyone was listening to the conversation about racial inequality. Over the course of that summer, as copies of How to Be an Antiracist and So You Want to Talk … Continue reading Sins and Diseases: Looking Back at 2020
The Digital (Divide) Chasm
In the summer of 2021, my children attended a camp near the border of WV and Ohio. We had been warned that there were no cell or internet signals on the grounds, so the kids would be cut off from … Continue reading The Digital (Divide) Chasm
Racism 101: How We Entered the Eye of the Storm
“Racism is not always conscious, explicit, or readily visible—often it is systemic and structural. Systemic and structural racism are forms of racism that are pervasively and deeply embedded in systems, laws, written or unwritten policies, and entrenched practices and beliefs … Continue reading Racism 101: How We Entered the Eye of the Storm
Like the Palm
Word association: Florida. One thinks of palm trees, turquoise water and white sand. Some may envision Miami’s skyline with Crockett and Tubbs in a sleek Ferrari, speeding on coastal roads. For others, maybe its football, the Everglades and gators. One … Continue reading Like the Palm
Women’s Healthcare in the Eye of the Storm
As most readers understand, the egregious disparities that exist in the American health care system pre-existed the Covid-19 pandemic. The virus merely spotlighted the profound ways that the Black community, and, for the purpose of this article, Black women in particular, are impacted by a critically biased and increasingly open racialized system. Continue reading Women’s Healthcare in the Eye of the Storm
The Storm Is Us!
I write all these things to make the point that, “Often the storm is in us, often the storm IS US!” We regularly perceive the storm to be external, however it is our own cultural/inner beliefs, anger, and fighting that cause the storm. It is our own self-defense, and aggression, and individualism, and militarism that leads us to believe the storm is an external one to fight. Continue reading The Storm Is Us!
Black Butterfly
“Black Butterfly, you can do most anything your heart desires.Freedom comes from understanding who you are. It’s time to reclaim your place amongst the stars.Spread your wings and fly.” -Sounds of Blackness With a brilliant display of orange framed in ebony, … Continue reading Black Butterfly
The Only One In The Room
Growing up in Worthington, Ohio, from the second grade until my 1980 graduation, I often found myself the only one in the room. You may ask what do you mean; were there no other children in the room? As an Island of … Continue reading The Only One In The Room
Death By a Thousand Cuts
The e-mail brought the news of the ballet’s arrival to our town. We’d been waiting so I got on the venue’s website right away to find information about the school matinee. I noticed the announcement stating that “scholarships” would be … Continue reading Death By a Thousand Cuts
Three-Fifths 