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talking to statues
what do you do when you get to the party and everyone's staring at you and also they want to take away people's rights?
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transitional leaders and me
on choosing new skills carefully
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the future of food banks
and the people who serve themselves first
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decision to leave
This post is narrated! listen below… I had a situation gnawing at me for the better part of a year. I was working with a group for several months and had a good rapport with almost everyone. One person in particular was stirring conflict in ways I struggled to respond
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gentlemen's disagreements
Throughout his term, Barack Obama had a call for the activists agitating for change. He recalled what Franklin Roosevelt told his activists pushing for their own reforms. FDR said, “I agree with you, I want to do it, now make me do it.” Then-President Obama met with members of the
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three tales of courage
Last week, I said that our success in a system often means it’s tilted towards us. What I mean to say is that the systems that we live, work, and play in are arbitrary. There’s no reason they have to stay the way they are. For centuries, these
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what does it mean to put community first?
Some articles get my goat and don’t let go. Last year I read an interview with a roundtable of CEOs at major food banks around the country. The headline quote was, “we have power, let’s use it wisely.” I want to unpack that! The panelists, well-meaning or well-intentioned,
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what's in a name?
What’s in a name? Somehow I’m the first writer to ask that question. Think about it: if we called a rose something else, would that name change how it smells? Try it. It didn’t, right? I am positive that a rose would, with a different name, still
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what is a room to a person uninvited?
This post is narrated! Listen below… I hate being othered! My brown skin is often the first thing a person notices about me. I was once in the office (when people worked in offices together) talking to a friend (when people did that too). A coworker we both knew approached
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relocate the discomfort
I’ve participated in many structured conversations about race and equity. In these spaces, “the agreements” come up a lot. These are short statements that set ground rules for the conversations to come. Most DEI circles talk about agreements right after introductions. The exact number of agreements, usually 5-10, will
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the oppressor loves civility
“Being civil” is a hard concept to square up against. It’s like professionalism: who could argue against that in a workplace? But while both concepts may appear benign at first, these standards are set by people in power. The norms and culture they create is often rooted in their
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no more caretakers
The time is now. If you’re looking for a sign, this is it. I don’t know what we’re careening towards, but the future is heading our way. Racists and transphobes are trying to legislate us out of existence. People decrying inflation ignore the record profits these companies
