A couple of weeks ago, I announced in this post that United Thank Offering, a ministry of The Episcopal Church, is considering a grant proposal I’ve written and submitted for a series of workshops on racial reconciliation. Awards won’t be announced until early July 2018, so that gives me plenty of time to plot, plan, and flesh out some ideas.
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Bonfire of the Proprieties: Winning Friends and Influencing People in 2018
Photo by Connor Jalbert on Unsplash
So this is where we are, America. Polarized. It’s Us versus Them in a battle royale, and we’re fighting tooth and nail over just about every imaginable topic. Few people are interested in finding common ground as a starting place to facilitate healing for our nation, or more importantly, its citizenry. But if you’re not raging at either end of spectrum, there’s a path to higher middleground.
Blue Sky Theory: What If Instead of Not That
Photo by Thomas Kelley on Unsplash
Disney Imagineering is the company’s think-tank full of super-creative designers, storytellers, and engineers who dream up theme parks, resorts, and attractions. All projects go through a crucible of development phases before they’re deemed ready for the public. During the first phase, everyone is encouraged to think outside the box and develop ideas that know no bounds. This phase has been dubbed the Blue Sky phase.
Love One Another: It’s Just That Simple
Photo by @hellojardo at unsplash.com
Palm Sunday, 2018. I forget exactly when I started closing my essays with the words “love one another,” but what follows is a redux of an essay I wrote on June 26, 2016, days after the Pulse shooting, that lays out my interpretation of those three little words. Plus with Easter coming up on Sunday, it’s kinda relevant. Enjoy.
What’s a ‘Normal’ Guy to Do With All These Marginalized Groups
Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Recently, a friend told me he posted a meme on social media that he thought was perfectly fine until a friend pointed out to him that said meme might be offensive. My friend informed me that he removed the meme and proceeded to render a heartfelt apology. But between his confession and mea culpa, he sandwiched a question: is an Oompa Loompa meme offensive to Little People?
Staying Human: The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting Edition
Staying Human
Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed a number of mass shootings. Yes, the ones that make national headlines, and the ones that go unmentioned by the mainstream media. There’s a lot that’s been said about them; plenty of debate, conjecture, blaming, shaming, convicting, and support of victims. But there’s one subject that is rarely addressed: the ripple effect these shootings have not just on those not directly impacted, but those who are continually watching from a disance and what coping skills we should we all employ.
What do we do?
A Lynching in Central Florida
Photo by Stefie Zawa on Unsplash.com
It is with great sorrow that we, the family of our beloved Clay Rivers, announce his passing. His body was found by authorities late last night in a wooded area in Ocoee, hanging from a tree. Please respect our privacy during this time of deep mourning as we try to understand this unspeakable act.
—the Rivers family
The fear that members of my family would ever have to post the above message or something similar has been a palpable fear I’ve lived with since I was in my early twenties. While I seldom, if ever, had reason to be in Ocoee, I grew up hearing rumors about Ku Klux Klan activity in Lake County. This has been a pervasive fear among black families who have lived in central Florida long enough to know of Ocoee’s reputation as a sundown town. For years, a well-known sign even gave public notice that blacks should not be found in Ocoee after sunset.
When Talking About Racism You’re Not Required to Change Anyone’s Mind
Photo
by Sushobhan Badhai at Unsplash.com
Racism. The subject is steeped in centuries of emotion. The mere mention of it among people of different ethnicities has the ability to suck all the fun out of a room faster than a backdraft consumes air, and more often than not, the resulting vibe after such discussions is just as combustible. There are those who are exhausted from explaining it and those who are tired of hearing about it. In all honesty, I don’t enjoy writing about the subject. But … as a Person of Color, there’s one reason I continue to have those discussions — and if you consider yourself an ally of People of Color who stands against racist practices it’s the same reason why you should continue to as well: I have those discussions because they matter.
Sometimes You Eat the Bear, Sometimes the Bear Eats You
Photo by aaron clinard on Unsplash
Difficult people are hard to love. This makes having healthy relationships with them challenging. Read as: a pain the ass, thorn in the side, fun as a sharp stick in the eye, or all of the above. Everyone has at least one difficult relationship. And probably the most challenging relationship is the one between parents and their adult children.
Depending on How You See a Thing
The Helix Nebula, news.nationalgeographic.com
New Year’s Resolutions, 2017, and Beyond
I don’t do resolutions. I gave up the practice a long time ago. Maybe it’s just me, but by the time February rolls around, I’m too consumed with surviving the public shame of not having a proper Valentine to remember a promise to improve some aspect of my behavior that I made after three glasses of champagne on New Year’s Eve. I can’t recall exactly when I tossed the promise to lose weight long. It doesn’t really matter as I’ve kinda become accustomed to my new cherub-bod. It’s growing on me. Literally.