Category: Black
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Bias By Us: How Our Unconscious Programs Us to Harm the Other
Black, White, or Other? “Pedro, Pedro, go back to Mexico.” “Pedro, Pedro, go back to Mexico.” “Pedro, Pedro, go back to Mexico.” Being Black and growing up in the South—between Virginia and Mississippi—with a name like Pedro Senhorinha Ramos Montero Silva brought in many unwelcomed experiences in my life. One of which was the othering…
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History Is Not a Competition
Trying to Win History Is a Lost Cause “To study history means submitting yourself to chaos, but nevertheless retaining your faith in order and meaning.” Herman Hesse, German writer and poet (1877-1962) True History is Full of Histories As some of us continue to honor what used to be known as Black History Month across…
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Death Where Is Your Sting?
As the world tossed and turned around me, I remained still. “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” The yelling and screaming. “Get his ass.” The world is upside down. Feet where heads should be. The sky and ground have switched places. “Can you plant seeds in the clouds? If so, what…
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A Black Santa for White Christmas
Picture this. It is Christmas 1977. My mom and dad are arguing. I am 2. Somehow I know that I shouldn’t understand what is happening. But, yet I do. The final threads in the fabric of our family are snapping. My father is leaving. As he heads for the door, I feel an invisible tether…
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History is Not a Competition
We are often led to believe that everything in our society is a competition. But some things aren’t. And history is one of them.
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The Burden
Almost every Black person I know who has grown up in America knows what it’s like to feel the existential burden placed upon us that says, “You represent your entire race.”
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Juneteenth – Liberation Takes a Holiday
“What do you mean there’s no Juneteenth Festival here?” Like ignoring Daylight Savings Time and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it seemed like Arizona was on its own page once again. Growing up with festivals that celebrated African African Heritage such as Juneteenth and Umoja Festivals in the Hampton Roads area of VA, I was…
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Do Children Owe Their Parents? (My Black Perspective)
This is a question that was raised in a Black parenting group that I’m a part of. When I thought about the question, I recalled this scene from Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner I saw when I was a child that changed my perspective on the parent/child relationship. The parent I lived with constantly reminded…
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After Your Neighbor Calls the Police on You
Before reading this post, you may want to read the post, Before You Call the Police on Your Neighbor, to establish some context. So far every response to my blog post about someone calling the police on my family instead of knocking on my door to express their apparent concern for my dog has been…
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If I Die Before I Wake – A Reflection on the Regal Nature of Chadwick Boseman
I can’t stop thinking about Chadwick Boseman. He’s been on my mind so much that I caught myself shaking my head in the gym on the edge of tears. Now if you know me, you know that this isn’t characteristic of me. So, I had to examine why I was taking this so hard. Even…
The Roofless Church 