“Urkel is dead and I can’t breathe.” Those were the words Oprah spoke to the interviewer when they asked her about one of the most recent casualties of a senseless shooting. I couldn’t breathe either. How could Urkel be gone? He held the hopes of so many of us. He had achieved the dream and … More Communicating to Death (or some better title)
The message written below is a response I wrote to someone with whom I was engaged in a dialogue after we both read the same blog post where pastor, John Pavlovitz, made distinctions between white Christians who say they were “embarrassed” by President Obama, those who simply disagreed with him, and those who basically are conscious … More On Blacking In America – v. To offend others by existing
You know what I don’t get? Racist Christians or racist people who practice any spiritual discipline for that matter. But having spent all of my life in Christianity, I really have to say that nothing is more perplexing to me than a racist Christian. Considering that Christian literally means, a follower of Christ, I have … More Jesus Went that Way! – Race In the Face of of Grace
Can a language be biased/oppressive/racist? I know that right off the bat some people will take issue with the question this title suggests. They’ll say, “No. A language can’t be inherently racist or anything else other than a method of communication. It is neutral. Words don’t hurt people. People hurt people.” And to some degree, … More Is Common English An Inherently Biased/Oppressive/Racist Language?
Recently a friend told me that I deserve to be happy? Hearing those words took me back to one of the darkest times in my life–a season I touch on in the links on my last post, DMX and the Ballad of the Brokenhearted. Prior to the emotional crash I chronicle in that and other … More Do I Deserve To Be Happy?
Sometimes it seems as if America is bent on surviving itself to death. Like an ostrich with a lion on its tail, who can’t see a way out other than to close its eyes and hope the threat goes away, our country is living its collective life with its head in the sand fearful that … More America in Denial – Perils of a Strength Overdone
Below is a broadcast of an episode of Life, Love, Wellness that I participated in with Rev. Sandy Rogers out of Atlanta. Sandy has been a great spiritual influence in my life for her ability to fully integrate all of her experiences into her spiritual walk. My hope with this conversation is that people will … More Transforming Emotional Trauma
There a lot of conversations that I don’t feel absolutely prepared for as a parent. Some of them are universal and some are exclusive to certain communities such as, “Are we poor?”, “Why do they hate us?”, “Will we be deported?”, etc. Recently, my daughter has asked me twice, what the “N word” is. The … More Daddy, What’s the “N Word”?
“I’m really not that scary.” That’s what I thought to myself when I saw the guy run into his house, close the door, and peep through the blinds as I walked by. I almost felt sorry for the guy for being that afraid. If he had taken a closer look he would have realized that … More No Fear In Love
Recently I did an interview on a local radio show that highlights experiences of being a person of color in Boulder County. The show is called PoCo in BoCo and is co-hosted by Tracey Jones and Nikhil Mankekar also of Boulder County. In the show we talk about what people must consider when entering in … More Speaking of Difference
