Category: society
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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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Disconnected: Lessons Learned From Social Media Silence
At 8AM on October 12th, I started–what was meant to be–a 24 hour social media fast. But, if you follow me online at all, you know it was for much longer. I was initially calling it an “intermittent fast”. But once I crossed the three week mark, I think intermittent was out the window. And…
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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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The Art of Wasting Potential
One of the most wicked destructive forces, psychologically speaking, is unused creative power … If someone has a creative gift and out of laziness, or for some other reason, doesn’t use it, the psychic energy turns to sheer poison. That’s why we often diagnose neuroses and psychotic diseases as not-lived higher possibilities. Marie-Louise von Franz…
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Society Unmasked
This sounds like a beginning of an inappropriate joke but it isn’t. It was just an interesting experience. Three Black guys who don’t know each other walk into a grocery store. Two give each other a knowing glance and the customary head nod. They are wearing N95 masks. One is not. As they get their…
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The Cleansing of the Multitudes (A Parable)
And it came to pass, that the Teacher had been giving instruction for about 2 hours when some of her apprentices came up to her and said, “Teacher, the people have come to us and said that they need a potty break. But they do not have any tissue or hand sanitizer. What should we…
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Surrounded! – How Do You Respond Under Threat?
In a world where we are constantly reminded of the dangers that surround us, who among us has not imagined what we would do if we found ourselves in a dangerous or perhaps life-threatening situation? It seems like everyday we hear some story of innocent victims of unspeakable crimes. And whether it is a shooting…
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Is Common English An Inherently Biased/Oppressive/Racist Language?
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,…
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Do I Deserve To Be Happy?
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…
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An Open Letter to Red Hats
Dear Red Hats, I’m sorry. What can I say? There’s no excuse. I must confess. I’m a hatist. Confession is the first step on the road to redemption and I need to be redeemed. My understanding of my Spiritual discipline (Christianity), which many who wear you also profess, teaches that there is no fear in…
The Roofless Church 