Loving and living this life in Seattle
i have heard many of my non-black friends say how surprised and appalled they are by some of the blatant racist things they have witnessed recently either personally, locally, or on a national stage. part of me wants to ask them where they have been all their lives. none of this is new. in fact, …
i am not a strong swimmer. i know how to swim and i enjoy being in the water, but i don’t know how to tread water so i tend to only go to the deep end with an immediate return trip in mind. every once in a while, i swim away from the shore and just …
i just got an email with the subject line: “choosing happiness for 25% off.” i’m assuming it was an ad for a book or some other motivational keepsake being promoted by mama oprah. yes, i call her mama oprah because she has such a nurturing and giving spirit. she just looks like she would embrace …
my body woke me up from what i can only assume was a peaceful sleep at 5am saturday morning. my reaction was anything but peaceful. i struggled to fall back to sleep for a few hours before i just gave up. i had a pretty lengthy to-do list so i decided to get started. first …
i have a confession to make. i passed a pregnant woman who was clearly in her 40s on my way to the bus today and freaked out. why did i freak out? it took me a while to unpack what appeared to me a gross overreaction. of course women can and do continue to birth …
i didn’t want to make this list. i’m probably not the first person to make this list. if you do a google search, you might come across more of these lists of things black people can’t do in america. and that sucks. the fact that this list does exist is a problem. this is america. …
last week was a doozy and i don’t know about you but i’m still trying to recover from it all. as we’re preparing to celebrate our national independence day, a day that represents triumph, valor, and freedom for our young nation, i am mindful of all the ways we as a nation are not yet …
whew what a week! there is a season for everything under the sun and this week we find ourselves in deep mourning and deep celebration. i would like to say as a nation, but i know better. we’re too divided to experience these things collectively, communally. so as i have scrolled through my social media …
in church today, we talked about taking care of things that are fragile. when something is both precious and fragile, you go to great lengths to ensure it is handled with care. you don’t want it to be damaged. you don’t want it to be broken. you don’t want to lose it because it is …
growing up in racist, segregated kansas city, i was always aware of my blackness. mine was a childhood riddled with the absolute best expressions of black love juxtaposed with the absolute worst expressions of black hate. at 36, i’m growing weary of the american dream because for people who look like me it’s more of …