How To Talk About Race, Class, Gender, and Ability

  Have you ever had your ant-racist beliefs questioned, and were unsure how to explain why you feel the way you do? Here’s a way to organize your thinking so you never have to feel “stumped” again.     JOIN MY NEXT CREATIVE WRITING CLASS!  

The TOP 5 Ways Faculty Can Support Student Activists

You want to jump up and shout because the students on your campus or the individuals in your community are calling out structural bias and even protesting, organizing, and making real headway against it.   Or you’re wondering what the hell is going on. Either way the young people need to be supp...

Here’s Why Anger is the Ultimate Glow Up. Oh, and #StrikeForBlackLives

One of my favorite podcasts is Another Round, featuring a writer for Buzzfeed, Tracy Clayton and a writer for the Stephen Colbert Show, Heben Nigatu. The show features guests of color talking about a wide range of subjects, but with a keen eye on culture. One part drunken conversation and one par...

The Feminine Pronoun Series #22: How Does One #StrikeForBlackLives?

In order to create the societal pressure for real police reform, a movement must happen. Movements are built one step at a time. organizing, conversing, writing, and publicizing are all a part of movement building. Over the last week, I have made a commitment to talk with as many smart people as ...

“Labor Pains” and the #StrikeForBlackLives

When Africans were enslaved, one popular narrative used to justify their enslavement, was that they were “lazy.” “If we don’t enslave them they won’t work” was one of the fears expressed pre-emancipation. In fact, black men found without a job could be remanded to forced labor post-slaver...

Why Don’t We Crave to See the Families of the Murdered Policemen in Dallas Forgive Micah Johnson?

As the country continues to grapple with the racialized gun violence of the past weeks, several issues of comparison can be explored and discussed.   This is a thought experiment. I have taken an article titled, “Families of Charleston Shooting Victims: “We Forgive You” written by Inae Oh ...

#StrikeForBlackLives: A Nationwide Job Walk-Off By Black Labor

  “Hamilton” isn’t the first play written by a writer of color that casts black and brown Americans in the roles of white Americans. 50 years earlier, Douglas Turner Ward wrote “A Day of Absence.” The play, with a role made famous by Ossie Davis, features a black cast playing white people in whit...

The Global Reach of Blackness

Today I presented about Fannie Lou Hamer. This is a presentation I’ve done many times now, but because of the audience it was quite different. Because the audience was European and specifically people from the Balkan Peninsula, I stopped much more frequently to explain terms. I spent time on “sha...

“Are We Being Transparent?” The Top 5 Questions Every College or University Should be Asking Itself (Part 5 of a 5 Part Series)

Last week, while answering the question: “With Whom Must We Collaborate?” I responded by using the five levels of learning (Bloom’s Taxonomy) to move to a deeper commitment to a collaborative Diversity and Inclusion plan.   For this final week of the series, I’m answering the question: ...

“With Whom Should We Collaborate?” The Top 5 Questions Every College or University Should be Asking Itself (Part 4 of a 5 Part Series)

Last week, while answering the question: “Whom must we hire?” I talked about the ways organizations can revise their job announcements or admissions requirements to ensure a more diverse applicant pool.   This week I’m answering the question: “With whom must we collaborate?”   Collabora...