“I often wonder that if our public schools were run differently, if the number of students receiving special education services would decrease. I happen to think that the answer would be “Yes.”
Confirmed in More Ways Than One
“Judge Jackson’s confirmation is a communal confirmation for Black people everywhere and especially in the United States. Black women continue to be underestimated, overlooked, oversexualized, marginalized and misunderstood. Collectively, we work twice as hard to get half as far still having to prove that we should have access to opportunities for which we are well qualified.”
Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act: What Does It Really Mean?
“The president went on to say, “Hate never goes away. It only hides under rocks. Given just a little bit of oxygen, it comes roaring back out, screaming. What stops it is all of us, not a few. All of us have to stop it.”
The Power of Empathy
“To develop empathy for someone else, we must first see the other person as human and thus as equal. White people must choose to recognize and care about the humanity of Black people which comes with caring about what Black people value and experience.”
The Pressure of Black Firsts
“I could list thousands more Black firsts in this country as there have been many. The pride that I feel when I hear the words “first black,” cannot be contained but my feelings are mixed because while being the first is historical, it also comes with a burden of undeserved pressure for every person who accepts the challenge. And it agitates me that 400 years after the first Africans, were forced to the shores of what would become the United States, Black people are still denied access into every positive opportunity that American offers.”
Triggered Trauma
“The violent reaction is not right but knowing why someone reacts the way that they do can help us to address the cause of the behavior instead of simply responding to the behavior and dismissing the person as a problem and the reaction as unprovoked or excessive.”
What Would George Washington Say?
“Slavery in the 18th and 19th centuries was commonplace so I wonder what George would think about so many people in modern times working to erase this sordid practice and its effects from the annals of American History.”
We’ve Been Here Before
“Racially motivated assaults on Black people are not new and this is one of the many reasons that teaching accurate American History is critically important. We need to understand the historical connection between past and current oppression against Black people in this country. The mechanisms by which Black people are being oppressed have changed form but the motivations are the same.”
A Conversation About Purpose
“We all have a light, even it’s a flicker. I encourage you to pay attention to the flicker; don’t’ ignore it or smother it. No matter what age you are, don’t discount the leap in your heart when you do something that ignites your internal flame. God is always leading us toward a deeper relationship with Him and He is always nudging us closer to our purpose in Him. We will feel the nudge if we choose to pay attention.”
The Power of the Pen
“Historically, American history has recorded and perpetuated a European perspective. It’s not those other points of views and experiences didn’t exist; they were intentionally omitted because the one who holds the pen controls the narrative.”