My closest friends know I have a running joke about how in my next life I want to be reincarnated as a white man. I’d like to be 6’3″, fine, with thick, jet black hair, milk pale skin and blue eyes. I mean blue! That spooky, piercing Chris Pine/Paul Newman blue. The rest of me … Continue reading To Avoid Arrest and Death in Cases of Domestic Terrorism, It’s Best to Have Blue Eyes and White Skin
There are a lot of little things happening right now that may seem small or insignificant compared to the larger work that needs to be done to remove obstacles to Black Americans ability to grow and prosper in this country, but they’re not unimportant. I’m talking about things like knocking down confederate monuments because why … Continue reading When It Comes to Human Rights for Black People, Little Things Count
I had de ja vuh like for real this week. But it was nothing new, nothing unfamiliar. Sadly, this won’t be the last time someone says something stupid to me about something race-related. I apologize in advance if that word stupid seems harsh, but it’s getting boring, you know? Well, I guess you don’t know, … Continue reading Another Small Ode to the Late Toni Morrison, and the Importance of Word Choice When Blogging
So, Adidas is in the news for diversity problems. Employees at its Portland headquarters say they’ve been marginalized and discriminated against. Apparently management perpetuates a high school clique type environment, and ignores minority voices in favor of more familiar faces, often to the detriment of the business. Like having to pull your all white sneaker offering … Continue reading Beyonce, Pharrell, Please Cancel Adidas
It’s a story I’ve heard more than once, more than twice even. In fact, my own sister has told me tales of #ridingwhileblack at least three different times over the years. Cabbies or Uber drivers would drive her to some completely foreign location, and then order her out of their car, threaten to call the … Continue reading You Could Be the Editor of Vogue and Still Become a Hashtag
I’d like to talk today about privilege. Specifically, how utterly and completely ridiculous it is when you don’t realize you have it, you behave irrationally, and the media retaliates by turning you into a living meme. In the past few months there have been a rash of video-based stories all over social and traditional media … Continue reading When Life Becomes a Meme – You May Be a Racist
There’s nothing worse than a leader who refuses to admit when he or she is wrong. That goes for companies too. If you’re a leader in your industry, a household name, whatever, that does not make you perfect – that just makes you popular. Therefore, if you do something wrong, own up to it already. … Continue reading Google, Just Come Clean Already
So, April 4th was Equal Pay Day. It’s not a bank holiday, so no one got to stay home from work, but it is an important date for women. LeanIn.org, the nonprofit Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg created to make the workplace better for women, launched its latest campaign/hashtag on the 4th. Joining #BanBossy and #LeanInTogether, #20PercentCounts … Continue reading Equal Pay Day and Voting with Your Feet
I think about happiness a lot. I don’t know if it’s on my mind because so many in the country and in the workplace seem to be unhappy these days, but how to be and stay happy gets a lot of my energy, and I don’t mind giving it. I ran across this Forbes article, … Continue reading 6 Things Minorities Can Do to Stay Sane at Work
A Life Not Grey 