Blogs

Last year, my son Tres, who lives in Brooklyn and is a social activist and musician decided that we absolutely needed to find out where we were from. For Christmas, he gave our family the gift of ancestry DNA testing. When the results came in a few weeks ago, he wanted to make an announcement to the whole family at once. Since it’s not easy getting all of us together in one place, we ...

It’s Black History month, and I am definitely in celebration mode. I saw a new documentary on Malcolm X by the Smithsonian Channel. I’m also checking out “hidden figures” in black history like the Forgotten Four, four black football players who integrated the NFL the year before Jackie Robinson did the same in major league baseball, featured in a documentary airing on Hulu. I had no idea...

Finding deep connection means celebrating both our similarities and our differences. Last week I wrote about how moving it was to witness my sister’s graduation from her PhD program. This week has me thinking back on my own education—specifically my time as an undergraduate at Barnard College. An article I wrote for my alma mater just went live, and it happens to come right on the he...

Last week, my sister graduated from her PhD program at Walden University. When I walked into the Tampa Convention Center for the ceremony, along with hundreds of other graduates and their families, I was immediately flooded with emotion. I know, there’s nothing that strange about crying at a graduation ceremony. But there were so many different reasons I felt emotional that day—layers of...

When I spoke at the Massachusetts Conference for Women back in December, one of the greatest parts of the experience was the chance to speak with so many millennials. Whenever people in their twenties and thirties come up to me after a talk, two things happen. First, I’m thrilled because I think: They like me! I’m relevant! Second, I’m reminded just how much they have to teach me. ...