My dad is 92 years old. He grew up in Farmville, Virginia, and served in two wars, in two different branches of the armed services: In the Air Force at the tail end of World War II and in the army during the Korean War.
Dad has dementia now, and stays at a lovely senior home with a memory unit. I do a lot of traveling during the week, but I visit him almost every Sunday with my mom, his...
Book news! I’m thrilled to be included in the book The Guide for White Women Who Teach Black Boys, by Eddie Moore, Jr., Ali Michael, and Marguerite W. Penick-Parks, just published by Corwin. What follows is an excerpt adapted from the chapter where I share my experiences as the mother of a black son—now an amazing black man—during his school years.
Let Me Tell How School Started for M...
At the end of all my keynote speeches on inclusion, I leave my audiences with the three keys to making the world a better place: Consciousness, Courage and Compassion. So, when I saw the recent Burger King anti-bullying commercial I stood up and applauded!! I haven’t been in a Burger King in decades and I don’t even eat meat, but this commercial alone made me a fan of the franchise.
T...
Hey everyone, I’m doing my happy dance!! Because…wait for it…I’m going to SXSW!!!!! (YES, I AM 5-EXCLAMATION-POINT-EXCITED!) It’s not until March, but I will be happy dancing all the way there!
I’m going to be on National Geographic’s panel called Responsible Visual Discourse in Media, with the talented Susan Goldberg, editor in chief of National Geographic magazine and photo...
A couple of weeks ago I watched the episode of 60 Minutes where Oprah surrounded herself with a cross-section of Americans, who shared their thoughts about the deep polarization in our country. Since then, I’ve been reflecting on what I saw, and on other times I’ve seen to people from “different sides of the aisle” brought together for dialogue. Oprah wasn’t the first TV personality to d...
Today was a big day! It was National Coming Out Day. It was the International Day of the Girl Child. It was also the day more and more women came out of the woodwork to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault.
I also realized that today is Wednesday, the day I pray for the girls/young women in my family. Every Wednesday, I pray for my nieces and great nieces and all t...