Essays
The Reparative Butterfly
Butterflies are incredible insects. We marvel at their beauty, but seldom take time to dissect their journey, imagine their experience, or appreciate the shedding of their old selves in pursuit of their new. They are transformative creatures which, in many ways, are illustrative of our own journeys. While butterflies begin as caterpillars and wrap themselves in a protective cocoon before springing forth as unique beauties; we as humans when cloaked in shame, anger, and grief can become immersed in such a cocoon until our emboldened selves emerge. As a Black woman in the United States
Read MoreYou Owe Me What Was Always Mine
Repair means returning the slaveholding records your ancestors have passed down, family to family, generation by generation. It means uncovering and atoning for crimes committed long ago. The gaps in my genealogy are not the fault of my parents nor my elders; they are – in a multitude of ways – the fault of white people past and present.
Read MoreWhite Supremacy? It’s not them. It’s us.
Over the last few days I have heard so many “nice” white people, both liberal and conservative, lamenting the insurrection at the Capitol – yet drawing a line in the sand, saying “not me.”
Not so fast.
Read MoreConversation is NOT Enough
What happened last Wednesday started at home. A lot of y’alls brothers (& sisters), sons (& daughters), nephews (& nieces), uncles (& aunts), cousins and friends were either at the Capitol on…
Read MoreAuthentic Relationships and Repair: The Invisible Line in the Sand
Only when I can wholly be myself as a Black person, and you can acknowledge your historic and current advantages as a white person, can we establish a true relationship.…
Read MoreRepair Begins in Your Backyard
The argument for reparations has always centered around U.S. governmental complicity; in fact, countless economic effects of racism can be traced to local, state, and federal laws designed to keep…
Read MoreJuneteenth: A Holiday for the Ancestors and Us
Lift ev’ry voice and sing‘Til earth and heaven ring The Black/Negro National Anthem Independence. Freedom. If I were to invoke these words to describe a holiday, you would think I…
Read MoreReparations and the Coronavirus – Financial Impacts to Black Communities and a White Path Toward Repair
There is an old saying, “When white folks catch a cold, black folks get pneumonia.” This saying encapsulates deeply rooted disparities embedded in our economic system, historically intertwined with slavery…
Read MoreAt the Intersection of Black History Month, Mental Health and Racial Healing
Therapy has made a tremendous difference. As a Black woman, I take a risk in affirming this. While white people have embraced models of therapy for generations, mental health is still a bit of a taboo topic in Black communities. Historically, it hasn’t been safe to talk about “our business,” to admit that we struggle; this is especially true with mental illness, and with regard to discussing it with white people.
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