The Exonerated Five, the Emanuel Nine, and why we can’t lose count

Ava Marie DuVernay’s documentary “When They See Us” tells the story of four African American boys and one Latino American boy falsely accused and mislabeled “The Central Park 5” after a female European American jogger, Trisha Meili, is viciously attacked and raped in April of 1989.  With contrived confessions but no DNA evidence to link the […]

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James Baldwin talks about race as “a frame of reference”

The most common question I get asked is, “How do you not see race?”  Mystified, irritated, doubtful, persons look at me and wonder how does it happen.  Or they think, “What world are you living in?  Not the real one.  Don’t you see what is happening?” I am treated like a madwoman.  They shake their […]

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Body Peace

My body is not the enemy. I will not pull my hair when I see yours or ask my curls to straighten up and act right. I will not scratch my eyes out because they are not blue or green. I will not cut off my nose to spite my face because it does not […]

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Circling back

Do you see the world through race- colored glasses?   Are you totally dependent on race to survive in the world around you?  Can’t leave  home without race?  Don’t know how you could understand the world without its prejudices and stereotypes?  If this is how you feel, then I understand. I’ve been there and I […]

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Books for lovers of community

“Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” | First Corinthians 10.24, ESV Put down your phone and pick up a book. Yes, I am a purist who still believes in turning actual pages.  I’m showing my age in this digital world. I know that they are bulky but evangelism, […]

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