Life in the Margins
Kris’ morning time of devotion doesn't just impact her day, it affects her family. As they each come downstairs and find her already sitting in the chair having read her Bible and spent time in prayer, her greeting of cheerful “good morning” affects the moods of sometimes grumpy teenagers and young adults who are not morning people. She makes space for her quiet time, meditation and reflection, and the bonus of making that space is the effect on her family. I love how Kris is able to place herself in a positive emotional place in the mornings and then have her positivity become contagious. There is a leadership idea!
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Using a Receipt as a Check: Where Your Treasure Lies
"What does valuable mean?"
I had to ponder that question and figure out how to explain "valuable" to a child. How do you explain how worth is assigned, how we decide what has value and what doesn't?
It all happened in the drive-thru lane. I handed her the sandwich and my five year old decided to hold on to the receipt. She was excited, like she had something worth keeping. I explained the receipt had no value and couldn't be used like money. "It is my check," she said, more than once. She didn't understand and kept asking why she couldn't use there receipt like a check. I explained that it was not valuable. Which led to her question, "what does valuable mean?" I did my best to explain. "Then why do you keep them in your wallet?"
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Ten Things You Can Do after #Charlottesville Even if Your Leaders are Silent
Over the weekend, #Charlottesville happened. The fact is, we must call evil by its name, we must acknowledge that White Supremacy and racism is corrosive and we must each use our voice. Why expect leaders to speak? Because #belonging demands visibility. Visibility involves acknowledging when something impacts one of your own. As a result, many called on pastors to not show up on Sunday with the pre-pared sermon they already had. Many watched carefully to see if their organizations would address what had happened.
Did your leaders address #Charlottesville on Monday at work? Did your pastors speak out against racism on Sunday? If not, here is what you can do.
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Saying "no" so you can say your "best yes"
You will receive a lot of advice.
You will receive a lot of information.
You will have many great ideas and dreams.
People who love you will tell you what you should do and how you should do it.
And you must determine your "best yes" if you will do your best work.
In finding your best yes, you will turn away some good advice, you will take some paths others won't understand, you will pick some dreams over others at a given point.
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Aunt Jemima, Jezebel, and the Pine-Sol Lady: Mothering Against the Perceived Grownness of Black Girls
When my oldest daughter was a mere 18 months old, I shared some pictures from our family vacation. Someone commented that she looked like she had an “attitude.” She was 18 months old. She was having fun in the sprinklers and was posing.
It never occurred to me that if I as a Black woman (symbolically) was portrayed as the maid and revealed a hidden figure, hyper-sexualized, portrayed as the sassy Black woman that my Black daughter would be exempt.
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How We Decide Who Belongs
"They are hiring Black support staff for Kori because her client says diversity is important." This claim made in clusters of groups led to several conversations in an organization I once worked at. When I started working at the organization, I was one of only two Black people. Over time, and with new administrative leadership, a Black female administrative staff person was hired. And then a second one was being interviewed to support me and my team. I came to learn there was scuttlebutt and this statement was made. Apparently, the hiring of new employees who were diverse (specifically Black) was of concern to some.
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