Blog

Last week I shared the ways that Jim Crow laws and discriminatory federal legislation created today’s systemic racism. Now I share some of the Supreme Court decisions and landmark legislation that ended Jim Crow laws and tried to eradicate, although unsuccessfully, the systemic racism created by our earlier history.

Read more

To combat racism, it is important to acknowledge our history and understand the ways it impacts our current realities. Systemic Racism (also called “institutional racism” and “structural racism”) refers to systems and structures that have procedures or processes that disadvantage certain groups, in this case Black Americans. Systemic racism began with the colonization of this...

Systematic change is necessary to create the equality that marginalized communities deserve. When it comes to tackling the issue of racial equity, honest, open-hearted and open-minded conversations can inform us about the fundamental issues related to racism, can help bridge the divides, can help us heal, and can begin the lengthy process of change. Communicating with empathy...

The impacts of the coronavirus have disproportionately impacted black Americans – higher rates of death, higher rates of unemployment – and now another drastic consequence is spreading: homelessness. The hardest hit are those Black Americans who had low incomes and little savings even before the pandemic, and who were also more likely to work in sectors...

For those of you who, like me, are staying away from in-person protests due to being immune compromised, or are worried about contracting the coronavirus but want to make a difference, consider joining one or more of the organizations listed below or donating funds and/or your energies to help promote their missions. This is a...

Yesterday we celebrated our Independence Day –the 4^th of July – honoring that day in 1776, when delegates from the original 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence. Since 1776, July 4^th has been celebrated as the birth of American Independence. Sometimes it’s easy to forget the words of the Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths...