Tag: Black Experience

A Point of View: Lessons From a First Gen

A Point of View: Lessons From a First Gen

by | Oct 21, 2021 | 0

I can’t remember exactly when was the first time that I heard the terms “first generation” or “first gen,” but I can distinctly remember the first time that I realized that I was, in fact, very different from many of my classmates. Throughout high school, I did all of the things I was “supposed” to do to excel and get into a “good” school: I ran for Student Council, participated in extracurricular activities, maintained good grades, took SAT prep courses, applied for scholarships, and made sure I regularly visited my guidance counselor. I was as prepared as I could be — or so I thought. 

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The Buzz: Spooky Season but Black

The Buzz: Spooky Season but Black

by | Oct 21, 2021 | 0

With just a little over a week until Halloween, I find myself once again searching the internet for the perfect fun and appropriate costume to don for the night. Now that the pandemic is on the downturn in some areas, more people are planning to celebrate this year and the holiday falling on the weekend means even more participation from excited children trick-or-treating in the neighborhood to adults gathering for intimate parties and bar crawls alike. As a Black woman, Halloween has always been a strange day for me.

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A Point of View: Calling in Black

A Point of View: Calling in Black

by | Aug 19, 2021 | 0

I should have called in Black. It’s like calling in sick or taking a mental health day, but these are for the times when being Black in America feels too overwhelming. As Black people, we have inherited historical trauma. Slavery and Jim Crow are collective traumatic experiences. Police brutality and medical racism/experimentation are collective traumatic experiences. Red lining and mass incarceration are collective traumatic experiences. All of us may not have direct contact with every single one of these experiences, but we feel their effects, and we are threatened by them every single day. 

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A Point of View: You Don’t Sound Black

A Point of View: You Don’t Sound Black

by | Jul 29, 2021 | 0

As a young kid growing up heavily influenced by white culture, I spent a lot of time wishing that I had a “Black experience.” There is privilege and honor in being socially accepted in your racial community. There are those of us that did not have that access. I know there are others out there who have had similar experiences. Now that I am older, I understand that what I perceived as “authentically Black” is not real. My experience and life are a Black experience, because I am Black. No one has the right to tell me if I am Black enough. It took me decades to figure this out.

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The Buzz: Nikole Hannah-Jones — You Win and What Can We Learn?

The Buzz: Nikole Hannah-Jones — You Win and What Can We Learn?

by | Jul 8, 2021 | 0

I can only imagine how fatiguing it was for Nikole Hannah-Jones to go through this process, and finally make the decision to accept the appointment at Howard. Why should someone who is so accomplished and has made such a significant contribution to understanding Black history from the perspective of Black people be humiliated and degraded in this way? The answer is that racism continues to loom large in our society, and it is exhausting. It impacts our physical, mental and spiritual health.

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A Point of View: My Black Ain’t Like Yours

A Point of View: My Black Ain’t Like Yours

by | Apr 1, 2021 | 0

Good morning Light Skinned Sister. I heard you talking about your Black experience. I appreciate that. I hold a place in my heart for you. I give you spiritual hugs and kisses every time the thought of you crosses my mind… and still, your Black ain’t like mine. I write this as a call to action, a provocation, if you will. I ask that you hold a place in your heart for me different than the one you hold for yourself. Let me be different. Let me speak for myself. While our blues probably match, your Black ain’t like mine. 

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The Buzz: Meghan Markle’s Story is Familiar

The Buzz: Meghan Markle’s Story is Familiar

by | Apr 1, 2021 | 0

I streamed Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Meghan Markle in the car after dropping my sister at the Baltimore airport. I felt a deep connection to what she said, and a familiar lump began choking my throat as her words brought her personal, dark and painful experiences to light. Even weeks later, as I write these words, tears are welling as that familiar and tightly wound ball rises from my gut. Meghan shared her version — our version — of sitting at the intersection of being Black and White in America.

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Managing the Toll of DEI Work: The Role of Cultivating a Robust Sense of Self

Managing the Toll of DEI Work: The Role of Cultivating a Robust Sense of Self

by | Feb 13, 2020 | 0

How can we continue to thrive and maintain wholeness while doing this work we care so deeply about, that is so core to who we are, within systems that make it difficult? A study titled ‘African American Women as Change Agents in the White Academy’ by Muriel E. Shockley and Elizabeth L. Holloway specifically explores the experiences of Black Women navigating the racism and sexism in academia, and more specifically, factors that contributed to their capacity to thrive.

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Racial Justice at Work: Practical Solutions for Systemic Change

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Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit

Inclusive Conversations: Fostering Equity, Empathy and Belonging Across Differences

We Can’t Talk About That At Work! (Second Edition)

Cover of the book We Can't Talk about That at Work (Second Edition) by Mary-Frances Winters and Mareisha N Reese

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