When the racists rally together: The real grifters

a multitude of white hands palms out, held close to each other with a heart image painted in red across them like they were a canvas

It is common for people who do anti-racism work to be referred to as grifters, and it’s one of the more commonplace insults that has been hurled at me over the years. Depending on my mood, it can actually make me chuckle, since I can say with certainty that anti-racism work is not exactly lucrative. …

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When discomfort is racial…and deadly

a pair of hands warding off something unseen

On May 1, Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old unhoused Black man—who struggled with his mental health—was killed by a fellow passenger on a New York City subway after he reportedly caused a ruckus and loudly proclaimed to be in need of food and water. By all accounts that I have read, Jordan’s behavior in the moments …

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Claiming my own humanity

Side-view of a Black woman in glasses with long straight hair looking off into the distance to the left of the screen, with the ocean behind her in the background

Over the years, as my writing has become almost entirely focused on whiteness and white people, I accidentally have moved further away from the very reason why this blog was created: To claim my own humanity while living in a very white state—and not lose my very essence as a Black woman.  While I have …

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