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It’s getting real; they’re telling us who they are—who are you?

By Shay | October 30, 2024 | Comments Off on It’s getting real; they’re telling us who they are—who are you?

Just when you think this election season couldn’t get any weirder or more exasperating, leave it to the Trump campaign to kick it up a notch. I had been hearing a buzz online about a Trump rally that was going to be held at Madison Square Garden. Honestly, I didn’t think much about it. I mean, the last I heard, …

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Literacy and electoral politics

By Shay | October 28, 2024 | Comments Off on Literacy and electoral politics

I was heading to bed the other night but decided to stop for one last scroll of the night on TikTok. Sign of the times. Our incessant need to scroll. I came across a video from a creator whose political insights are always spot on, and he shared footage from a press conference in Michigan. A group of Muslim leaders …

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After the election—We must move in something other than fear

By Shay | October 26, 2024 | Comments Off on After the election—We must move in something other than fear

“When we aren’t mindful about principled struggle, we can end up caught in the kind of reductionist group-think that proliferates online but is rooted in, and heightens, our offline discomfort with generative conflict in cases of disagreement and difference.” —Adrienne Marie Brown The U.S. presidential election is entering the final stretch, and tensions are high all around, with many people—at …

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Post-Roe America and my story

By Shay | October 20, 2024 | Comments Off on Post-Roe America and my story

A few weeks after turning 18, I met the boy who would become my first husband and the father of my eldest child. He was 20 when we met and we fell head over heels, very much in that first love kind of way. Hot, heavy, and intense. We mistook hormonally fueled teen passion for love, and less than four …

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Things that happen when we don’t share reality

By Shay | October 16, 2024 | 1 Comment

Last month, I wrote a piece for Patreon patrons in which I posed the idea that, increasingly, Americans no longer share the same reality. The impetus for that piece was the Harris-Trump debate and how people’s political views and preferred narratives shaped how people saw the debate and who they deemed the winner. I had no idea when I penned …

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BGIM Fall fundraiser—Your help keeps the content coming

By Shay | October 12, 2024 | Comments Off on BGIM Fall fundraiser—Your help keeps the content coming

Twenty-eight years ago, two things happened that changed the trajectory of my life. I signed up for a stint as an AmeriCorps Vista, training to become a community organizer and working in a community on the far North side of Chicago and I found Jesus. I was baptized in Lake Michigan, and from that day forward, my life’s work has …

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The condescension of the left, or Jill’s Black woman problem

By Shay | October 10, 2024 | 5 Comments

I have spent the last 16 years as the executive director of several different non-profit organizations. For those not well-versed in the nonprofit world, my position is equivalent to the role of CEO in the for-profit sector. Given that less than 33% of non-profits in the United States are led by BIPOC folks, with less than 20% of those leaders …

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Discomfort and exiting your silo is a must

By Shay | October 7, 2024 | Comments Off on Discomfort and exiting your silo is a must

I recently attended a dear friend’s 50th birthday party and it was one of the most memorable nights I have had in years. This friend is a white woman with a multiracial family, and her friend and professional groups are reflective of the diversity in her family. As a 50-something-year-old Black woman living in Maine, it is rare that I …

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Have white women really changed?

By Shay | September 30, 2024 | Comments Off on Have white women really changed?

Unless one is a die-hard contrarian or MAGA type, most white-bodied people live in abject fear of being labeled a racist or coming across as a racist. For some white folks, being labeled as a racist is more hurtful than unpacking the fact that perhaps they do actually hold some racist and harmful views or that they engage in racist …

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When allies move on, there are consequences

By Shay | September 22, 2024 | Comments Off on When allies move on, there are consequences

This year, I have grown accustomed to the almost steady monthly stream of patron cancellations. It has been a very rough year as a writer eking out a living using Patreon, and while I occasionally write for publications, the rates are not what they once were. Throw in the lack of bookings for speaking engagements and, honestly, it has been …

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Critique and activism: People getting prickly about No Kings

By Shay | March 27, 2026

As the United States prepares for another No Kings Rally on March 28, emotions online are running high as seasoned organizers—many of them Black and Brown folks—express hesitation that another national rally will do much to move the needle on our current conditions in the United States. In turn, many white-bodied people are feeling prickly …

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Critique and activism: People getting prickly about No Kings

By Shay | March 27, 2026

As the United States prepares for another No Kings Rally on March 28, emotions online are running high as seasoned organizers—many of them Black and Brown folks—express hesitation that another national rally will do much to move the needle on our current conditions in the United States. In turn, many white-bodied people are feeling prickly …

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Round Up

A curated list of relevant articles & a peek into what Shay's reading

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Members only get a peek into what Shay's reading and wants to share.

Sample Round Up

By Shay | May 29, 2022

Happy Friday! It’s a gorgeous day up in my corner of the world and way too beautiful to be writing a blog post today. So I present you with the Friday Round-Up a list of blog posts this week from other bloggers that blew my mind. Perhaps if you need to kill some time or have a quiet moment you can check them out. http://ravingblacklunatic.blogspot.com/ Check out this cat, I have been a fan of his work forever. http://www.whataboutourdaughters.com/ Good stuff here as well http://sweetersalt.com/ A Maine blogger who talks fashion and food…the best of both worlds http://paganchild-starmommy.blogspot.com/2011/03/keeping-focused.html A new blog that offers words of wisdom for all of us. http://mscleaver.com/ Another Mainer who for Lent is giving up pants, she is also a crafty gal If you have any links to good blogs, feel free to leave em. It’s my hope to make the Friday Round Up a regular feature at my new home specifically I would live to shine some light and love on smaller bloggers. It’s hard out here in this blogosphere with so many good blogs to choose from and so little time so let’s help everyone get a slice of the pie. I will be back on Monday, at that time I will unveil some ideas I have around monetizing things but You May Also Like: No related posts.

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