Blog Posts
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Neurodivergence, Disability, and Taking Accountability for Racial Harm
There’s this pattern that happens when a white or non-Black person is asked to take responsibility for racist behavior: “This conversation is triggering. I will no longer engage.” “I wasn’t trying to be racist. I’m neurodivergent.” “I’m too sick to deal with this stress.” At times, mental illness, neurodivergence, and/or disability is used as an…
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The Definition of White Space: You don’t and can’t know me here
Bring a gift or something to share. Make small talk. Ask about the family but don’t dwell. Eat the food and extend compliments. Don’t overstay your welcome. I am hedging a guess that you were taught some of these house guest “rules,” overtly or learned. Social norms. Be friendly, don’t be known. If any information…
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Mid-May Ask
This May Mid Month Ask will be short(ish). As always there is a flurry of new stuff happening, both in front and in back of the house, and both here in the community of LoR and outside, as I take our message of kind candor and rigor to other communities and groups. It’s a privilege…
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Redlining In The Time Of The Pandemic
In this, another in the Race and Vaccination series, we turn our attention to redlining. For those unaware, redlining is the practice of, according to Investopedia, ‘… a discriminatory practice that puts services (financial and otherwise) out of reach for residents of certain areas based on race or ethnicity’. The term used to be utilized…
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Vaccine Strata
Comments welcome. Norms apply. When I went to get my vaccination (my first one) a couple weeks ago, after I got my shot I was shown to an observation room. I didn’t mind. I found my place in the corner, pulled out my phone, and alternately browsed my messages and engagements on LoR (and, yes,…
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Grant Application Adventure
So, on Friday, I pressed the ‘submit’ button for applying for a significant grant from a well-known funder. It took two weeks to write. It took three days to recover. One of the more challenging topics we in LoR leadership have is in the ongoing conversation about grants. Should we apply for them? Is chasing…
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Mother’s Day Message 2021
On this Mother’s Day, I find myself thinking about the mothers who inhabit this space and the love you all have for not only your own children, but also the work you all are doing to make the world more equitable and less harmful for Black and brown children. I love this; love that we…
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Early May Ask
In this early May Ask, I want to keep it simple. We know that, even as we are still processing the Chauvin verdict, and the targeted violence toward the Asian Community, and preparing for what some are calling yet another Black Spring, that, despite and beyond these discrete and activating events, that there is still…
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Mid-April Ask
Monthly Financial Engagement to Date: $5883 Monthly Goal: $12000 This is the umpteenth time I have attempted to draft the April Mid Month Ask. It’s always a hard thing to write, and there is always a reason I feel less than comfortable; pick your reasons in any given month or period– this time it’s Holly…