My mom has the cheery demeanor, moral sensibilities and lingo of a Leave It To Beaver episode. “Don’t be such a sourpuss,” she scolds. “Have you ever smoked a doobie?” she inquires. “Oh, that is just terrific!” she exclaims. My mom is what I’d like [...]
My Name is Carrie, and I Medicate My Son
Carrie Cariello2016-11-29T17:39:13-05:00My 10-year-old son has autism. And we give him anti-anxiety medicine every day. If someone had told me fifteen years ago — back when I was a smart, chic, kind of fit twenty-something newlywed — that my new husband Joe and I would one day give our child a [...]
My Friend Died in a Police Van. That Could Have Been Me – if I were Black
Chun Rosenkranz2016-11-29T17:39:13-05:00My friend Hanuman was cremated two weeks ago, his ashes now sit in a wooden box on his parent’s alter. The cause of his death is still being investigated, but we know he died shackled to a bench in the back of a prison van. [...]
Sick, Tired, and Hopeless: Accepting the Racial Realities of Being Black in America
Tiffanie Drayton2016-11-29T17:39:13-05:00I can no longer witness the senseless murder of people of color by the police without breaking down in tears. The recently released video that captured 50-year-old Walter Scott being shot in his back eight times as he attempted to run away from white police officer [...]
When Gelato Gets Racial or a Little Girl Hears the N-Word for the First Time
Shay Stewart-Bouley2016-11-29T17:39:13-05:00As the wheels continue to fly off my personal life, moments of simple joy and normalcy are increasingly hard to come by. My son’s unexpected visit home this week promised to be an opportunity to simply be present with family and savor the simple joys of [...]
How To Win the War on Sexual Assault
Walnut Bowl2016-11-29T17:39:13-05:00The Walnut Bowl draws comics at www.thewalnutbowl.com | Follow Walnut Bowl @thewalnutbowl This piece was reprinted by EmpathyEducates with permission or license. We thank the Illustrator, Cartoonist Walnut Bowl. We are grateful for his kindness and for Walnut Bowl's invitation to speak the many ways [...]
National Poetry Month 2015: “A poem should not mean/But be”
Paul L Thomas EdD2016-11-29T17:39:13-05:00By Paul L. Thomas, Ed.D. | Originally Published at The Becoming Radical. April 1, 2015 Spring semester 1980, I was a first-year student at Spartanburg Methodist College and the class was Public Speaking 101, taught by Steve Brannon. At that point in my redneck life, I was [...]
My Intersectional Life
Eisa Nefertari Ulen2016-11-29T17:39:14-05:00I am a New Yorker. Ever since 9-11, I have felt like I have an X on my back. This feeling does not replace the vulnerability I feel as a Black woman in the United States. It increases it. It grows my unease, my dis-ease. [...]
You Say You Don’t See Color
Betsy L. Angert2016-11-29T17:39:14-05:00You say you don't see color Do you see flowers? lavender and pink Carroty, crimson, and umber? What about the dress I'm wearing? Do you see its color? I wonder Is it black and blue or white and gold? I recall the frenzy — All over color. [...]