Actualize

My 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 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. [...]

I 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 [...]

As 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 [...]

By 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 [...]

I 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 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. [...]

Hey Mama, I’m feeling alone this morning. I miss Mississippi. I miss you. How you feeling? Hey Kie, I’m tired. I’m wearing the pearl bracelet that you gave me. It is so beautiful. This morning I managed to get it locked alone. Did [...]

My friend hurled those words out, mid-rant, on the ride home from a very poorly planned fund raiser. We had purchased tickets in support of a scholarship fund for high-school seniors who had “overcome life-changing obstacles to achieve academic success.” As doctoral students who had [...]