I grew up in West Texas- land of wide-open spaces, sky high teen pregnancy rates, and a colorblind racial ideology that masks racism instead of confronting it. In colorblind ideology, it is impolite to talk about someone’s race. I remember hearing a story about a friend who was trying to tell her son which store … Continue reading
I’m slowly making my way through Ta-nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me because it’s so good and so dense that I feel like I need to savor his words. To help myself remember in the future, I’m gonna drop a few of my favorite parts so far: “Americans believe in the reality of “race” as … Continue reading
My friend Sarah and I preached on Lamentations 4 on Sunday. You can listen to it here. Here’s a written excerpt from my conclusion: People of privilege, I interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to give you good news. God does miraculous things in the midst of suffering and we do not have to be left … Continue reading
I’ve been thinking alot about tone policing this week. It’s a term I learned in an anti-racist context, as in white people tone police people of color when they’re talking about their experiences. In essence, it’s saying, “I can’t hear you unless you can talk about this calmly and rationally.” It’s just another way to … Continue reading
This has been a rough week, no? I went to a rally yesterday to turn in a petition to the Dallas District Attorney’s office demanding that the ex-police officer who shot Botham Jean in his Dallas apartment be charged with murder. When I was checking in with a friend, she shook her head sadly and … Continue reading
I’ve discovered a new Zumba studio. It’s not full of yuppie grandmas who wear their yoga pants to Target. I’m actually the only gringa there- it’s all latina women who come every day, sometimes multiple days a week. Here is what I look like after class: It likely comes as no surprise to you that I’m the … Continue reading
“You going on a picnic?” the Kroger employee asked me as I threw multiple pre-made sandwiches into my basket. “No,” I laughed and then told her that I was going down to a bus station in Downtown Dallas to meet immigrants on their way to family and friends after being separated by Immigration and Customs … Continue reading
The first asylee I ever met was a man from Eritrea. We’ll call him Ben. Ben had flown to Central America and come into the US across the Mexican border. He claimed asylum when he got here. I met him when he’d already been here about two years waiting on a judge to hear his … Continue reading
I used to be fun. Fun, like silly and laughy. Kind of an entertainer. I don’t think I’m that fun currently. That’s a hard statement for me to write , actually, because I feel like a large part of my identity has hinged on being happy and funny and joyful. In the last several months, … Continue reading
Hey you. Yes, you. The person with eyes and a brain that is reading these words right now. You gotta read this book. I know, I know. I just started a new series called “Currently Reading”, this is only the second blog in the series, and I’m already titling my posts off-script but, I didn’t … Continue reading
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