
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Museum of the Bible recently opened an exhibit entitled, “The Slave Bible: Let the Story be Told.” The centerpiece is a book called, “Parts of the Holy Bible, selected for the use of the Negro Slaves, in the British West-India Islands” published in 1808. Originally published in London in 1807, this book was apparently…

This past Sunday morning I took part in my first organized run; I ran the 10 mile in the Twin Cities Marathon. I had done the Tough Mudder back in 2012, but I hadn’t properly prepared for that and when you’re all covered in mud and queueing up for obstacles it just makes the run…

White Space Maintaining black dignity in white space is the name of the game of life for a black person in the Anglo-American realm. Conversational and cultural norms are undoubtedly white in this realm. This can be brutal in its exhaustion and confusion and can be seriously disorienting for black folk working and living in this space….

Americans don’t like talking about slavery and its aftermath. Of course, many countries and peoples have their truly dark chapters, and none of their citizens “like” talking about those things either. But as is often the case, we do things different in America. Whereas Germany criminalizes holocaust denial and has erected an ineluctable memorial in the…

At the table sat seven fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, and the other three apostles who at the very least were Jews. If you’re like me and grew up in 21st century United States, then that probably wasn’t the most eyebrow raising description. Except for the tax collectors, because I don’t think the majority…

If one member suffers, all suffer together; – 1 Corinthians 12:26 I’m going to be addressing an issue that I couldn’t possibly hope to fully articulate nor cover in a single post, so I’d like to ask for grace in that from all parties reading before I get started. What I do hope to address…

In light of the Walter Scott and Eric Harris killings, along with the #ShutdownA14 protests against police brutality this past week, I’d like to share an excerpt from my essay entitled, “To Establish Justice at The Gates”, which was published in the Los Angeles Review of Books earlier this month. How can I be well, when my sister…

I’m fortunate enough to be doing my graduate work at a small, liberal arts college in Southern California, where, in the middle of January, I get to walk to and from class in temperatures ranging from sixty-five to eighty degrees. In all honesty, if you’re running late or forget a book, this walk can seem…

This is a story about the stories we tell ourselves every time we turn on the television, and every time we leave our homes. They’re the stories we tell whenever we see someone and assume we know who they are, what they’re about, before we’ve met them, before we’ve heard the actual stories that make them who…

A few months ago I was walking down the streets of Berkeley. The sun was setting, and as the city darkened I threw my purse around my neck in order to hold on a little tighter. There weren’t many people out and about so as I watched an African American male dressed in dark colors…