Cover Image original caption reads “the power of dancing to soothe the savage breast upon the western plains.” From the New York Public Library Digital Collection. I began this series on things I never understand about anti-racism back in April 2019. In the process of beginning to see my blindspots in regards to race, I have been deeply grieved, but I have also found so much freedom, clarity and humanity. As with whatever I write here, I aim to...
Hello friends! I know I’ve been quiet this last month since I shared my last screensaver. At first it was coronavirus and having all my children at homem but the last few weeks it has been the protests in our country following the murder of George Floyd on May 25. I’m sure that you’ve followed these events, even if you’re not an American. I have been even more burdened for my country, by our violence and oppression. By our...
This post is the third in a series I’ve been writing about things I never understood about racism. You can read the previous posts here and check out the anti-racism resource page for further learning. I used to say that the first time I saw racism was when I moved from a diverse community of military families in Okinawa, Japan, to the coastal town of Jacksonville, NC as a Junior in high school. Overt forms of racism were easy to pick out there:...
Today was the last day of school for my girls! They’ve both grown so much this year, and now I’m excited to spend the summer going to the city pool and being off our routine. I also plan to work on a series of watercolor paintings for a First Friday art show at a local shop downtown in August (The Lady Jane if you’re local). If I get really productive, I may offer some paintings in the shop, too!...
This is part two of my series about things I never understood about racism. You can read part one here or watch the introduction to the whole series here. My anti-racism resource page is also up and under construction. Today, I’m talking about how I never understood a precise definition of a racist idea. Now, it might seem silly to even have to define a racist idea, but as I read, interact with people on these issues, and examine...
I hope you were able to watch the video of my introduction to this new series on anti-racism in my last post. I’ve been doing a lot of reading and writing to prepare for these next few posts on the things I never understood about racism. At the end of today’s post, I’m sharing a coloring page from Acts 17:26 (in English and Spanish), along with some talking points you can use with your kids when starting the conversation...
Today on the blog, things are a little different! I’m jumping into a new series that I’ve long wanted to write about, but instead of just writing it out in the safety of my thoughts, I felt God urging me to make this one a little more personal. So to do that, I recorded a video introducing this new blog series on racism. The video is below (or HERE if you don’t see it below), but I’ll include the transcript...
An author I follow on Instagram recently shared this experience: “When I tried to share about how I felt as a black female in a situation, they didn’t want to hear it. It is terrible not to want to listen to a sister’s heart, even when it could be hard. If we can’t take the first and simple step of talking, there’s little hope of racial harmony in the church. If we can’t listen, we can’t love. But there’s...
Sometimes a confluence of messages and events press upon me, like trickling mountain streams that together form a rushing river. I’ll try to explain these streams I find converging today. The events in Charlottesville, VA this past weekend weigh heavy on me, not just because the city is only a skip over the mountain from us, but also because I care about racial reconciliation in this country, especially our role as Christians in this work of God’s will being...
