Over the weekend, I visited the Cummer Museum for the opening of the Deborah Roberts exhibition I’m. On a large wall, visitors encounter a description of the exhibition, which notes the title I’m “signals a merging of the individual self (the ‘I’) with a larger sense of being (‘am’) and suggests a sense of self-determination and a reclaiming of community.”
Why isn’t the school day as long as the work day? That’s the thought that’s been running through my mind since my 7-year-old returned to the classroom last month. After three years of only creative entrepreneurship through writing and publishing, I returned to the workforce in a fully remote position in April of this year. The expected work hours are
As humans, we have an average of 6,000 thoughts per day. We are also flooded with as much as 34 GB of information a day. These messages worm their way into our consciousness, settle into our subconscious and form our thought patterns. These thoughts shape our perspective and mold our world view. They create deep narratives tied to how we
Monday morning marks back-to-school time for my son along with thousands of other Duval County students. In preparation, I have been keeping my eyes and ears tuned to the news of the bus driver and teacher shortages. I’ve checked the database to see how this will affect my son. (At the time of this writing, he’s been assigned a teacher
On Jan. 6th, 2021, I sat beside my mother in my living room, eyes glued to the television watching the attack on the Capitol. I thought, I tweeted and I said repeatedly, “If that had been Black people, they’d have been dead.” It’s the same thought that circles my mind every time I see the footage either during the hearings
I was talking to my son recently about travel, and I suggested that for his next spring break we visit a friend of mine in Texas. After making my pitch, I asked if he wanted to go. He said, “No. They have mass shootings in Texas.” In the moment, I registered, Wow he’s really been paying attention when I watch
Reckoning. That is the word that’s most often applied to this time we’re living in. It began with the confluence of COVID-19 and the racial uprising after the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in 2020. Two years later, it continues. As a fiction writer and former television producer, many of my ideas for stories are influenced
As a woman it is not enough to demand “my body, my choice.” We have no solid ground on which to stand and make our demand.
When I walked into the new Beauty Depot store on Southside Boulevard for the first time, it was like the heavenly hosts began harmonizing an angelic chorus as I was blinded by the light. It’s the nicest beauty supply store I’ve ever been in. I said as much, out loud, upon entering and standing slack-jawed in front of the door.
“I am sick and tired of being sick and tired…nobody’s free until everybody’s free…if I fall, I’ll fall 5 feet 4 inches forward in the fight for freedom.” — Fannie Lou Hamer All manner of Juneteenth celebrations took place over the weekend at the local, state and national level to celebrate the day the last enslaved people in Galveston, Texas,