The inaugural Jacksonville Civil Rights Conference this past weekend explored how the city can move beyond its segregated history and stratified present. More needs to be done, the speakers said. Education is key Keynote speaker Johnnetta Betsch Cole said, “It’s not hyperbole, it is not an exaggeration when I say: The democracy in my country is under attack. And, most
Last week it seemed as if all eyes were glued to the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. I purposefully did not watch the hearings. However, that did not keep me from seeing the testy tête-à-têtes posted to Twitter and Instagram and catching the recaps on the evening news. The line of questioning from Senators Ted Cruz,
Florida has gotten a well-earned rep for being the country’s sideshow. “Florida Man” headlines alone illustrate why we’re considered America’s three-ring circus. (No shade to the dearly departed Barnum & Bailey from Sarasota.) But there comes a point for every prankster and practical joker, for every comedian, comic, and clown when you realize your audience is no longer laughing with
Tomorrow would have been Jordan Davis’s 27th birthday. Trayvon Martin would have made 27 on February 5th. Instead, we remember them as 17-year-old boys, their lives cut down before they really had the chance to live. This year marks 10 years since both boys were killed. Trayvon, while walking through his father’s Sanford subdivision. Jordan, at the Gate gas station
In my other life, I write books and host a podcast. I am unabashed about centering the point of view and experiences of minority-identified people in both of these endeavors. Readers of my work and listeners of my podcast who do not immediately identify with these cultural references and experiences are forced to do the work to increase their understanding
Thursday, most of us will gather together around tables in homes to share Thanksgiving dinner. I have often been struck by the fact that when I gather with my immediate family in Chicago or my extended family in New Orleans, the tables where we break bread are in homes situated in majority Black, if not all Black inner city neighborhoods.
