Nia Wilson died when her throat was slashed in an unprovoked attack on a BART train a few weeks ago; the day I turned 60. I determined I needed to work until 65 to ensure I am fully funded to the age of 96. I was in a bubble. I forgot Black women experience the highest rates of homicide of any racial group in the United States; more black women are killed in America than any other race. I ride that train. I’ve transferred trains at that station. I could have been the target.
My fear with aging is money; fear of murder is not in the list of top things. However, this latest incident reminded me I suffer constantly with the subtle stress of vigilance in public spaces. As an African American, this is a new level of ridiculous crap. This week, someone called the Santa Monica police and said a large black man was entering a residence that did not live there. Basically, police held the actor Ving Rhames at gunpoint for entering his own home. 
“I get up, I open the door, and there’s a red dot pointed at my face from a 9-millimeter, and they say, ‘Put up your hands.’ Literally,” he said. “Now, I just walked and opened up the door.”
The police, he said, told him to open the door with one hand and exit the house. One officer kept a pistol trained on him as he walked outside, where Rhames found another officer, the captain of police and a police dog.
Suddenly, one of the officers recognized Rhames — not because he was an actor but because the two men’s high school-age sons played against each other in basketball.
The situation de-escalated, but Rhames naturally wanted to know why they came to his house in the first place.
“He said to me, ‘A woman called 911 [and] said a large black man was breaking into the house.
I had lunch with a couple of friends yesterday and I commented how this is all crazy. One commented, “No, it’s not crazy, let’s call it what is racism.” She is not wrong. To think this is crazy, is crazy, there is a cause and an effect. The cause is racism. I live in Oakland, where less than two miles from my home, there was the high profile case of a Stanford professor calling the police on a family barbecuing at the lake. She was afraid. Someone called the police on a black man who they feared was doing criminal activity; it was a firefighter doing a routine inspection. Two weeks ago, across the bridge in San Francisco, the police were called on a black man opening his own business. It’s exhausting enough, but, I deal with the reactions also I hear comments when I am in public spaces. I read things. I feel like I’m crying wolf, that the public at large does not believe there is inequity and actually rationalize behaviors.
It’s actually comical how Black people and the media are now making such a big deal about calling police. I’m pretty sure all races get the police called on them at one time or another. I’d be embarrassed if the media was constantly trying to protect my race. I’d feel like my race was special needs that has to be coddled and protected.
People who watch TV news are told by the anchors that in this day and age, they need to be vigilant and if they see any suspicious activity, they should call the police. Well, call or not — what should we do?
Understand, every time an incident like this occurs, as an African American woman, I process how I would handle the situation because for me, there is a reasonable probability of occurrence as I have described in previous posts. Why do people fear me when I’m more likely to be murdered than they are; when I’m more likely to be a victim of a violent crime. Benjamin Franklin said, “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” So, thank you Anne Hathaway for your outrage. I have the hope of making it to a fearless 96.
annehathaway The murder of Nia Wilson- may she rest in the power and peace she was denied here- is unspeakable AND MUST NOT be met with silence. She is not a hash tag; she was a black woman and she was murdered in cold blood by a white man. White people- including me, including you- must take into the marrow of our privileged bones the truth that ALL black people fear for their lives DAILY in America and have done so for GENERATIONS. White people DO NOT have equivalence for this fear of violence. Given those givens, we must ask our (white)selves- how “decent” are we really? Not in our intent, but in our actions? In our lack of action?
Peace and prayers and JUSTICE for Nia and the Wilson family xx
“Don’t you dare,” the words came out so fast and defiant, to my manager, I had to back off with “I 
I am fearless in yoga. I got years, maybe decades in age on a lot of people in class, but I’ve seen things and I can do some stuff, watch. Bring it. For the last couple of months, I’ve taken that attitude at work, the one about, ultimately, value is in expertise. So bring it! I have seen things, done stuff and been 
I had this moment of clarity. The Hasan Minaj, interview on the New Yorker radio hour.
If ideas akin to the American dream tax pass 
It’s really comfortable to think, “that doesn’t happen here” or when someone cites an incident to say, “that is an anomaly or a one off.” That’s the discount. It’s something taxers say that make themselves feel better; it does nothing for the taxed. How to shift away from the American Dream Tax being ok? I will follow the guidance of Hasan.
n place of the shackles and chains is a tablet, engraved in Roman numerals with the date of July 4, 1776. This fourth of July, celebrate as you may, but consider the footnotes of history. The end of the revolutionary war on September 3, 1783, was with help from France, Spain and the Dutch Republic. The Statue of Liberty dedicated on October 28, 1886, was a gift to honor the freeing of slaves and lives lost during the civil war. 
While changes to the statue may have the appearance celebrating American Independence, the chains at the bottom of the state are a footnote to the intent; based on a true story.
On March 13, 2018, a flight attendant was responsible for a puppy being placed in an overhead bin. The 10 month old french bulldog died in flight. Less than 24 hours later, Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana sponsored a bill to ban pets from the overhead bin, because “pets are family.” What does Senator Kennedy have to say about the detained children? There is nothing in the senator’s Twitter feed or Facebook posts. Silence. The news of infants being taken from their parents, children sleeping on concrete floors with mylar blankets and teens being placed on planes and flown to detention centers throughout the US ripped out the collective hearts of us with one. In the midst of an animated conversation on this very topic, a freak accident sent me into mild shock and the emergency room.
I’m only interested in getting the facts out in front of the American people. Some of the bacon-wrapped shrimp crowd here in Washington doesn’t think the American people are smart enough to draw their own conclusions. I think they’re wrong.
This Pulitzer Prize–winning photograph, The Soiling of Old Glory,
I was also a 17-year-old when this happened. The joy I experienced just a few days earlier with a college acceptance and engineering scholarship to a predominantly white university in the south vanished in the moment. The residents of Boston, declared they weren’t racist, they were just anti busing. Are you good with that? Should I not be afraid because, there was someone helping the black guy who’d been knocked to the ground? Should I be relieved that the flag never hit Landmark, his injuries were from crowd attacking? The problem is a black man in a sea of white is brutalized. While people are anxious to distance themselves from the optic, can we address the problem?
Look at this photo. Eric Reid and Colin Kaepernick are kneeling in with respect and solemnity. What are details behind this?
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out! He’s fired. He’s fired!’” the president said at a rally for Republican senator Luther Strange,
With my balance beam experience, it was easy to spot the error. In life? At work, at home, think of how even one word can change the problem you’re trying to solve and lead to a different intent and action The misinterpretation is not obvious, but the consequence of mayhem, chaos and frustration are. This week, are you acting on fact or interpretation? What’s the damage if your interpretation is wrong?
Memorial day is in honor of those who have died while serving in the country’s armed forces. Formerly known as decoration day, the holiday started after the American Civil War to commemorate all the soldiers who died in the war. The civil war, today – still remains the highest loss of lives in military action. That is nearly 2% of the total US population. A number that increased the probability, every single person was impacted, every single person knew someone who lost a life in service. Today, for as much media coverage as we have, the loss of life is tangible, but for many not personal.
You think, “Yuk, that doesn’t taste right.” Then you remember, certain food combinations (orange juice after brushing your teeth – cringe)¹ destroy flavors. Hence, the value of a palate cleaner to remove food residue, and competing flavors
We all glitch. You know, you can’t recall the name of something, you send an email without all the information, you notice the light is green and wonder how long you have been sitting there. It’s a mental blown fuse. It’s temporary and just requires a reset. A mental short circuit may present with the same symptoms only in a persistent state. The balance is discerning the difference and acting accordingly. The remedy for a blown fuse may be as simple as a good night’s sleep or food. That more problematic state, mental short circuitry requires troubleshooting. What’s the root case? What can you fix?
¹I have reset the circuit breaker. Unplugged everything in the room with no power. Reset the circuit breaker multiple times. Checked all the GFCIs outlets. Reset circuit 
I had role models for my neurosis. When my Dad died, my mom routinely said, “I’ll be dead in a year, you know when one spouse dies the other dies within a year.” A few years later, my mom was deeply concerned and sad; she was still alive. “Does this mean I didn’t love your father enough?” But, don’t think it was just my mom, my Dad moved into the garage to experience poverty. As a child, I struggled with the
Golf clubs, nah. Don’t care, they are all clubs to me. Shoes, well, are we talking heels, pumps, boots, oxfords or monk-straps, etc. Yoga in shoes, I love shoes. Look, I know this is one area where many would describe me as overzealous about matters that do not impact life or death. Much like a discussion about feminism in dystopian societies in the series Westworld and The Handmaid’s Tale. Bless be the fruit now freeze all motor functions. These topics have select audience. What does your audience care about?
I’m not boycotting Starbucks. I am not stopping anything. You? Maybe in lieu of hashtags, sad faces and likes, question. What would you have done if you were in that Philadelphia Starbucks? Would you have recorded it on your cell phone and posted in protest? Would you have intervened when the manager shouted leave?
I am not boycotting Starbucks because this is not a Starbucks issue. As a country, we have to accept that unconscious bias and privilege exist and feed micro aggressions¹. What happened wasn’t rare, it wasn’t a one off, it’s America. I heard someone say, well that wouldn’t happen here in the Bay Area, we’re too diverse. It happened here. W Kamu Bell reflected on his experience of being kicked out of Elmwood cafe in Berkeley. The story is is stunning as he’d eaten there earlier in the day and had returned to join his wife. During a 2015 segment on this American Life², he commented, …we don’t need an apology, we need a reckoning. The recent Starbucks incident is another opportunity to have an open dialog on race. I understand many people are sorry this happened, but me, I am once again scarred.
… City of Berkeley departments and City food services contractors to refrain from: 1. Procuring sugar-sweetened beverages with City funds; 2. Selling sugar-sweetened beverages on City property, including in vending machines; and 3. Serving sugar-sweetened beverages at City meetings and events on City property.
But that was before cell phones. Cell phones were a disruption. The airports could have tried to keep the phone booths in place, made the phones sleeker or added extra features like an aromatherapy mister. Instead, they were forced to pay attention to travelers who set up labyrinth hazards of cords and gadgets in search of power. The airport response was to install chairs with power outlets and sleek bars with outlets and USB ports. Manufacturers saw an opportunity and the airports evolved. It’s a simple matter of looking at a solution and asking, is there something else that serves the same purpose or does the same thing?
She’s one of the people I think of when organizations say, “we cannot find qualified women. ” She invented the electronic feeding tube which 
As we welcome the year of the dog, what are the things you are holding on to the way you used to do? How can you look at work and life with a new perspective for the new year?
Because people were bombing black churches and he preached
On January 14, 1963, King’s contemporary, George Wallace took the oath of office as governor of the state of Alabama. In his speech, the line that stood out was:
From March 7 – March 25 of 1965, King led the march from Selma to 
Johnson went on to sign the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that August it was a step forward, but by no means a fait accompli in race relations. On April 4, 1968 Martin Luther King Junior was assassinated in Memphis Tennessee. In 1970, in a run for his second term as governor, Wallace ran what has been called the most racist campaign ever. Wallace aired television advertising with slogans such as “Do you want the black bloc electing your governor?” and circulated an ad showing a white girl surrounded by seven black boys, with the slogan “Wake Up Alabama! Blacks vow to take over Alabama” It’s worth noting that Wallace stated, “I’ve never made a racist speech in my life.” It seems fitting to end the story on Wallace here and cast him as a villain; but I can’t.
NPR aired an interview Recy Taylor from a few years ago as a follow-up to a speech by Oprah Winfrey last week during her Golden Globe acceptance speech. In 1944, 6 men kidnapped and raped her as she was 
The view from the corner. The tents are barely visible to drivers. People have said they are afraid to walk this stretch of Broadway at night
