My dad used to sleep with a hammer in reach. He had a nightly routine. Check to make sure all three doors with entry to the house were locked, latched and that his hammer was on his nightstand. He did not own a gun but needed a weapon for protection should an unwelcomed intruder enter…
COVID 19 may very well lead to my death. People don’t seem to comprehend wearing facial coverings in public, so I got the full effect of neighbor’s look I encountered in the lobby. The jaw dropped and eyebrows shot up with a “why are you in this building” look. There was no sign of recognition.…
Two stories dominated the headlines this week, the aftermath mass shootings in Gilroy, El Paso and Dayton and the alleged suicide of sex offender Jeffry Epstein while awaiting trial. The “headline” making new news leaves little room for problematic reports like “Wealthy San Francisco Suburb Agrees to Desegregate School” or “Rape survivor fighting rapist for…
We’ve had two deadly mass shootings within 24 hours. Like it or not, this is who we are. As a nation, we vilified, killed and drove off the Native Americas, kidnapped and enslaved Africans, blocked immigrants from China with the exclusion act of 1882 and interned Americans of Japanese descent into concentration camps in 1942.…
It is the time of year with all of the best of and top lists. Soooooooo, here are the most viewed blog posts of 2018. The top one is from 2017, a reminder, that even when the year changes, things from the previous year are still relevant. Hush: Summer of Love, the Fourth of July…
I’ve been asked a few times, “why do black women look so mean all of the time.” It’s a good question, but I can’t think of an easy response. See the comments to the right I read this week.¹ I am referred to as an animal. “These are animals.” “Stop hiring these animals.” That was hard…
Why do we celebrate Labor Day, historical significance or modern day celebration? Labor day originated as a celebration of unions, back in the late1800’s. Now, the first Monday in September is more about back to school, end of summer and sales. Union membership was at a record low in 2017 – 10.7% of the working population.…
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…
This Pulitzer Prize–winning photograph, The Soiling of Old Glory, by Stanley Forman is cringe worthy, sickening. It’s 1976, Boston. I heard statements like, well t at didn’t happen here, or that was 42 years ago.The kid wielding the flag is 17 years old. [Joseph] Rakes vividly recalls the “blind anger” that motivated him—anger aimed,…
