I’ve had glitter bottles in my classroom as long as I’ve had a classroom, but this year – after much expertise gleaned from years of practice – my bottles were so particularly beautiful that my students talked me into selling them. (Here’s a shameless plug […]

Resources that sound progressive and anti-racist might be white supremacy in disguise, so anti-racist educators need to be careful. Here are some red flags to pay attention to. 

Have you ever said a word over and over and over and noticed how quickly it loses its meaning? If not, try it – just pick the closest object on your left, and repeat the word thirty or forty times and pay attention to how […]

 “When the architects of our great republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as […]

I was recorded in public by a black person a few months ago after a near-accident in a parking lot. (I misjudged the timing of an oncoming car as I turned left into a parking spot, and we narrowly missed each other. She confronted me […]

I’m sorry this post is delayed – February 2020 felt rather normal, but by March, the world was falling apart and the truth is that I lost a lot of my drive to write. However, with the recent incidents bringing racism into the forefront again […]

So, my bestie, Steph, talked me into participating in a writing contest, which I hadn’t done since college. It was a fun endeavor, though, more like improv comedy than short-story writing. The premise is simple: on a designated Friday night, you receive a prompt that […]

In contrast to Hailey, whose white fragility worsens throughout the book, Starr’s boyfriend, Chris, is provides a dynamic look at the “white ally.” He comes from a wealthy family, goes to a private school, but he’s enamored with black culture and dates one of the […]

This post will examine Hailey, one of Starr’s friends who displays racially problematic behavior throughout the book and demonstrates white fragility clearly. In one moment in the story, the teenagers observe a basketball game and joke about their “food babies” after a hefty lunch of […]

Walking selfie!  This summer, I made a commitment to walking 3-4 miles a day for fitness. I live in a house with four other people who all do Crossfit, but that’s not really my speed. (It’s not only hard as hell, but it’s also a […]