It’s been a long day and my spoons are nearly depleted, but I want to write this, even if I do a poor job of conveying my intended message due to fatigue, because I fear if I postpone it there’s a possibility that I might not get back to it. So I’m asking for your …
Accountability, bridge-building, & seeking a “middle” path Read More »
Cue the lights, cue the music. The video starts. A young lady with Down Syndrome stands on a grassy football field, her eyes glistening with tears that threaten to roll down her carefully made-up face as she is crowned Homecoming Queen to a chorus of thunderous applause. The next few minutes of the video are …
“You’re not really supposed to be here,” she said. I was at the sink in the girls’ restroom washing my hands when the words shot out from behind me. I heard the words. I knew what they meant, but I didn’t know what they were supposed to mean. I turned around slowly, a little confused, …
Last night I was in bed cuddling with my five year old son as he drifted off to sleep. He had a Mickey Mouse toy tightly clenched in one fist and a green marker top clenched in the other. As he grew more drowsy he arched his back and pressed the bottoms of his feet …
#JeremyMardis was killed by cops; does anyone care? Read More »
Nine innocent lives were recently lost in #Charleston, South Carolina when a white supremacist entered a historically black church, was welcomed into an evening Bible study, and announced after an hour that he hated Black people and had came to kill the people who were there. He then opened fire, murdering clergy persons, college graduates, …
(As an FYI, identical version is cross-posted on my advocacy blog [Advocacy Without Borders]; thanks!) In a LOT of ways I am a “minority.” A LOT. But in other ways, I also have a lot of privilege. I live in a resource-rich Western nation. I speak English. I have US citizenship. I am educated. I …
Most people who know me know how passionate I am about things that I care about, especially human rights. It’s personal. I advocate and I write and I take action because I deeply believe in the causes I champion. I believe that regardless of age, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ability status, nationality, socioeconomic level, HIV or …
This post is about Disability Day of Mourning. But before I can post about that, I need to share something else first. I promise you it will make sense when I tie it all together. (At least it makes sense in my head…) When I think back about some of my thoughts (and comments) from …
STOP KILLING US/Disability Day of Mourning/#Disabled Lives Matter/#DDOM Read More »
(This post was originally published on the Advocacy Without Borders blog here.) “The inspiration behind thi’s post is an amazing 12 year old girl we call Mina. Mina is a sweet, kind, and awesome kid who brings joy to her family, friends, and all who know her. She is thoughtful, deeply compassionate, and full of …
Pass Mina’s Law to Fight Stigma: People with HIV are #NotYourInfection! Read More »
I’m actually not sure what (if anything) the faith community in my city and the faith community as a whole (outside of Missouri) is saying/doing COLLECTIVELY around Ferguson. Or Eric Garner. Or any of it. I know that I’ve seen people of all races at local rallies (including some individual church groups), and I know …
Where is the faith community in the Ferguson response? (WWJD) Read More »
