Among the Akan people, the sankofa bird represents the work of reflecting on the past, drawing forward what’s good, and making good with the past in the present. A good review enables you to do that with your own history. Reflect on your last decade: 2006-2016. When you can identify the consistent patterns in your […]
Copeland: On the value of lives
I’m still processing some of the materials I worked through over the last few months to talk about trauma, resilience, nonviolence, and atonement. So I’m still reading Copeland’s work on embodiment and the value of human lives, and it’s echoing for me as I read headline upon headline of more Black death. Over the weekend in […]
Reclaiming the menu
I spent several hours on Thursday being filmed at home for a series of short profiles on US Adventists. As part of the filming process, I cooked dinner for the filmmakers. So halfway through the afternoon, I chopped up a little onion, celery and carrot, a bunch of collards, and potatoes; I simmered green split […]
In praise of community
When you speak out to people, you get strong yourself.” —Rena I present tomorrow morning! Special thanks to my favorite American, who will be my slide operator; Reggie L. and Jim C. who read my drafts; and to Rena, who so graciously shared her personal experiences and resilience tools with me. Together we’re sharing our […]
Building resilience
I’m speaking about resilience toward the end of this week at a conference in Maryland and have been completing my talk and presentation for the group. I’ve integrated several sources into my plans for the session and can’t wait to share it. Sources include womanist theology, critiques of conventional “death-surrogate” atonement, personal narratives, self- and community-care strategies, and a wellness […]
Grieving
When I’m grieving, as I am today, words are hard and all I can do is feel. I’ve been reading James Cone’s The Cross and the Lynching Tree, and thinking about the fact that spaces we create to live lives without self-monitoring or code-switching or defense-strategizing are only as safe as the world around us allows […]