"Man, I Understand" - Love Letters to Black Men

 November 27, 2024 "You can't change what you don't challenge."     It's taken me some time to put my thoughts into words, primarily because I wanted to be pensive, not defensive. For years prior to the 2024 election, there have been covert and overt efforts to stymie racial equity and social justice work. For centuries before the masses called it DEI, it was called freedom fighting, abolitionism, civil rights activism, and all other forms of insisting on an erect spine instead of a bent-back. Beyond the methods of suppression, fear-mongering has risen as well as a belief that somehow, governmental, political, and societal forces would halt DEI work. As much as I pride myself on empathy, I have failed to share that fear. I spent a lot of time in reflection. Am I that delusional? Am I so committed to this work that I refuse to concede a loss? WHAT am I missing!?  Then it hit me: I'm an unapologetic Black man; I never learned to be afraid. Don't misunderstan...

 May 18, 2023     I grew up as an incurable mediator. I'm the oldest child and only boy in my household. Eldest children often inherit the role of third adult and parental translator. I'm also the older brother to my younger sister and it has been my honor to be her protector and intimidator-in-residence . You can add my time as a team captain in football to the list as well as my professional training as a counselor, and I possess the chemical composition for a tragic superhero. Finally, I am the proud father of six beautiful children and I deeply believe that it's my personal responsibility to prepare them for and protect them from the world.      DEI work in schools became the perfect trap for me. It fueled my Savior Complex from my childhood and perpetuated my personal pattern of solving other people's problems and carrying other people's weight. At 42 years old, I've grown pardonably tired of jumping in other people's fights and I feel like the "A...