Everybody. Deserves. Housing.
…There should be a range of housing choices for people based on room number, neighborhood, pet eligibility, and proximity to public transit, work, schools, and daycares.
Collective Resistance and Freedom: Writing With An Intersectional Voice
As a person of color we often shoulder differing forms of existential violence, due to the pain of living in a white supremacist and racist society. This requires constant negotiations with trauma narratives and these negotiations often promote an environment of silence that is used as a way to avoid and marginalize our pain.
Being Loved In The Cleansing Light of Blackness
“One can never forget the feeling of being loved by one’s folks, the looks of care and wonder.”
You Black, sing like you mean it.
The stream of all of it was there. Flowing like a stream or perhaps the tears of my inner goddess, forbidden, cryptic, yet flowing with healing energy. I ran naked through the woods. Was I free? Were there dogs barking? Was the crackling underneath my feet my own. Or were they slave catchers? Slave catchers….
DoJ Lawsuit to Bring Constitutional Policing to Ferguson
Copy of the press release in its entirety. See original here – http://goo.gl/at0zoM Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch Delivers Remarks at Press Conference Announcing Lawsuit to Bring Constitutional Policing to Ferguson, Missouri Washington, DC, United States ~Wednesday, February 10, 2016, Remarks as prepared for delivery Good afternoon and thank you all for being here. I am joined by…
Someone Tried To Force Feed Me Their Whiteness
A racist troll asked me if I always wanted to be white. This is what I told him.
Feeling All Kind of Ways This Morning
I know how cold and warm it is, because I feel it. I know the chill of white supremacy, and the warmth of compassion from those who treasure multicultural people. To live within, without. To watch, remember, and to know the spirit of colonization and to question if living in a colony is all I will…
Hunger and Tears
” I cry for all of the ways that we have tried to voice are pain, through words, through dance, through hymns, through protests, through silence, through carrying signs, through law suits, through chants, through the sweat of our bodies.”
Farts, Racist Funk, and Frat Boys
Here is the thing–I am really getting tired of being thrown into the centrifugal like ride, media circus about race relations and racism in this country….I don’t think it is news when the manager and the police chief in Ferguson resign…this is a time warp thing that I knew would eventually happen. It had too-…
Message To Scholars of Color
I hear you, and you are not alone. I know what it feels like to step into academe, to face students and faculty who don’t look like you and give you the vibe of “unwantedness.” (Sorry grammarly, I am not going to change this word because yes, I am saying unWANTEDness. We are sometimes…
To Thee I Will Sing: No Justice, No Peace. (2 of 4 postings)
November 29, 2014 – December 22, 2014. (These are the start dates and finish dates for each essay in the “To Thee I Will Sing” essay series). Round two. Examining “national and historic narratives of race.” In 1998, President Clinton developed a wide sweeping initiative to examine race related health disparities. I am one of…
Triumph of Selma: Duvernay’s Cinematic Mastery of Blackness While Walking The Tight Wire of Whiteness
I saw the explosive, powerful, and touching movie, #Selma. Selma is one of my all time favorite movies because of its touching portrayal of human complexity created within narrow psychological margins. Selma also tries to correct the cinematic over-emphasis of the over-indulgence of seeing Black history through Black male experience. The movie recasts the lives of African Americans…
My Review of The Movie Selma
Go See It.
Why Are There No Black Women In The US Senate?
I recently read a fascinating article on the number of women in the United States Senate. I was struck by the title of the article, The Secret History of Women in the Senate” and thought it should have been titled “The Secret History of White Women in the Senate.” Why are black women political voices so…
Engaged Buddhism, Oprah Angel Network, and Renewed Spirits
I am sure that many of the protesters who may have financial challenges with making their bails and would be grateful for Oprah Angel network support, or some other financial foundation Oprah owns or supports that speaks to social justice and social change. The protesters’ experience and willingness to protest injustice is as powerful for me…
The Drip-Drip Method: I JUST CAN’T GIVE YOU MY FORGIVENESS -S1/E8
Previously on Episode 7: Miss Wilson tells ReeRee about ReeRee’s father, Becker. This is what Miss Wilson said about the enslaved Black man that she loved–“I loved your father. You may never understand but having you near me all of these years has kept my love for him in my heart. I still remember…
How To Read The Drip-Drip Method
Thank you for reading my TV series, Drip-Drip method. Here is a helpful hint on how you might want to read them, if you like. On the right hand navigation panel look for “The Drip Drip Method”, and then in the drop down menu, search for “The Drip Drip Method, and all of the series/essays will come…
The Drip Drip Method: Sobbing Like There Is No Tomorrow S1/E7
Previously on Episode 6: The group got all of Tim’s money and kept it at ReeRee’s house in a tin cup. ReeRee learns that she and Sethaline are bloodsisters, and that she is half white. Lauren fixates on the new hired hand Melvin, who replaced Tim. ReeRee swooned her head up and down on the table while…
Being an ally is understanding and validating the worldview of that group
I am pleased to have the permission of my dear friend, Tara Edwards to post this wonderful essay. Tara is the first of many (I hope) guest writer/blogger on the Pancake Diaries. As you know we are engaged in lots of peaceful protests and conversations about racism, oppression, power, and police brutality in our country….
Essential Social Justice Readings – Volume 1, Dec 2014
Essential Social Justice Readings Volume 1, Dec 2014-curated by Dr. Brian L. Ragsdale, brianragsdalewriter.com. From time to time I will bring you articles, videos, and other communications that relate to exploring oppression, culture, and social justice topics. I am sending this out on December 4th, 2014, a dreary and somber day after the Eric Gardner…
The Drip Drip Method: Wheels of Life S1/EP6
Previously on Episode 5: Tim got jumped by the group for attacking Bird’s son, Peter. The group let him go free, ReeRee shot him just to let him know she was not playing. They gave Tim $50 and they kept $150 as their endowment fund. ReeRee slowly counted the money as the others watched, 148, 149,…
To Thee I Will Sing: No Justice, No Peace.
Dear Friends and Readers, I want to thank you for reading my blog over the past year. I started it in late Oct/November 2013 and I am quickly approaching 1,000 readers. I didn’t really know how many people would follow me so I am startled by the number of “my followers” and every time I…
Requiem for Another Lost Son
My heart is full with so much sadness. As an African American psychologist, as an american citizen, as a human being with a heart, we must show compassion and sympathy for families traumatized by violence. Watch this video (see the video at the end of the post but please read on first) if you want…
The Drip Drip Method: You Got Two Choices S1/E5
Previously on Episode 4: Velvet shared with the group that Tim has sexually assaulted her. Lauren joined the group but not everyone liked her. Tim attacks Bird’s son, Peter. S1/Episode 5: You Got Two Choices ReeRee was the first person to jump on Tim’s back as he tried hard to straddle me, using his knees…
The Drip Drip Method: His Breath Stank S1/E4
Previously on Episode 3: Cedric mentions new Indians at the Unity Farm.. Sethaline told the group her husband was having an affair with her sister and felt betrayed by the group. Sethaline threatens to sick Tim onto the group. S1/Episode 4: His Breath Stank “His breath stank,” Velvet started sharing with the group, grimacing as…
The Drip-Drip Method: Palms Facing Up S1/E3
Previously on The Drip-Drip Method: Sethaline threatens to shut the group down. She also presents a threat to sick Tim on one of the group members. The group also struggles with the possibility of a mysterious new visitor. S1/Episode 3-Palms Facing Up: “Ok,” Sethaline continued tucking her long straggly hair behind her left ear, “I…
The Drip-Drip Method-Sethaline’s confession S1/E2
Previously on Episode 1 of The Drip-Drip Method. Early Fall, 1859. Velvet reported that Tim keeps spitting on the children. Tim slapped Sarah’s daughter which outraged the group. The group used Drip Drip method, classic form, to correct Tim’s behavior. Tim bought Sarah’s daughter, Rhonda brand new shoes. The committee never got to the issue…
The Drip-Drip Method: Called to Order S1/E1
The Drip-Drip Method is a period piece, starting circa 1859. The story follows the life events of strong African American women who were enslaved. This show will examine this dreadful chaotic moment in history from the resistance and triumphant point of view of Blacks. How did they survive? What were their resistance strategies? How did they organize themselves behind…
Lather
If I had known I would have made more lather. Smell of ivory soap, clinical, clean, nothing extra. We grab these plastic things and push out the slippery stuff Sprinkles, then gushes of water. We mold it through our fingers, our longing. Clinching the lower palm, bumps on the top of our wrists We make…
How Many Walls In Your Teepee?
I woke from a wierd dream state while finishing up my ten-day assignment in Indianapolis. I was staying at the JW Marriot for my university. As my mind crawled out of its haze, this emerged; “How Many Walls In Your Teepee?” I didn’t really know what this meant, pondered it for a minute or two,…
Joy Beyond The Prison and Prism of Pain: Racial bias and legislative intent
We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope. -Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Although I don’t speak about it much I still think about Renisha McBride. I wonder how her family is doing. Renisha was the young woman who was shot in the face with a shotgun by Ted Wafer. According to…
See With Your Eyes But Listen With Your Heart
I watched her tears roll down her face as she described how unattractive she felt because of her skin color. Her pain was deep. Oprah and Iyanla recently presented a “LIFECLASS” on the OWN network that explored colorism. Colorism is a psycho-social effect of living in societies where skin color become associated with subjective factors….
Kick Off Your Boots and Save The Cat
I read a lot. Usually a strange mix of things, like eating a spoonful of mac and cheese, followed by a nip of jellied cranberry, then a slight detour nip of buttered roll and a gulp of water to wash it all down. I can quickly move from reading a section of a book, reading…
If You Dream It…
I don’t make New Year resolutions, not any more. So I spend a fair amount of my time dreaming. I dream of happiness for my friends. I dream that people all over the world have clear moments of peace. I dream that the person who feels they are unloved, will feel real love. I also…
Friendship and Fillet of Fish
I am spending time with a dear friend of 20 or so years. He is visiting us and every time I look at him, I feel comforted. There is nothing like the love between old friends. While passing the time we went to McDonalds and I tried something different, the small egg nog shake. Quite…
Five Tips for Being Creative
1. Time has nothing to do with it—spend as much time or as little time as you need to complete the project. If the project requires monotony, like drawing a line over and over before getting it right, or reworking a sentence like you are kneading bread, do it. If you want to know when…
Happy Holidays and what to do with the lemons.
Thank you for being a viewer, reader, follower, and contributor. May the new year bring you all good things. If or when life gives you lemonade; make a lemon painting, take the lemon grinds and use them for soup, or use the lemon juice to wash your hair. Whatever life brings you, use it and…
Policing the Black Mind and Body
In the past 10 years across every major city, there have been an increase of cameras watching us. Go here to see a visual map for the real time traffic cameras in NYC, http://nyctmc.org/, or here for various spots in California, http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist1/d1tmc/1_cam.php?cam=4. Ok, so you don’t drive very much, how about McDonalds, Wal-Mart of K-Mart,…
Reflections on “12 years a slave” from a Black Psychologist
For many of us, how and when to talk about the enslavement of African Americans is “the elephant in the room.” In order for people to move forward in harmonious ways “elephants” must be taken out of the room. In my work as a psychologist, I have learned that if the elephant is not talked…
Stoking the Racist Imagination: Uncle Ben, Aunt Jemima, and The Mammy Cookie Jar
My partner and I went for lunch at a New Hampshire diner. The town where the diner is located is 85% White. The diner’s décor is supposedly based on “the original 1952 Worcester Diner Car #837.” The walls are graced with Americana kitsch; Elvis Presley statue, mason jars, the Mr. Peanut Head statue, a Hawaiian…
Non Violence As Loving Action-Tales of Teaching Tolerance?
A teacher writes in Teaching Tolerance, about teaching her youth about empathy following a fatal shooting in Oakland, Jill’s original article is in italic, and my response is below it, in regular font. The L.A. Riots Echo Loudly In My Classroom Submitted by Jill E. Thomas on November 11, 2010 My students are too young to remember the 1992 Los…
The Assassination of Renisha McBride, Part 2: Let Us Mourn In Peace!
As predictable as the sound of a choo-choo from a passing train, the media is trying to control how we mourn the loss of Renisha McBride. The media is trying to riff off the popular stereotype that people of color are overly emotional and therefore, unstable. That somehow our melanin correlates positively with emotional instability,…
My Grandmother’s Grandmother Was EnSlaved
Imagine that your great, great grandmother was born into slavery. Mine was. I had the honor and privilege to tape record an interview with my 99 year old great grandmother, Mary Jeffries. Although our conversation was brief she shared these powerful memories of slavery before she passed away. The interview you will hear happened in…
When White Fear Leads To Black Death: Is This What Happened To Renisha McBride?
As you can see from the original post date, this article was written in November 2013. I still think about Renisha McBride, and now my mourning heart must widen and include so many other people of color who lost their life in similar ways over the year. I will never accept this as normal,…
The Assassination of Renisha McBride: A Brief Analysis of When Racial Profiling, Hate Crimes, and Stand Your Ground Laws Collide.
I went to a writer’s workshop yesterday. The workshop leader was teaching us how to write a good query letter. “To write a good query letter,” he said, “We have to write something that people care about.” I froze and then slid into a historical, existential form of African American sadness. Who cares about the…
Someone To Watch Over Me
My older brother Keith died of AIDS in 1989. He was two years older than me. He was addicted to drugs, heroin I think. The images of him slowly passing away as his body shriveled is still in here. All of us were too confused to really do anything. Not sure why I rarely speak…
Wanting Crystal
…It, this thing, had so much promise such newness. It tasted like wind, like cool water, I felt it land on me like sun rays.
Sweet Sadness
Loving someone is both sacred and vile. Vile because it, the thing we cannot name, becomes something that binds us in light and darkness; surely will grow or change while it creeps into some dark, rusty, abandoned place, through circumstance, non-believing, or some other form of organic drizzling. Like a remnant memory from one of…
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