I have always been a sucker for advice columns. I began reading “Dear Abby” as a child. The column could be found on the same page as the comics, crossword puzzle, and […]
Desperately Seeking Advice
What She Said, June 23: Camille Dungy
A person who isn’t reminded several times a day about the implications of the color of her skin has time to consider the implications of other things.
–Camille Dungy
What She Said, June 22: Sandra Cisneros
We’re going to right the world and live.
–Sandra Cisneros
How Can We Use Social Media Better?
During the Black Lives Matter protests immediately after the killing of George Floyd, I was posting much, much less on social media than I’m used to. Normally, I post at least once […]
What She Said, June 14: Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche
I think the history of western feminism is fraught with racism, and I think it’s important to acknowledge that and, at the same time, to say that feminism is not a western invention, that my great-grandmother in what is now south-western Nigeria is feminist.
–Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche
What She Said, June 13: Roxane Gay
To have privilege in one or more areas does not mean you are wholly privileged. Surrendering to the acceptance of privilege is difficult, but it is really all that is expected . . . the acknowledgement of my privilege is not a denial of ways I have been and am marginalized, the ways I have suffered.
–Roxane Gay
What She Said, June 12: Jesmyn Ward
Protests and looting naturally capture attention. But the real rage smolders in meetings . . .
white rage doesn’t have to take to the streets and face rubber bullets to be heard. Instead, white rage has access to the courts, police, legislatures, and governors, who cast its efforts as noble . . .
–Jesmyn Ward
What She Said, June 11: Yaa Gyasi
My job is not to regulate your response to the truth. My job is to tell it.
–Yaa Gyasi
What She Said, June 10: Michelle Alexander
The fate of millions of people–indeed the future of the black community itself–may depend on the willingness of those who care about racial justice to re-examine their basic assumptions about the role of the criminal justice system in our society.
–Michelle Alexander
500 Lifetimes and Trying to Find My Own
I was looking for comfort of some kind when I read a friend and fellow writer’s post. He wrote that this is something that I am “500 lifetimes away from understanding.” He was saying it to the world, to white people, but I took it personally. I hope that was his intention because it is changing me. Maybe trying to understand isn’t the best goal. Maybe taking it personally is a better one.
The Gloria Sirens 