Discouragement and despair wash up on the shores of my psyche daily. The dissonant banging of construction outside my window shakes my concentration and my confidence in the possibility of positive change. Tuning into the news crumbles my courage. Optimism … Continue reading Fortify the Fortifying
Please Sponsor Me! I am participating in the 5th annual Mountain of Words Write-A-thon to support the work of Asheville Writers in the Schools & Community. My personal goal is to raise $250 and I am hoping that you will help … Continue reading Write-a-Thon to Support Other Writers
The gender binary and heteronormativity crush our imagination and our possibilities. They force us into unnecessary boxes of expectations. Their limitations keep us from liberation. We must build beyond them. Throughout history, humanity has been enriched by transgender, nonbinary, intersex, … Continue reading the bind of the binary
As my current projects crescendo, I just have a moment to share a few items of interest: DIYabled Benefit This Wednesday, October 10, at 8 pm my band Krekel & Whoa will be performing for the DIYabled Benefit at Fleetwood’s, … Continue reading DIYabled + other Community Goodness
Love. Let’s lead with love. I love you, in all of your tenderness and complexity and vulnerability, strength and pain. Feel that love. Words are inadequate. Yet words are what I have. Transformation feels slow. We move through cycles, change … Continue reading Breathe, Believe
“What does it take to rebuild community as a beautifully defiant act of resistance and a necessary tool in our collective survival?” Marisol Jiménez offered a beautiful, powerful, poetic testimony in response to that question at a recent CreativeMornings event. I … Continue reading “The foundation of activism…is love.”
People close to me know that I am an avid listener to WRES 100.7 FM. I love the gospel, soul, and R&B music they play, and I enjoy the DJs and talk shows. Tuning in comforts me and gives me … Continue reading Purpose
As a person who cares about the collective narrative, the first WNC Wikipedia Record-and-Edit-a-Thon, which will be held this Saturday, is an event that I think is super important. It’s being presented by the Baird Family Reunion, the oldest black … Continue reading WNC Wikipedia Record-and-Edit-a-Thon
One does not have to be a scholar of history to know that colonizers used violence against Native Americans to take over land in this country. That white wealth was built on that stolen land using the labor of enslaved … Continue reading Legacy of Land Theft
What are strategies for cultivating authentic, caring community in Asheville? What are barriers to that cultivation? These are questions that have been pressing on me since I attended a West Asheville community meeting last Thursday, August 9. The meeting was … Continue reading Capitalism vs. Community
Ami Worthen 