Our economy was built on the genocide of indigenous people and the violent extraction of labor from enslaved Africans. This cruelty was justified by white people’s created illusion that those we killed, stole from, and enslaved were inferior and that … Continue reading Reckoning with cultural extraction
We have an education emergency in Asheville. Our dismal 2019 Youth Justice Project “Racial Equity Report Card” shows extreme academic and disciplinary disparities in our schools. It documents a clear lack of justice for Black students. These disparities are the … Continue reading Answers for Asheville’s Black children
Asheville has long been known as a cultural and creative hot spot, or “vortex,” as you will. This is certainly an aspect of our city I celebrate. I am currently half way through writing four articles for the Mountain Xpress … Continue reading Culture Cultivators
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
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
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
Here are some potential items of interest… Se Ve Se Escucha “Language justice is about interpretation and translation, but it’s also about building meaningful relationships to organize and transform our communities. Se Ve Se Escucha is a podcast about language … Continue reading Of Interest
Last week was the Black Mamas Bail Out. Across the country, organizers worked to free black mamas and caregivers “who otherwise would spend Mother’s Day in a cell simply because they cannot afford bail.” In Asheville, members and supporters of Southerners on … Continue reading Actions
