I’m blogging my way through Waking Up White, by Debbie Irving. Along with a few other writers, we’re reading and … More
Category: racism
The Quarantine of Emotions
If you haven’t been paying attention, there’s a play running right now in New York City that’s controversial and provoking. … More
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 37: Boxes and Labels
This is another post in the series Waking Up White, exploring the book by Debby Irving of the same name. … More
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 36: The Dominant White Culture
Continuing the series of examining whiteness while working through Waking Up White, by Debbie Irving. I’m utterly intrigued by the … More
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 35: If Only You’d Be More Like Me
I’m reading & simultaneously commenting on Debby Irving’s book Waking Up White. Jesus. I mean that in reverence not as … More
White Jesus, Bible Jesus: Pick One
Yes, this is deliberately provocative for a blog title, chosen to shake up people settled in their ways like the … More
My Dear White People
This is a love letter. Really. And it comes from someone who has committed every sin that’s listed here—and many … More
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 34: Becoming Multicultural
Once again, I’m reading & simultaneously commenting on Debby Irving’s book Waking Up White. This chapter is fire. Creating a … More
Pride and Prejudice, Staged
Last week we went to see a production of the new musical AUSTEN’S PRIDE, the story of Jane Austen‘s creation … More
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 33: Perception and Fear
Once again, a reminder that this series (“Waking Up White”) is from the book by Debby Irving. I read the … More
Carefully Taught, Thoroughly Educated
You’ve Got to Be Taught You’ve got to be taught To hate and fear, You’ve got to be taught From … More
I Am MLK Jr
A film from the Paramount Network. I was 13 when Dr. King was murdered. I could not comprehend what I … More
Walking in and out of Justice
Sometimes we can choose our inconveniences. I was watching a video late last night, far past midnight, and stopped about … More
A Place We Cannot Enter
I’ve watched my friends express their shock, their hurt, their anger, their outrage, their fury, their fear, their hopelessness, their isolation, their understanding of their own oppression in a society that does not see them. Does not value them. Does not, from beginning to end, love them.
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 32: Getting Over Myself
The liberation of letting go of my self-image. Choosing to engage in the effort to dismantle racism promises to bring … More
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 31: Courageous Conversations
Learning to listen and speak across differences Before I start into this chapter, I wanted to update this series on … More
When We Don’t Want to Know
Ignorance is sometimes a lack of opportunity. We don’t have access to resources, including people and their lived experiences, to … More
Sliding Away from Relevancy
If you haven’t been tracking the news, there’s been a dust-up in the American Evangelical world. An influential publishing outfit … More
What Is the Home That Shuts Its Doors to You?
ETA: I misnamed Ms. Ally Henny in this article & have corrected it. My apologies for misnaming her. I follow … More
Of Course I’m Racist
I don’t think I’ve ever been called a racist—not because I’m not, but because the people in my life are … More
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 30: Feelings and the Culture of Niceness
It’s been a while since my last post (7/29/19!). I’ve been busy over the summer, far busier than I expected. … More
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 29: Intent and Impact
The process of “waking up white” isn’t just to be aware of whiteness. It is to wake up, and then to leave it. To go to something that’s better and more life-affirming and full of health. And to not even be sure where the destination is, but with the calm assurance that it’s out there.
Moral Switzerlands
This is a prescient verse from 3000 years or so ago: “And if it seem evil unto you to serve … More
The Voices Are Coming from Inside the House
Before this day in 1957, Hazel Massery (white) had never met Elizabeth Eckford (Black). After this day, they did not … More
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 28: I Am the Elephant
This chapter explores the meaning behind not only identifying as white (which is simple enough when we check off the … More
Juneteenth, Reparations, and What Do I Do About It?
Today is June 19th, a day when we remember that our American experiment with freedom included over 200 years of … More
#WakingUpWhite Chapter 27: Living into Expectations
This was a fascinating chapter for me, in that I hadn’t really dived into this before: what is it that … More