Recently, at Happy Hour, I had a conversation with a white female friend and co-worker that really made me stop and think. She told me that I, or rather we—meaning the Black staff at our job—were being racist because we have a Black staff organization. She felt excluded, like she wasn’t welcome because she isn’t Black, and to her, that was unfair. In that moment, I had to break it down for her—explain why Black spaces exist in the first place and why her feeling left out is not the same as experiencing racism. But this conversation wasn’t just for her. Too many white people walk through life completely blind to these realities, and when they do encounter them, they mistake equity for exclusion. So, I’m sharing this message with her (again) and with the world, hoping that maybe—just maybe—some white people will read this, learn something, and begin to truly understand. It’s a wild concept that white people feel like they experience racism. Any time they feel excluded from something—a c...
So.. I just recently started watching the most amazing show The Master of None which debuted on Netflix last year. My man Ira told me that it was a dope show worth checking out and his quick analysis turned out to be correct. This comedy drama is awesome, the writing is superb, and the casting is damn near perfect. I binged watched the entire first season yesterday. But the season finale left something with me, something heavy. There is a scene where Dev Shah played by Aziz Ansari, is in a bookstore reading a book. And the viewer is somewhat in his head as listeners, like an aside or soliloquy, and we hear what he is reading as the scenes change. As I re-winded and listened to (about five times) the excerpt from the novel, "The Bell Jar" written by Sylvia Plath. I realized that this just might be the deepest and realest piece of literature that I have come across in my life's journey. I immediately ordered the book and found the quote online. Maybe it has som...
So... A lot of people are asking me how I got into coaching cheerleading. And honestly- it’s a legitimate question. Lol. So today, I tell the world.. How I got my start in cheerleading… One day in October I was speaking to my school’s athletic director about a position that he wanted me to take in the spring, coaching boys track. This was a coaching job that was supposed to be mine last year but he gave it to someone else because he forgot to confirm the position with me. I was somewhat upset about it last year but he apologized and guaranteed me the job this school year. During our conversation, he began telling me how he was struggling to find a candidate in our building to coach the cheerleading team. It’s a tough place to work already, so dedicating your time and effort after regular hours is even tougher. Nobody was interested in the job and he told me that he may have to cancel the squad this year. Me, being half stupid and half compassionate- told him t...
Comments
Post a Comment