Consulting and Training Services Open for 2021!

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Hey, y'all! As we wind down 2020 and get ready to slide into 2021, I wanted to close the door on this year by opening the door for next year. What does that mean?

My consulting and training services are once again open for business!

Your organization, workgroup, church group, or professional association need an HR or anti-racism and equity consultant or trainer? Maybe a friend or colleague could use some help? If so, hit me up! Get me on your calendar for 2021 now! My dance card is already starting to fill up so now is the time to book me early! Click here to check out my rates and to book me for 2021!

Mailbox

So I go to my mailbox today to grab the mail. There’s a police car sitting in the business plaza parking lot across from my house. I need to walk to the mailbox a literal block away from my house to mail a check but I’m so scared to do so now, with the police presence in my neighborhood. I watch him as he sits in his car, doing nothing. He’s likely not cognizant of how intimidating he is right now. There’s a strong likelihood he wouldn’t care even if you informed him of it.

So I sit. And I wait. And my anxiety rises.

He’s been there a little over 30 minutes and I don’t understand why.

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I open one of the packages I grabbed from my mailbox. It’s an action figure I’ve been wanting to add to my collection for some time now. These things usually bring me great joy. Today that joy is brief.

I want to cry. My eyes are welling up. I want to yell, scream, thrash something. And yet I sit here, scared for my life when all I want to do is drop a check in the mailbox.

I allow myself a minute to cry. It all comes flooding out: the generational trauma, the current trauma, all of it. I like to allow myself a good hearty cry every few months. Lately, it’s been every few weeks. I gather myself; I feel like I’ve got to be strong, even for myself. I view the crying as strength, the vulnerability as fuel. Black bodies need to grieve and mourn and express just as much as white bodies do, contrary to somewhat popular belief.

I inhale. I exhale. I look out my window. The police car is gone. It’s “safe” now?

“Safe.”

I guess I should go mail this check.

Wish me luck.

10 Minutes with 52: Xenophobia in the Pandemic Age

If you were unable to catch my 10 Minutes with 52 chat about xenophobia in the pandemic age from Friday, May 8, 2020, you can catch it now on Youtube! Thank you to Elaine and 52 Limited for having me. We were only able to scratch the surface of the topic of xenophobia but I’m glad we at least put a bit of a voice and focus on a prevalent and scary issue.

White Supremacy and Oregon: A Workplace Case Study

Imagine being a person of culture and building up the courage to step forward and file a complaint at work because some of your fellow employees have been actively and openly racist toward you. Now imagine your boss, a white cis male, deciding that the best response to addressing your complaint is calling up his buddy, a white cis male who is also a local police chief. Not to ask his buddy how he should handle this situation, mind you, but to call in a favor in putting together a fraudulent case against you to portray you as stealing from the company to terminate your employment. Sounds crazy, doesn't it?

Welcome to Crazy Town.

West Linn, Oregon, to be exact.

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