I captured this awesome display of color and light on a recent crisp autumn evening because it felt like it was shouting at me to pay attention to the beautiful changes in the season. It inspired me to think about how things change. These trees depend on their leaves to produce the energy they need … Continue reading How Things Change
Category: Personal Journal
Today is My Birthday
I’ve had this framed quotation from Leroy "Satchel" Paige displayed in my bathroom for more years than I will admit. I like seeing it every morning. Funny, as the years pass, it makes more and more sense. Birthdays are a good time to reflect on the past - how I got to where I am … Continue reading Today is My Birthday
Another Way to Play It
I recently read a magazine article that asked six different investment experts to weigh in on the question "Where to Invest $1 Million Right Now?" The idea was to provide timely ideas on where to deploy a big chunk of cash - if you happened to come into one, or maybe just liked to dream … Continue reading Another Way to Play It
Is Anti-Racism an Ideology or is it a Practice?
Using a simplified definition, anti-racism is about actively identifying and opposing racism. It is rooted in action and its purpose is to actively change the policies, behaviors, and beliefs that perpetuate ideas and actions that are influenced by racism. Many of the critics of anti-racism describe it as a politically-motivated ideology, which I don't agree … Continue reading Is Anti-Racism an Ideology or is it a Practice?
Critical Race Theory, Part 3
The practical reality is, that even though Critical Race Theory helps to expand the ways in which social problems involving race can be viewed and, even if it has contributed to changing perspectives on these problems, it doesn’t provide answers to questions about the action or actions a person, or people, can take to resolve … Continue reading Critical Race Theory, Part 3
Critical Race Theory, Part 2
There is a “Catch 22” when it comes to Critical Race Theory. Explaining what it is not is complicated by how hard it is to describe what it is. The “mysterious” nature of CRT, the difficulty of understanding it, especially when removed from the context in which it was created, is the very thing makes … Continue reading Critical Race Theory, Part 2
Have You Heard of Critical Race Theory?
Thanks to a class in Critical Theory that was offered as part of my doctoral training in Organization Development (shout out to Stephen Brookfield!), I’m one of the few people who had more than a passing awareness of Critical Race Theory before it became a ideological cudgel for the far-right. In my critical theory class … Continue reading Have You Heard of Critical Race Theory?
Advice for the Day
My horoscope printed in today's StarTribune.... Scorpio (Oct. 24-Nov. 21) There's no shortage of disagreeable ideas, though insulting their endorsers with an opposing opinion holds no appeal. If you have nothing to prove, you'll forgo 100 arguments to save your energy for what matters. In other words, I don’t have to attend every argument I’m … Continue reading Advice for the Day
Forget About A New Normal
In the early spring of 2021, following the first rush to get vaccinated, I was experiencing a sense of excitement, anxious to emerge from the restrictions of the COVID 19 global pandemic and to resume some sense of normalcy in my daily life. Yet, after more than a year of perilous uncertainty, there is a … Continue reading Forget About A New Normal
Testing My Views
Anti-racism is an active and conscious effort to work against multidimensional aspects of racism I have had significant exposure to diversity, equity and inclusion methods, critical race theory, and other social justice movements as part of my work in organization development. But it is only in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd and … Continue reading Testing My Views