“We’re spending so much energy talking about how bad things are, it can start to feel like THAT’s our activism. Instead of just talking with our friends and family about what’s bad, let’s talk about what we can DO about this election.” That’s what the awesome friend-of-a-friend seasoned organizer said on this morning’s powerful small-group […]
Hi, white friends! Can I invite myself to your dinner table for a minute? You know, the one where you’re having the same conversation that my family’s been having since the debate last Thursday, at our little dinner table in the tiny cottage here on the Beach of My Heart. It’s the endless circling conversation […]
Oh my friends, my heart is so full. It’s been a year since this post, about pushing my investment advisors to “humor me” by centering my portfolio on my values rather than pure profit. I had my first annual investment performance check-in today, and I learned two crucial things: I have no idea how much […]
I’m not a lawyer, and this isn’t legal advice, BUT: daaaang y’all, this morning’s YW Boston webinar on “Navigating DEI Challenges: Legal Insights for Moving Forward in the Face of Resistance” was fricking FIIIIIIRE. Sharing my quick takeaways here because I’m involved with at least 3 organizations that need this info and I bet you […]
My lovely friends. Most of you look pretty much like me and share my lived experience as a white-identified woman. Dude friends, you’ve got one less intersection with me, but most of us still have the bond of shared whiteness, and that’s some powerful stuff nevertheless. Plus, we’ve mostly all got so much else in […]
Listen up. I just hit my limit. One too many articles and conversations about funders and companies who are turning away from their “commitments” to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Because it’s too controversial, or because it’s “not working.” It’s soapbox time. Just for a minute. Here goes: Yes, it’s appropriate to recognize the backlash. It’s […]
A couple of weeks back, something beautiful happened to me on Facebook. A long-ago “friend” who was really only an acquaintance through my very-ex-husband reached out privately. “I’ve been reading what you write over the last two years and your writing has been meaningful to me,” she messaged. “I’d like some help on how to […]
Thanksgiving. I am so grateful for all the time I get to spend in the beauty of nature. And. My coffeewalk isn’t exactly “natural,” is it? I mean, sure, the trees are real. The chirping birds are real. The blue sky is real. The way the rising sun makes patterns through the branches and turns […]
SCENE: Commuter bus to Logan Airport, Sunday 7:48 a.m., a couple dozen passengers and one Jovial Driver. He is an older gent, looks like Einstein with a crew cut. He’s been complaining entertainingly since we boarded. Massachusetts drivers! This bizarrely warm autumn! Unspecified politicians! His one-man show gradually turns into a two-hander with Tough Cookie, […]
Recently, a friend asked me to put on my consultant hat and talk with her team of grantwriters about how to get better at centering equity in their writing. As part of preparing for this conversation-style training, I started jotting down a few ideas about how to introduce myself and my background, and it… sort […]