Belonging is the new DEI Concept
When my kids were in preschool, my oldest was given some homework, flashcards to prepare him to begin school the next year. Upon a closer look, I saw that it was a lesson in how to determine who doesn’t belong. A lesson, I wanted to unteach them. In the 1990s my colleagues and I used […]
The Other Tower
The “Tower of Faces” is an exhibit in the U.S. Holocaust Museum. Perhaps you have seen this powerful installation? The tower is intimate, a small room with four walls that extend up three-stories. The walls are lined with 1,500 framed photographs of residents from the town of Eishyshok, Lithuania. The pictures are of families, friends, […]
Two Conditions for Healing
I have a friend, we’ll call her Jessica, who doesn’t speak to her mother, says the relationship is damaged beyond repair. When Jessica was a child her mom allowed abuse, defended the abuser, and turned the parenting of Jessica over to her grandmother in order to continue living with the abuser. Jessica says, “I’ve tried […]
The Arc of Violent Extremism
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. When unjust events happen, this quote is often evoked as a narrative changer, a hope giver. It was one of Barack Obama’s favorites. I’ve heard a similar sentiment from the older folks in my life, too. “As […]