Take a break from negativity and instead change someone’s day for the better. — I’ve been a news junkie since I was 12, except then it wasn’t instant internet access to what took place across the world. I read the newspaper every day and used paper route and lawn-mowing money so I could subscribe to magazines and newsletters. U.S. News & World Report. The…

Racial issues didn’t get worse; they got videoed — Columbus, Ohio. Circa 1988. I moved out of the dormitories to start my sophomore year at Ohio State. The rage at the time was waterbeds. One of every four mattresses sold back then was a waterbed. For those born too late for this environmentally irresponsible, motion-sickness-causing craze, a waterbed was…

The fight against systemic racism takes another hit from bad leadership — For virtually all of us in racial justice circles, Trump’s defeat (yes, he really did lose) was refreshing. A welcome end to a disturbing four years. It’s incredibly hard to work on creating a just and more loving society when the narcissist at the top was constantly doing his best…

Gen Z may be the key to achieving a post-racial world. — The first time my teenage daughter started dropping the word “literally” like they drop F-bombs in Ireland, I thought she was kidding around. “It’s literally an oven outside,” she said as we walked into the 100 degree Colorado heat one day this summer. “It’s actually not an oven,” I responded…

Befriending people different than ourselves can transform us — Born in 1868, W.E. B. Du Bois was one of the most prominent post-slavery civil rights activists in the history of America. Among his many achievements was his cofounding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which led countless efforts to combat racism in virtually all…

Marvel Comics in 2022 still is promoting negative stereotypes — Marvel Comics released a new comic imagining what would have happened if character Miles Morales became Thor instead of Spider-Man. Morales is a fictional superhero appearing in Marvel comic books as one of the characters known as Spider-Man. The character was created in 2011. Recently, though, Marvel decided to create…

We aren’t doing enough to eradicate racism and racist systems — Most people know what the Hebrew Bible is. Christians call it the Old Testament. Jews call it the Torah, along with the books of the Prophets and Writings. Regardless of the books’ names, we all know the famous stories there. The Garden of Eden. Cain and Abel. Abraham and Isaac…

Is there a double standard on who gets to say it and who doesn’t? — The answer is a resounding Yes. There’s a double standard on use of the N-word. So what. Here’s why that double standard is something we all just need to live with. I can assure you that your white life will be OK if you bury the word like the NAACP…