Crossing the digital and racial divide really begins with us. I have Facebook “friended” and in real life befriended the mom of my daughter’s best friend. At first glance, we couldn’t be more different, but my friends in Massachusetts reminded me that what brings kids and moms together during kindergarten can last a lifetime. More…

Haven’t heard of The Root? Apparently most of my colleagues in Minnesota haven’t either, at least to judge from the politely blank stares I received after sharing my news. Which made me wonder – is cyberspace bridging our cultural divides, or adding more space to them. More…

Just when I thought my fan club had a limited membership, I opened my e-mail and found a letter from the American Girl Company. Before I read their letter I just knew it was an apology. The perspective of a Minnesotan who lives in a town of 13,000 had shown them the error of their ways. More…

Homeless Doll Doesn't Need a Home

Even if our children saw as much despair as children do in other cities, toys probably aren’t the best way to learn about current social problems. This makes me wonder why every single American Girl doll EXCEPT for Gwen and her upper middle class friend Chrissa (who is girl of the year 2009), are HISTORICAL figures? More…

Even though former Strom Thurmond page and current South Carolina Representative, Joe Wilson, has apologized, his behavior reflects a growing concern I have about the Republican party. Earlier this week, the President was supposed to address my children, but our Republican governor disapproved. Now before you accuse me of being partisan, one of my best friends is a Republican. More…

I love to post newspaper articles and YouTube clips so that I can engage all of the interesting people I know that live around the world. But something has happened that I find concerning, and I’d like your input. More…

The descendants of Paul Jennings, who was a slave in James Madsion’s White House, are being invited back to the White House for a reunion next week. Their treatment is far better than the Blacks who claimed to be descendants of Thomas Jefferson. More…

Watching the coverage of the Obama family in the White House, one can’t help but feel a certain media giddiness to be able to report on all these new “firsts.” But to say that this family is the first Black family of an American president is simply wrong. Before Michelle Obama there was Sally Hemings, who bore the sons and daughters of Thomas Jefferson. More…

Joycelyn Elders’ story resonated with me deeply in 1994 when she was labeled a “Condom Queen” and forced to resign as Surgeon General. The welfare queen is the defining social stereotype of the Black woman: a lazy, promiscuous, single Black mother living off the dole of society. She poses a threat to the Protestant work ethic that drives America and the American Dream of social advancement and acceptability. More…

Why was Dr. Joycelyn Elders forced to leave her post? Why didn't any of the women in the Congressional Black Caucus who voted against Clarence Thomas dare to speak on behalf of Anita Hill? Why was Congresswoman Barbara Lee alone in her opposition to the Iraq war resolution? More…