#TBT: Ethical and fair-trade candy ideas for Halloween
On Thursdays, I post from the vault. This is from October 2014 Did you know that most commercial chocolate companies are relying on child labor to source their cocoa? The low-down is here . . . but in a nutshell a BBC documentary revealed that child labor and even child trafficking is rampant in chocolate production, and that chocolate from most mainstream candy companies can be traced back to farms employing (and even buying) children to work in dangerous conditions. For our . . .
#TBT: On being a Christian and voting as a Democrat
On Thursdays, I post from the vault. This is from November 2012 Tomorrow is the big election day, and I’m sure many of us are ready for the political fighting on facebook to be OVER. I know I am. It’s been another discouraging season as I’ve watched Christian friends (and family) cast judgment on anyone not towing the line with the Religious Right. I’ve been open about my political beliefs but I’ve also tried to avoid being negative and defensive, but today a couple things . . .
#TBT: On Woody Allen, Dylan Farrow, and debating sexual abuse
On Thursdays, I post from the vault. This is from February 2014 Over the past few weeks, Woody Allen has been the subject of intense speculation. While the Golden Globes honoroed his achievement in film, his ex Mia Farrow and son Roanon Farrow let some barbs fly on twitter, implying that he had molested his daughter Dylan Farrow. This erupted a firestorm of “did he or didn’t he?” commentary on blogs, in the news, and on social media. Finally, last week Dylan Farrow broke her . . .
#TBT: Nine steps for avoiding racist costumes at Halloween
On Thursdays, I post from the vault. This is from October 2014 It seems like something that we shouldn’t even need to talk about, but every year it seems that racism rears it’s ugly head around Halloween. And it may not look like bullying or name-calling . . . it’s a more covert form of racism involving appropriation and stereotypes in costume choices. Since these kinds of mistakes are usually made by an offender who claims ignorance at their faux-pas, I thought I . . .
#TBT: I’ve come to wish you an unhappy birthday
On Thursdays, I post from the vault. This is from October 2010. Kembe and India (the twins) turned 4 earlier this week. It was very anticlimactic. Their preschool schedule their special moment at school a couple days before the real day. They get to wear a crown and the parent supplies a special snack . . . but we are discouraged from bringing sweets or cupcakes. However, a lot of parents don't follow the rules, and my kids came home moping several days . . .
#TBT: Racial bias, police brutality, and the dangerous act of being black
On Thursdays, I post from the vault. This is from August 2014. Last week, an unarmed black teenager was fatally shot in Ferguson, Missouri and left to lay in the street for four hours as a community watched in horror. Tensions have mounted as police reports have varied wildly from eye-witness accounts, and that anger was fueled further as the police department refused to answer questions about his death. At this point, the police chief has back-stepped his own statement of facts, and is . . .
#TBT: Reflections after a no-media week
On Thursdays, I post from the vault. This is from March 2013 The older kids’ school requested that families do a “media-free” week last week. It was an idea I liked in theory but the timing couldn’t have been worse. They’d had winter break the week prior, which meant all of them were home so I got very little work done. I was playing catch-up and could have benefitted from the quiet that throwing on a movie can provide. Still, I wanted to win the teachers’ approval honor the school’s . . .
#TBT: How to talk to teachers about adoption issues
On Thursdays, I post from the vault. This is from September 2013. As the school year is starting, many adoptive parents may be contemplating having a talk with their child’s new teacher about any adoption-related issues that may arise. I’ve done this myself and thought that I would share some of the segments of letters I’ve written in previous years to address adoption, the complexity of “family tree” or ancestral assignments for adoptees, and race conversations in class. I have . . .
#TBT: We almost puked. but we didn’t.
On Thursdays, I post from the vault. This is from April 2010. I went to the mall with the kids yesterday. ALL FOUR KIDS. I'm sure that this is an indication of a very small and sheltered life, but achieving this? The feelings it inspired were similar to the feelings I had after running my first half-marathon. If I can do this, I can do anything! I didn't intend to take them to the mall. I had a small window with a babysitter. But let me explain small windows with babysitters. There is a . . .
#TBT: Describing vs ascribing: digging deeper into talking about race
On Thursdays, I post from the vault. This is from March 2012. Last week I talked a bit about how often I notice people dancing around racial descriptors, and how this has led to some awkward interchanges. A friend pointed out that perhaps I was glossing over the context of racial descriptors, and so I want to talk a bit about that. In fact, I think it’s relevant because I think some of the negative context around pointing out someone’s race is what has led to the general unease about . . .
- Newer Posts
- 1
- …
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- 28
- Older Posts