Some folks have historical amnesia. And on this day, every year, we witness King’s words taken out of context as if his work stopped with one phrase: “I Have a Dream.” King embraced anti-racism, anti-imperialism + anti-militarism. He called for a “radical REVOLUTION of values. But we know America prefers a reduction to sound bites, seeing him as a symbol of civil rights while avoiding the substance of his speeches, books (Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?) and life. Let’s tell the truth about King’s legacy, it is rooted in collective liberation. I think it is important that we sit ..read more

I am sharing some Christmas thoughts with you all today. May we root our faith in Christ in liberation for the collective, coming alongside those the world has discarded and see them as God sees us, with eyes of love. I mourn the silence in many church spaces as we witness, in real time, active genocide of the Palestinian people. I grieve with Palestinian and Israeli families who have lost loved ones, and still cry out for the return of their beloveds who are held hostage. And I mourn the ways some ministers urge us to “give it to God,” and do nothing here and now to raise our voices. Now i ..read more

Written in loving memory of my Dad, Rudy, and brother Rudy, Jr. and Grandma Violet Photo via Travel Belize I come from a people displaced by European colonization who remain rooted in resilience; we are Garifuna (Garinagu), an Afro-Indigenous / Latinx community living, primarily, in Central American countries like Honduras, Belize, Guatemala and Nicaragua, and within the U.S. (mostly concentrated in New York city). Today, in loving memory of Dad, we celebrate Garifuna Settlement Day, which marks the arrival of Garifuna people on Belizean shores - Nov. 19, 1802. Towards the end of last year, i ..read more

Are we brave enough to listen? Like many of you, my mind is a mush of sorrow and anger, anxiousness and horror.  Every word now feels impossibly inadequate. I keep listening to this agony because closing our ears is betrayal.  Turn off the news they say. But how can one witness unprecedented violence and pain - children and families, Palestinian and Israeli - and turn away?   Perhaps, God, you are  calling us, in this moment, to decenter ourselves, holding compassion for the hurting without abandoning our resistance to empire.  You weep with the wounded, the fors ..read more

A few weeks ago, in the wake of another mass shooting - this time targeting African Americans in Jacksonville, FL - I wrote an essay here urging us to see hate as the root of the rampant violence unfolding around us. My dear friend Jenn, an intersectional activist who consistently uses her social media platforms to educate and raise awareness on a range of issues (disability justice, LGBTQ+ rights, anti-racism, animal rights and more), wrote a POWERFUL response to these thoughts. I felt it was important to include her heartfelt and brilliant words on our website as well (and on her birthday, t ..read more

For the past several weeks, I’ve taken social media breaks, and checked news sporadically. This body and spirit kept saying REST. I pushed through the guilt and listened. But last Sunday, August 27 (60th anniversary weekend of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom), I awakened to news which immediately changed the rhythm of my breathing - another mass shooting, this time in Jacksonville, FL inside a Dollar General store. Ryan Palmeter’s horrific determination to decimate the lives of three Black folks - Angela Michelle Carr, 52; A.J. Laguerre Jr., 19; and Jerald De’Shaun Gallion ..read more

Eight years ago Sandra Bland was taken from us. All week I’ve carried her in my consciousness. Today, I spent time soaking in her words, sitting with her wisdom, spirit and heartfelt call for a world where collective liberation reigns and radical truth telling rises. It felt like the right time to share an essay I wrote in 2017 for Beautifully Said magazine about the urgency of the #SayHerName movement; as the poet June Jordan told us decades ago, “everything is urgent.” “My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you. But for every real word spoken, for every attempt I h ..read more

“Mental illness should not be your ticket to death.” - Caroline Ouko, mother of Irvo Otieno Caroline Oku holds up a photo of her son, photo via CNN Yesterday morning, as I sat typing on my computer, rain splattering against the window, I listened in horror to an all too familiar sound in this country - another mother’s voice steeped in agony and tears, demanding justice. Her rage, exhaustion, and grief were palpable. As she spoke, I felt my own body shift into despair - another life destroyed by relentless state violence. Her son, Irvo Otieno, a 28-year-old aspiring musician, struggled with m ..read more

Photo by Clay Banks We sustain divisions in our society by denying they exist. Some months ago, I discovered a Christian website splattered with blog posts proclaiming any focus on racism opposes our faith. “God does not see color” they argued, and neither should we as the body of Christ. I sat in front of the computer, my mind pacing with counter questions - How could a God who doesn’t see color create the array of beautiful hues we witness daily? Why is Christianity continually lifted up as a pathway to avoid engaging with the terror racism creates, the wounds it continues to exact upon the ..read more

Rodolfo (“Rudy”) Juan Green Leocadio May 16, 1935 - November 27, 2022 Dad and I a few weeks before he went home to be with the Lord, my brother Dave took the photo Daddy, those last moments with you - your tender squeezing of our hands, gentle whispers of “I love you,” as your speech slipped away, the consistent blinking of your eyes to let us know, even as you fought to breath, you were still listening. Your life an offering, a testament to the sanctuary that is love  no expectations  no pre-conditions  no barriers between us and you  Mom and Dad at an event for my hub ..read more