Neighbors and colleagues who, in the past, would have avoided acknowledging or discussing racism, microagressions, and their existence in Howard County - either because of discomfort or denial - are now engaging in these discussions. I find this encouraging because we can only begin to address these if we admit that it is happening here. … [Read more...]
Embrace Languages
"It's so immensely frustrating when I hear customers/employees/random passerby say, "They should speak English, this is America." I've seen it when caregivers speak to their little ones in other languages (Korean, Spanish, Polish, etc), translating books in real-time. It frustrates me because that person reading out loud to their child already knows people are saying just that, but they want to provide their child a space to learn another language, and give them the same experience everyone in … [Read more...]
Running Buddies
For the past 6 years I've been a part of a morning exercise group. We all come from many racial and ethnic backgrounds and three times a week we meet up at 6am, work out, and and encourage each other to get stronger and better. This feels to my like what Howard County is meant to be like. … [Read more...]
AAPI
Stop AAPI hate rally After the horrific incidents of AAPI hate around the country and in Howard County, I was heartened by the way a range of groups, representing a wide set of racial and religious communities, came together quickly to organize a rally to be in solidarity with the AAPI community here. This action reminded me of how Howard County came together in response to Black Lives Matter, the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, and other events. In all of those incidents, I felt a greater … [Read more...]
Getting to Know You
I volunteer on the Courageous Conversations planning committee. CC offers great opportunity for people of different backgrounds to come together to try to understand one another. At the last session there were great ideas about how to move forward as individuals, congregations and community. Love the idea of having a Diversity Picnic and Diversity Walks. … [Read more...]
