Gentlebeings, I started this newsletter, as many activists/theologians/creatives have before me, out of a deep ache. A deep knowing that everything wasn't quite right. I am old enough to remember (sigh) the fervor of the 2020 anti-racism resurgence. I witnessed the black squares of solidarity on...

Gentlebeings, My apologies on the delay in this column for the month of September. I have to be honest about the violence that a Black person must undergo in order to write a column of this nature in a country that is actively going against people of color, those who have disabilities, queer...

Gentlebeings, Last month, my mission in this newsletter was to cultivate a kernel of hope. I wrote in a wave of mounting exhaustion and confusion that I perceived in so many colleagues, movement workers, ministers, etc. Today, I continue that cultivation. Knowing that words alone aren't enough....

Gentlebeings, I start this newsletter confessing a lethargy and numbness that is uncharacteristic for myself. I find myself at a crossroads for this newsletter as I survey the politics and praxis of this nation. I am subjected to laughter, rage, and news of genocide(s) every single day that I...

Gentlebeings, I wonder if each generation that has lived on this earth felt like there was too much going on. So much life and death and beauty and chaos that it was hard to catch a break for respite. I wonder this because what I see in this world feels at sometimes new and at other times ancient....

Greetings dear ones, In the last issue of this newsletter I sat with the stories of bodies. The lies. The unrighteousness in the policies and norms that are created...That thread of body stories hasn't quite left me yet and I want to return to it as I think about the stories that have been written...

Greetings dear ones, I have been thinking about the stories that we tell ourselves. Most importantly the stories that people with authority tell concerning bodies. Which bodies are good bodies. Which bodies deserve empathy. Which body is a human. Which body warrants punishment. Which bodies...

Happy Black History Month, White supremacy is a deadly lie that insists sameness offers safety. That isolation equals protection. That comfort for a select few is worth the catastrophic cost for everyone else. That me and mine matter more than you, and yours, and ours. Our shared survival, Bernice...

We are rapidly approaching the end of the year and I know that this time brings a range of emotions as capitalism, grief, and family obligations can weave together in such a way that we are left adrift. I acknowledge that readily and my sincerest desire for you is that you are able to have moments...

An election took place here in America and the dust is still settling. I don't wish this particular writing to be all doom and gloom with no opportunity to move forward, but we also must pause in a painful hour. There have been many voices that have sought to speak to the pain of so many in the...

I am leaning into the wisdom of the waves today in the hopes that rushing water would guide me to places of centering and being. I would be lying if I didn't say that election season, genocide across the globe, hatred, homophobia, and callousness hasn't been impacting my mental and physical...

TW: Black Death Marcellus "Khaliifah" Williams was executed by the state of Missouri a week ago despite evidence pointing to his innocence. It is a searing pain resting upon the hearts of so many (including myself) and this particular newsletter is just a space to lament, witness, and be. There is...

Welcome back to Tough Mind, Tender Heart. Welcome to those who have remained with us and to those who are just joining in on this newsletter and wanting to grow antiracist principles/ethics. This newsletter was started to continue the legacy of antiracist ideals of the many that have gone before...

“The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being. Somebody says you have no language and you spend twenty years proving that you do. Somebody says your head isn’t shaped...

Welcome back to Tough Mind, Tender Heart. Welcome to those who have remained with us and to those who are just joining in on this newsletter and wanting to grow antiracist principles/ethics. Please feel free to email content ideas/topics that you are curious about. We would love to engage in...