My 7 year old son, L, was telling me a story this week about the slip-n-slide at summer camp, and how much fun it was. He said the first time he went so fast he slid off the end and got so covered with mud he “looked like a black man.” It was just the…
DetailsWhile I risk being called a traitor as a St. Louisan defending a possible purchase of Anheuser-Busch by a non-American Company, as the wife of a Brazilian I must defend the fact that there are, indeed, ‘real businesses’ in Brazil. This stems from a conversation I was having yesterday. I can’t remember the genesis of…
DetailsI know, I know, many an ‘anti-racist’ will say that simply enjoying the foods and traditions of another culture as a ‘tourist’ does nothing to combat racism. But, honestly, I disagree. I’m raising a 7 year old, and for now I’m not going to go into in-depth history to explain why there is racism and…
DetailsMy husband and I were talking about the economy over breakfast this morning and he shared that he read in O Globo, Brazil’s major daily paper, that Americans saw a $1.7 trillion first quarter loss in net worth. His commentary on that was that “the U.S. is losing its place as the unchallenged leader of the…
DetailsYou know it’s difficult to talk about intercultural and interracial issues when you avoid talking even to yourself, in private, for fear of being offensive. Certainly I jest, but only sort of. There’s a couple of things I’ve noticed over the past nearly two weeks, and I have a couple of solutions to start. 1. …
DetailsThere have been a rash of articles lately focusing on studies that show that whites are often anxious in their interactions with people of color for fear of coming across as racist, and may avoid interactions with people of other races as a result. The author of one study, Project Implicit, suggested that becoming more…
DetailsThe other night a young man, probably in his late teens, came by our home while I was cooking dinner. I went to the door with the remnant of a head of lettuce that would soon complete our salad still in my hand. After introducing himself quickly and starting his spiel, he stopped short to…
DetailsThe first time my husband and I went grocery shopping together, over 20 years ago now, it looked like the scene from the movie Green Card. Andie MacDowell was putting in fresh veggies and granola on one side of the cart, while Gerard Depardieu added sides of beef and lard on his side. Over time…
DetailsI once heard Greg Alan-Williams speak to a group of students at a Park District event at the South Shore Cultural Center in Chicago. Williams, a former Baywatch ‘water safety professional’, was in town to play Martin Luther King in The Meeting, a play directed by Chuck Smith about a mythical meeting between Dr. King…
DetailsMySpace today launched a Korean language version in Seoul, South Korea according to an Associated Press story by Hyung-Jin Kim that was featured in papers and websites around the world. “MySpace will be the one and only platform that provides an opportunity for Korean users to easily meet friends around the globe, surpassing the hindrance…
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