Being White in a Black Majority and Calling Out Unconscious Bias
Just recognizing bias isn’t enough. Equip yourself with language and tools to exercise your privilege to engage in conversations around race.
What Preschoolers Can Teach about Civil Public Discourse
Dear Mom and Dad, I know I’m only three, but I wanted to remind you of some things you taught me in preparation for preschool. I’ve been listening to the news lately–I’m in the room, you know! With all of the political division and vitriol ( the opposite of civil public discourse!), it looks like…
More Ideas on Community and Police Partnerships: Why won’t they talk?
Getting engagement without talking about engagment. More ideas for police engagement strategies and tactics to build trust with community.
“Assume Positive Intent” Works on Mom, Too!
I adopted Thanksgiving probably 11 or 12 years ago, and really love planning, cooking (okay, my cousin brings the Turkey) and hosting the event. It’s a lot of work, but tightly planned, with the shopping, setting up, cooking, etc. spread out over a few days. So I’m talking to my mom on Sunday, and she…
Carlos Laments White Privilege in “Hop”
The short version of the review of Hop is that People Magazine gave Hop 3 (out of 4) stars and my son liked it. It features a cute bunny and a cute leading man…something for the kids and for the moms…plus 100’s of adorable baby chicks. How could you go wrong, right? But early on…
Do You Need to Be a Victim of Racism to Be Anti-Racist?
I was talking to a good friend, a man of color, a leader in the field of diversity, intercultural competence, engagement and inclusion. He told a moving story of being inspired as a child by his dad, who jumped to enlist in the military after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, but then faced spitting in…
Activities to teach 5 year olds to stand up against prejudice and institutional bias, in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
5-years-old seems really young to explain to a child about racism, prejudice, inclusion and exclusion. Yet we know that even at that tender age our kids are already barraged by images and messages on TV and media and have possibly already experienced being left out or made fun of for being different themselves. Just ask…
Home for the Holidays: Why Diversity & Inclusion are Easier at Work than at Home
There was a story on NPR last month that showed that despite sharing the same genes, siblings can be completely foreign to each other from a personality perspective. Not only do they share the same culture, they come from the same gosh darn family….and still sometimes can’t get along. You’d think applying some of the…
Multicultural Kids…the New “Just Say No?”
A teaching moment arose the other day, where I was able to point out to Dillon the multicultural perspective on a particular show we were watching. “Awww, do we have to do the multicultural thing?” he asked. It was as though he thought I was just sermonizing on “the right thing to do.” Oh my…
Intercultural Accent Makes for a Great Workout
“Know thyself” is one of the first tenets of good Intercultural Communications, but it also can be the source of life’s inspiration, as has been for fitness professional Hemalayaa Behl. Hemalayaa (her professional name, a la Madonna and Beyonce) has infused yoga she learned from her father growing up with elements of Indian dances such…