Fifteen years
Fifteen years with no Nurn in the world. That’s what we called him. A silly, loving name for a silly, loving man. Dan Kalikow, 3/2/43-2/26/09. But of course it’s not true that there’s no Nurn left. There is so much of him in me - I see him often in ...
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SCOTUS and DEI and you and me
I'm not a lawyer, and this isn't legal advice, BUT: daaaang y'all, this morning's YW Boston webinar on "Navigating DEI Challenges: Legal Insights for Moving Forward in the Face of Resistance" was fricking FIIIIIIRE. Sharing my quick takeaways here because I'm involved with at least 3 organizations that need this ...
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These are the times that try men’s souls
My lovely friends. Most of you look pretty much like me and share my lived experience as a white-identified woman. Dude friends, you've got one less intersection with me, but most of us still have the bond of shared whiteness, and that's some powerful stuff nevertheless. Plus, we've mostly all ...
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Do not blame DEI for the backlash
Listen up. I just hit my limit. One too many articles and conversations about funders and companies who are turning away from their "commitments" to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Because it's too controversial, or because it's "not working." It's soapbox time. Just for a minute. Here goes: Yes, it's appropriate ...
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Make new friends and keep the old
In my pink raincoat, speaking at a recent Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust riverwalk about how much I ❤️ this organization A couple of weeks back, something beautiful happened to me on Facebook. A long-ago "friend" who was really only an acquaintance through my very-ex-husband reached out privately. "I've been ...
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Thanksgiving
Coffeewalk in Rogers Fort Hill Park, 11/23/23 Thanksgiving. I am so grateful for all the time I get to spend in the beauty of nature. And. My coffeewalk isn’t exactly “natural,” is it? I mean, sure, the trees are real. The chirping birds are real. The blue sky is real ...
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My coffeewalk loves me back
Wamesit Falls along the Concord River Greenway, Lowell MA Oh, my friends. Amazing, heart-filling news. This riverside path has helped to heal me. Slowly, literally step by step, for almost two years that I’ve walked it nearly every day with my travel mug of coffee… watched the waters flow and ...
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Bystander to upstander
SCENE: Commuter bus to Logan Airport, Sunday 7:48 a.m., a couple dozen passengers and one Jovial Driver. He is an older gent, looks like Einstein with a crew cut. He’s been complaining entertainingly since we boarded. Massachusetts drivers! This bizarrely warm autumn! Unspecified politicians! His one-man show gradually turns into ...
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And you may ask yourself, “Well, how did I get here?”
Recently, a friend asked me to put on my consultant hat and talk with her team of grantwriters about how to get better at centering equity in their writing. As part of preparing for this conversation-style training, I started jotting down a few ideas about how to introduce myself and ...
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Loving the land of “my” new home
I figure: if we do land acknowledgments to start something as small as a meeting, shouldn’t I incorporate one into my new life here in the home I just moved into? I found this secondhand mirror that speaks to me of my name for this place, wrote this message and ...
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More learning for me: new critiques of the classic article I quoted
Hi, my name is Andie and I am learning in real-time! Remember a couple of days ago I did a long post tying one of my past organizational experiences to Tema Okun's classic "White Supremacy Culture" article? Grateful to a couple of friends who pointed me towards the re-appraisal of ...
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Once upon a time on Juneteenth
Once upon a time, not too long ago, I was a new member on the DEI Committee for a nonprofit I still love. It was a beautiful early-June day, and we -- the almost all-white staff and volunteer committee members -- were debating how the organization should honor Juneteenth for ...
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