I remember her well. We lived with my paternal grandmother in a small rural town when I was a young child. She was fair-skinned with a mane of thick, wavy “salt-and-pepper” hair. Despite her lighter complexion, it never occurred to me to question her heritage.

I was well into adulthood when I found out that my paternal grandmother was of mixed race. My father had long since passed away (when I was 27), but in those 27 years, he never mentioned that his mother was biracial.

I discovered my “mixed” heritage when my cousin traced our family genealogy on my…

Audacious. Brilliant. Classy.

These are words I attribute to U.S. House Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI).

This week, the nation had a chance to hear House impeachment managers lay out their case for the conviction of Donald J. Trump. In my estimation, they have all been calm, poised, professional, passionate, and at times, emotional. I have marveled at their ability to methodically organize the facts and timeline of the case, while interspersing video clips that tell a more compelling story than any words can do alone.

I, personally, give them all credit for a job well done. In recognition, they are…

On Wednesday, January 13, 2021, I listened to arguments made by members of the U.S. House of Representatives regarding whether or not to impeach President Donald J. Trump for a second time. The persuasion of every argument seemed to hinge on the presumption of truth-telling. Whether Republican or Democrat, each person who approached the mic did so with the posture of “I am telling the truth.”

We are living in divided times. Exceptionally contentious times. Riotous and violent times.

Conservatives and liberals have, for centuries, fallen on opposite ends of the ideological spectrum and everywhere in-between. But in 2021, we…

*Note from the Author: An original version of this article was published in Medium on 11/13/2020. The author has since updated the article to include data from the American Political Science Association (APSA).

When Mary Elizabeth Taylor resigned from the State Department in June 2020, I took notice of political “hidden figures” — i.e., African American women who play advisory roles in politics, yet are little known to the American public. Taylor, as you may recall, was the young African American senior staffer who gained notoriety in social media when she was seen sitting behind Neil Gorsuch during his Supreme…

A few years ago, I interviewed for a position within an organization. I was being interviewed by a panel of people — all of them white. Now, at the outset, there is nothing wrong with that, but in my opinion, the main interviewer was being overly gratuitous. For a number of reasons, I got the distinct feeling that he was more interested in my ethnicity than my actual skills. I wondered if I would get the job because of my skin color rather than the expertise I would bring to the table.

Perhaps it was an erroneous perception on my…

Two days following the death of George Perry Floyd, Jr., I wrote a blog piece entitled “The Day I Mattered,” which was posted on my personal blog site. I reflected on an incident in my own life where I felt seen rather than unseen. Granted, my experience was comparatively innocuous to the experience of George Floyd, whose life was extinguished at the knee of Derek Chauvin. But I was attempting to make a bigger point — i.e., that George Floyd was not seen as a human being. On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was treated as nothing more than an…

Two years ago, I took an online course in religion, conflict and peace from HarvardX, an online learning initiative of Harvard University. I took it in hopes of improving my skills in anti-racism/pro-reconciliation work, of which I was involved through my church denomination. I am committed to the work of diversity, equity, and inclusion. I believe diverse people — whether by race, ethnicity, religion, language, or culture — should be able to find common ground by virtue of our common humanity.

It was an intense course, especially if you were committed to giving it your all. And I was! The…

This past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, which, in Christianity, marks the beginning of the Lenten season. The season of Lent is a 40-day period of reflection, of penance, and preparation for Easter Sunday. Generally, Christians spend the next 40 days in a spiritual fast to replicate Christ’s sacrificial journey to the cross.

On Wednesday night, my youngest daughter passed by the television as Cuomo Prime Time was airing. She noticed the “cross” of black ashes on Chris Cuomo’s forehead. She said, “What is that on his forehead?” Remembering, she then said, “Oh, it’s Ash Wednesday.”

She went on to opine…