37days of Activism
You wanted to know what role you would have played in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s? Now’s your time to find out. You were shocked by the outcome of the U.S. Presidential election, and the aftermath of racial violence. You didn’t know this kind of racism still existed …
I will not be quiet. I am intolerant of your intolerance.
I am thinking of the singular commitment of the North Carolina General Assembly to being pioneers in bigotry and hatred, willful unknowing, and discrimination because of ignorance and fear. It hurts me, deeply, to know that my lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex friends face this kind of reality daily, …
A is for advocate
We fight for men and women whose poetry is not yet written. –Robert Gould Shaw, abolitionist In 2008, I will be a better advocate for those who need—and want—my advocacy. Long ago on a faraway planet, I once worked in an organization where I sat through a management meeting every …
H is for human rights
Most people, no doubt, when they espouse human rights, make their own mental reservations about the proper application of the word ‘human.’ –Suzanne LaFollette In 2008, I will fight for the rights of human beings I see being dismissed and excluded and not listened to. And killed for who they …
Start a diversity bookclub
In any community, there are diversity issues – the natives vs the newcomers, race issues that pit black against white, gay and straight clashes, classism – and often, we’re not equipped to talk about them. Dialogue that approaches the issues head-on sometimes is too difficult, we avoid it, or we …
Replace “they” with “we” with “I”
We all believe in equality, as long as it is equality with our superiors. What is the tipping point? I’ve long been fascinated by the fact that our Social Contract works—that people stop at four-way stop signs and allow the person to their right to move first, creating a sweet …
Choose the tuxedo
KELLI DAVIS, Class of 2005 “If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us." –Herman Hesse Sometimes when I wake up too early and read the newspaper before having that first cup of coffee, and particularly …
Be an effective ally for LGBT people
Read this if you’re interested in being a more effective advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. (www.soaw.org/new/ article.php?id=634) These are some guidelines for people wanting to be allies for LGBT people. In today’s world, LGBT issues are being discussed more than ever before. The discussions taking place in …
Be nice to bellhops
We all believe in equality as long as it is equality with our superiors. I’ll never forget being on a business trip years ago with a colleague and watching in horror as she—in her gray, beautifully tailored designer suit and heels—literally stamped her foot like a terrible, small child and …
