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Tally Mark One, Tally Mark Two…: A Chronicle of Letting Go

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Tally mark one You, my beloved green notebook, were an impulse buy. Why would I ever spend $24 just to say that I had a "cute" notebook? But I had run inside the store, snatched you up, and opened the fresh pages on that BART ride. A stranger asked if I was writing my life… Continue reading Tally Mark One, Tally Mark Two…: A Chronicle of Letting Go

#IfTheyGunnedMeDown and Educating for the Power of the Counter-Narrative

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Piece I wrote in my new joint blog space venture

Empathy and Activism's avatarEmpathy and Activism

I have often been told I have the ‘immigrant’ mindset. This is (but it took me years to recognize) a back-handed comment. What I used to believe, and what they wanted me to believe, is that it meant that I had a mentality that whatever I worked hard to achieve, I would get it. There was no ‘man’ out to get me that I could not overcome. It wasn’t until college, when I was reading the works of Mary Waters and others, that I realized that for years West Indian (and other regions) blacks have bought into this idea that if they separate themselves from black Americans, they could be seen as ‘not one of them,’ meaning not those who are ‘lazy’ and ‘take government handouts.’ And I’ve been patted on the head for not being like that my whole life. But there is no real distinction. That is an…

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Leavetakings Part Three: On the Brink of the Aftermath

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I may look calm, but inside, my emotions are raging like the flash rainfalls of the Miami hurricane season. Today, I had a joyous moment. One that teachers always hope to have. I got to call one of the students who is closest to me and tell him, on his birthday, that he passed his… Continue reading Leavetakings Part Three: On the Brink of the Aftermath

Leavetakings Part Two: I Couldn’t Have Done it Without You

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The first of my close friends left Miami this morning. Never again will we walk down the halls of Northwestern together as literacy teachers. Her life is pulling her in very exciting directions, and I could not be more proud. But in some ways more palpable than exiting college, I feel the sadness of the… Continue reading Leavetakings Part Two: I Couldn’t Have Done it Without You

Leavetakings Part One: When Two Years is Enough and Not Enough All At Once

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A few weeks ago at our Teach for America Alumni Induction, my peers honored me with the award for Transformational Change. I have mentioned this phrase often in my writings as being a 'catchphrase' but very real and necessary at the same time. And while I know that I have so much growth left to… Continue reading Leavetakings Part One: When Two Years is Enough and Not Enough All At Once

Promises of Return

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"And if I have you, I'll have everything. But without you, I am nothing."  The Easter season has always been one of my favorites. In terms of entire seasons, Christmas still wins for me, but for the actual holiday, Easter is my favorite. There is something that deeply roots me to the message of Easter,… Continue reading Promises of Return