"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." – Maya Angelou
That's right. Let's go back in time. It's 2008, and I'm a senior in high school. My family is all about John McCain, but my birthday is in May, and I'll miss the election by six months. That didn't stop me from vocally expressing my concerns about Obama's birth certificate to classmates and questioning if... Continue Reading →
I grew up in a very conservative Christian household in a suburban neighborhood development where most of our neighbors were people who actually got to make decisions about how their home was built, including my parents. There was a large Catholic church a few minutes away and several various denominations of Christian churches (including some... Continue Reading →
Hopefully, you saw Danai Gurira dominate her role as Okoye in Marvel's Black Panther recently. Or maybe you know her as Michonne in The Walking Dead, even though I certainly don't because I'm not super into the zombie survival story. Her role in Black Panther was both electric and promising. Obviously, I'm a white woman, so I have... Continue Reading →
A stage is a place to question things, to take BIG concepts like death and masculinity and racism and make them entry points for educational purposes. I learned that last night when I got to attend Guante's re-release of his book of poems, lyrics, and essays at Icehouse last night. And for $15 a ticket,... Continue Reading →
For some additional graduate level credits and CEUS this year, I am taking a class called SEED offered through my district. We meet once a month, talk about equity and education topics, and rotate each month who teaches. My group was up this month, and our goal, which I think we achieved, was to offer... Continue Reading →
Minneapolis is still high from celebrating an extraordinary Vikings win against the Saints, as we should be. It was the first game I watched all season because I didn't feel right supporting the NFL this year specifically because of the backlash against Colin Kaepernick's peaceful protest. But I also am human, wanted to watch the... Continue Reading →
The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everyone: what Tupac Shakur called THUG LIFE. Angie Thomas does a brilliant job intertwining the real-world issues of racism, police brutality, gang violence, poverty, and privilege in her novel for young adults. The book is no joke- more than 400 pages of a narrative that I've seen on... Continue Reading →
This book is actually an excellent place to start for many of my white friends who would have a hard time saying "Black Lives Matter" out loud, especially considering the current events of the Charlottesville terrorist attack and the "free speech" rallies. Dr. King inspired the title and content of Jodi Picoult's novel, Small Great Things.... Continue Reading →
Last week, a black, female student brought in a pizza to class. When she walked in, I greeted her and said "Hi! It's good to see you. Pizza? I hope you saved a slice for me. But you know, it's probably going to be distracting to have a whole pizza in here- could you finish... Continue Reading →
For Christmas 2014, I asked for Michelle Alexander's book The New Jim Crow. It is 300+ pages of dense notes exposing racial disparities in the United States' criminal justice system. Not exactly light reading or a cheerfully seasonal gift. But the text's importance is urgent, and I am slowly but surely working my way through all... Continue Reading →
bekah noble 