Family Matters (with a little help from mother-wit)
Is there a woman anywhere who hasn’t heard: “the older you get, the more you become like your mother”? Typically, these words are intended as a warning or an indictment, not a compliment. How then do we explain that annual rite of spring, committed to exorbitant displays of devotion and no small investment of dollars […]
Lift Every Voice (or Towards a Spirituality of Hope)
It’s 2018, and you might think that headlines such as these would be uncommon. Florida Middle School Teacher Hosts White Nationalist Podcast Report Finds US Civil Rights Gains Stalled or Reversed Police Officer Fired for Stomping Handcuffed Man Is Reinstated Terror on Doorsteps: Blasts Unnerve Austin African-American Historic Site on Nantucket Defaced by Racist […]
Awakening from the Trance of Fear (or Toward a Spirituality of Hope for 2018)
Fear moves in mystifying ways. Although we hardly ever call it by name, it is deeply insinuated in our stories of reality. One such story is captured in Mississippi Burning, a movie about the FBI investigation of the murder of civil rights activists. The scene I have in mind starts with a conversation between two […]
By the Waters of Babylon (or Toward a Spirituality of Hope)
Part of the legacy of growing up in a scripture-rich environment is that I sometimes find myself totally captivated by a vivid image. As I was reflecting on the past year, it was this image that came to mind: “By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down, and we wept when we remembered […]
Yes, It Does Takes a Village
Yes, It Does Take a Village It happens whenever small groups of justice-conscious people find themselves in casual spaces discussing serious social problems. As the conversation nears closure, someone will invariably say, “It takes a village”. We have all heard it and possibly said ourselves that it takes a village to raise a child. […]
Speaking of Monuments . . .
All the ruckus about monuments this past year got me thinking. Having spent my formative years in the American South, I remembered that these massive concrete structures, icons of the Confederacy, were simply part of the landscape. No one paid too much attention to them. It was only as an adult that I decided […]
Re-thinking Self-Esteem (Article)
If there is one notion that’s likely to receive nearly unanimous validation in contemporary culture, it’s that self-esteem is a good thing. While there may not be agreement on what is it or how to do it, its elevated placement in Maslow’s hierarchy has led to the notion that it is something we should all […]
Roundtable Discussion on Relational Cultural Theory
Wellesely College: Roundtable discussions with Amy Banks, M.D., Director of Advanced Training, Judy Jordan, Ph.D., Director and Founding Scholar, and Maureen Walker, Ph.D., Director of Program Development. Learn more about the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute at www.jbmti.org/ and Wellesley Centers for Women at www.wcwonline.org. Part 1: Founding of Relational-Cultural Theory A discussion about […]