The Write Slice: Write or Wrong

Today I drove home from work with my rock music blasting at higher decibels than, I'm sure, was healthy. But I needed a heavy beat loud enough to feel it vibrate in my chest. I'm not a drinker, but if I were, today would be a three-glasses-of-wine day. And there's no specific reason. Except that I'm only a month into the school year, and I'm already exhausted. And I'm not alone. All you parents out there who are concerned about the style, quality, amount or any other qualifier of education your child is receiving this year, I can guarantee you that an entire team of teachers, administrators, and support staff is just as worried. We're doing our damnedest to meet your (and our!) expectations. Right now, I'm barely keeping my head above the water line. I am the kind of personality who plans things out. I visualize my dive into the deep end, consider all possible complications, and then perform a smooth breaststroke from one side to the next before any of t

When the Black Lives Matter started a few years ago, I had a hard time with it. I agree with the sentiment, but it felt too narrow, too restrictive. After all, racism isn’t directed only toward Blacks; in my community, Hispanics tend to get the short end of the stick. And don’t forget Asians, Arab-Americans, or Native Americans. Not to mention the same discriminatory behavior toward LGBTQ+, Christians, Muslims, Jews, atheists, women, etc. But I think I’m starting to get it. Through the patience and courage of a lot of people, I’m starting to understand. A long-time friend, Jayrod Garrett, is someone to whom I’ve always felt safe asking legitimate questions as I’ve tried to understand an experience different from my own. Great books like Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin,  All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely, and Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes have helped me recognize covert behaviors that are offensive. But the reason I love these books is because the author