agreement that if your neighbor caught your child doing wrong, they were fully empowered to correct the behavior in your absence, which maintained a standard of character and commitment. We lacked a standard of respect and empathy for our brothers and sisters that would ensure that if one was lacking, the other would fill the gaps.

which forbade freed Blacks from assembling in groups in the day or the night. Here’s an example of the vagrancy law:

recruiters are making decisions on who is and is not a “culture fit” based on their own biases and the implied white norms of the company.

There were over 100 people on the call, but only about six or seven of us spoke. It’s typical for this to happen as most Black folks are still unclear on how safe it is to fully express their concerns in open forums, especially those that have whites present.

It was them who should be offended by Black athletes kneeling for the national anthem that immortalized their birthright in song and ritual.

We had several sub-topics to drive the discussion that revolved around community, economics, political influence, media control, and education.

I’m writing this with the highest aspiration that my lived experiences and the lived experiences of those who look like me provide perspective and purpose. I want the humanity of being Black in a space that America designed with our inclusion far from mind to shine through.

They had mastered the art of double-speak and coded directives. They cracked the code of how to say something without saying anything.

market in the middle of a Black neighborhood without ever having to learn the English language is through a support system that values their collective economic power over individual success.